Friday the 13th might not be where it all started for the slasher genre, but it is certainly where a lot of the formula took shape. Camp Crystal Lake is reopening, staffed by young and eager camp counsellors who, despite warnings about the history of the camp and the deaths there, keep on coming. Once there, the counsellors begin being killed in gruesome ways, culminating in a hugely climactic moment for one of the first final girls, Alice. Friday the 13th stands as a pivotal moment in the development of the modern franchise movement, and proof of concept of the success that could be derived from the Halloween (1978) model of production.

Friday the 13th is showing alongside Sunset Boulevard (1950) as part of a Camp Miasma Double Feature, introduced by Dr Michael Goodrum (Canterbury Christ Church University), in anticipation of our screenings of new release Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. Book tickets to both screenings in a single transaction and receive a 25% discount on the total cost.

Reviews

‘The best bits of Halloween, Carrie, and Hitchcock’s Psycho were cheekily repurposed here by the director Sean S Cunningham for a slasher movie that remains the genre standard-bearer’
★★★★
Kevin Maher, The Times