Le Tueur du vendredi

Friday the 13th Part 2 is very similar to the original in feel and atmosphere. A little more of the killer is shown throughout the movie this time (stomping through the forest, hiding in the shadows...), but gone is the mystery factor that made the original so great. You know who the killer is within the first few scenes.

But that doesn't matter. It's an entertaining horror classic in it's own right, and features the most inventive finale to any of the Friday the 13th movies.

While most sequels cash in on their original movie's fame, the second part of the Friday the 13th series lives up to its name. Unlike the first movie, Jason stars in this movie while his "mother" has the cameo. The gore and the kill scenes surpass the original. The characters are true teenage stereotypes. Much like the ending in the original, the ending here is great. A jump out of your seat moment that lives up to the original. This is way before Jason wears his hockey mask. Here we are witnessed to a masked killer that uses a pillow case to hide his scary identity. From here on, the fame of PART 2 made it possible for the next bunch of films to happen. It is pretty much all down hill from here. While some of those films lived up to being great horror movies, most fell short and could not recycle the same effect that PART 2 had on its audience.

I think this movie is good because it's the real start of the real killer in Friday the 13th. I also like this and parts 3 and 4 because these are the movies where Jason actually acts like he's human rather than a zombie like in the later movies. And what's cool is Jason actually has a different disguise rather than the ol' hockey mask. What's stupid was that he actually fell for the trick believing that Ginny was his mother and yet his mother's death was the reason why he was killing all those people. Of course, then again, he was retarded, so maybe that's the reason why, I guess I'll never know. A real good start on the Jason movies.

Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) is a fine sequel or continuation to the classic slasher horror film that lots of people remember, but of course it still has slasher movie cliches that at this point are dated with how bad they are.

The acting is fine for the time the movie came out and these characters will still do cliches old slasher movies would always do. Making dumb choices, ignoring any warning of danger, and running away from any unpleasant situation.

I am quite sure people know who the killer is for how well known it is, but if not, I will not say anything about it. We are mostly looking for the kills, and there are some that are effective.

There is good cinematography that gave some scary camera shots because there are good handheld camera shots that fit the scenes it is shooting; I especially liked some camera shots that were in the perspective of the killer that looked cool.

Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) is a fine sequel to the slasher movie that is worth watching either by yourself or with friends and that is good for a horror movie night to enjoy for what it is. Watch this if you have seen the first movie.

'Friday the 13th' may have been panned by critics when first released but since then it is one of the most famous and influential horror films, the franchise containing one of horror's most iconic villains. The film is popular enough to become a franchise and spawn several sequels of varying quality and generally inferior to the one that started it all of.

Of the sequels, 'Friday the 13th Part 2' is one of the better ones easily and one of the few instalments to be as good, even on par. It's not perfect, it's not what one would call great. It does however achieve its primary goals well, it is scary and it is fun. Plus it introduces Jason Voorhees as the antagonist, so it is an important sequel in the series in this respect.

Like the first 'Friday the 13th', 'Friday the 13th Part 2' is far from the best when it comes to acting. The exceptions are appealing Amy Steel and a truly freaky Warrington Gillette. Everybody else ranges from average to dead-end.

Nor is it the best when it comes to dialogue. Much of it is very crude and cheesy. Or character development, and what the film does worse than the original is that we don't sympathise with the characters here as much apart from Ginny. The ending is a head-scratcher and pretty nonsensical, not the truly unsettling one of the first film.

Visually, on the other hand, it improves over the original 'Friday the 13th' quite drastically. It's still creepy but has more of a professional, slicker look and like more time was dedicated to it. Like 'Friday the 13th', 'Friday the 13th Part 2' is very gory and gruesome, though not pointlessly so, but it is also very frightening and suspenseful.

This is apparent in the deaths, which are still very creative and shocking, and the hauntingly eerie music score. 'Friday the 13th' is assuredly directed and moves along at a lively pace. As said, Steel carries the film with a good deal of appealing charm and Gillette proves why Jason is often considered an iconic character in horror.

Overall, pretty good sequel and one of the better ones of a variable franchise. 7/10 Bethany Cox