Although my favorite slasher film is and will always be the original Halloween, my favorite series by far is Friday the 13th. These films are lots of fun and full of real scares. Over the course of the series, you begin to root more for Jason than for the group of doomed idiots he terrorizes so that he eventually becomes the hero, if still the antagonist.
What’s your favorite film of the series?
Mine has got to be the third, followed very closely by The Final Chapter. In these two films, and the ones before, Jason was still ostensibly human. He could be hurt and he showed emotion, even if it was anger. And to me, people are scarier than supernatural juggernauts because, well, crazy people exist in real life. Somewhere out there a pissed off hillbilly really could be hiding in a barn waiting for a teenaged couple to wander in for a roll in the hay, you know?
I remember when I was a kid, I was not anywhere near as into horror as I am now. In fact, it scared the bejeesus out of me and I tried to avoid it as much as possible. My overactive imagination just couldn’t leave it at cheesy acting and red-dyed corn syrup. I knew Jason Voorhees wasn’t real, but I also knew that there were very real psychos out there that were far, far worse. I wasn’t scared of the movies themselves, I was scared of whatever reality inspired the movies.
But, I was also curious and couldn’t stay away from the horror section at the video store. I would read the backs of the cases and attempt, without having to watch the film, to understand who Jason was and why he did what he did. Why did he wear the mask? I mean, if anyone unlucky enough to see you is going to be killed anyway, why even bother? Why was he so mean?
Come to find out later that through 11 films the entire series never really explains just why Jason is so pissed off. Except for the fact that he drowned, or he misses his mother, or something, we never really know. He’s a dead child who only appears in memories and dreams in the first film. In the second, he’s somehow resurrected as a hideous psycho. How did that happen? The whole reason Mrs. Voorhees went on her rampage was because he was dead. But he wasn’t dead. Did she know that? If so, why go all stabby? If not, why not? Wouldn’t you think that the first place a boy who nearly drowned would go was home? These are the questions that haunt my dreams now.
Today, I’m a serious fan of horror movies and I watch them whenever I can. At some point I was able to separate the fiction from reality and enjoy the fiction for what it is: entertainment. But if we’re discussing fear-based entertainment, then my fears are still triggered most by what could really happen. Cue the barn door opening and two oblivious kids making out while a psychopath watches from the shadows…
I remember being a kid (under 7 cuz we lived in Portland) and must’ve walked in while you and dad were watching one of these movies. Before i got banished to the other room (so i wouldn’t get scared) I saw a scary scene involving a long knife (which was a huge sword) and some blood and screaming. Too late! I was scared. And thus began the stuffing the 2-3 inch space between my bed and the wall with every stuffed animal i had to protect me from the scary masked sword man under my bed. I’m not sure why my child mind thought that i was protected from being decapitated if the crack was filled, I mean he could just stab me right through the mattress. Anyway, in case you ever wondered why i did that… that is why. 😉
Well of course. Blankets are monster-proof. Everyone knows that.