Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th is a 1980 American slasher film directed by Sean S. Cunningham and written by Victor Miller. Released by Paramount Pictures on May 9, 1980, it follows a group of teenage counselors preparing to reopen Camp Crystal Lake, a summer camp marked by a child’s death years earlier. As the counselors arrive, an unseen killer begins murdering them one by one. The film’s central mystery concerns Jason Voorhees, the boy who drowned at the camp, and his mother, Pamela Voorhees, whose identity is concealed until the final act.

The story begins in 1957, when Jason disappears during a swimming lesson while counselors are distracted by sexual activity. In the present, camp owner Steve Christy hires a new staff, despite warnings from local resident Crazy Ralph that the area is cursed. The counselors clean cabins and prepare facilities, but their routine is interrupted by stalking, accidents, and increasingly direct attacks. Alice Hardy, played by Adrienne King, becomes the principal survivor. Betsy Palmer portrays Mrs. Voorhees, while Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Kevin Bacon, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan, and Mark Nelson play members of the doomed staff. Bacon’s death, involving an arrow thrust through his throat beneath a bed, became one of the movie’s most recognized practical-effects moments.

Tom Savini created the makeup effects, including the graphic killing set pieces, but he did not design Jason’s familiar hockey mask; that iconic image was introduced in the 1981 sequel, Friday the 13th Part 2. In the original, Jason appears only in brief flashbacks and in the closing nightmare, while Mrs. Voorhees is the murderer. Her motive is revenge for Jason’s death and the counselors’ alleged negligence.

Produced on a modest budget of roughly $550,000, Friday the 13th became a major commercial success, earning tens of millions of dollars in North America. Critics were divided, often objecting to its violence, yet its financial performance established a durable franchise. The film generated numerous sequels, beginning with Friday the 13th Part 2 in 1981, and helped cement Camp Crystal Lake and the series’ calendar-based title as recognizable horror-cinema references. Although later entries shifted attention to Jason, the first film remains distinct because its killer is Pamela Voorhees and because its suspense depends on hiding that reveal until the climax. Its combination of isolated setting, young ensemble, practical gore, and mystery shaped the commercial slasher cycle that flourished in the early 1980s. Its influence remains strong today.