Le Tueur du vendredi

I am just going to assume you have seen the first Friday 13th movie. I mean if you haven't ... why would you watch the sequel! It clearly states so in the title, that this is not the first one. Which makes it even crazier that this rehashes the last minutes of the first film. While Cunningham didn't get how or why they would bring back Jason Vorhees (he was dead, wasn't he?), Steve Miner took over ... and quite the job he had to undertake. Make the same movie but a bit different.

So right from the start we get rid of what remained from the first movie (excluding Jason that is). And then we get more teenagers for him to be mad at. Why you ask? Does it really matter? Let's say because they can live a life he never could and he hates them for it. That should be good enough. We also get a final girl that is quite clever. Even if not as asexual as some might remember her. She's quite flirty isn't she? Rhetorical question that was.

This sequel does not just see a different Jason actor ... it sees many of them. Apparently a lot of crew members literally stepped into his shoes. Though Steve Dash is the one who seems to take most credit for it. Some may question that, with other stunt man trying to make their case, but it seems he did the heavy lifting (or glass related stunt breakthrough) ... no pun intended.

Since the first Friday movie was so popular but also had many people who were shocked at the gore it had (again quite tame from todays standards), this had quite the issues. Especially because it tried to outdo the first one. So quite a few things landed on the cutting room floor. While this has more blood then, it seems to have less nudity. Though that does not matter that much I think - it's more about the killings isn't it? I think most would agree.

While this also contains Jason as character and killer, sort of the first time, it is not the Jason most might know, especially thinking of the later movies here ...

This is probably the best Friday the 13th movie even though it is not that good. There are a lot of deaths and less gore. Very action packed chase scene. Jinny was the best heroin of them all but Alice comes in second place. I did not want Alice to want Alice to die though. I wish Jinny was in all of the other movies. In conclusion this is the best Friday the 13th movie of them all.

The first Friday the 13th sequel follows the formula with more camp counselors showing up at Camp Crystal Lake and being slaughtered one by one. This is the first of the series where Jason is the killer, although he doesn't yet have his iconic hockey mask. He wears a sack over his head instead. He also gets kicked in the nads. Pretty funny, honestly.

The cast is full of young actors playing obnoxious teens and twenty-somethings. Adrienne King briefly reprises her role from the first film before Amy Steel takes over as the 'final girl.' Acting-wise, Steel's an improvement I think. This one also has more cute girls than the first movie and more nudity, which would become a prerequisite for the series. The tracking shot of Kirsten Baker's rear end as she walks through the woods is priceless. As with the first movie, I really liked the locations they filmed at. Gives an authentic atmosphere to the film without appearing cheap, like most of today's low-budget horror films do. If you like old-school slashers, you'll like this one. It's solid entertainment that you don't have to take seriously, despite the macabre subject matter.

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.

So many refer to this as the debut of Jason Voorhees. It wasn't...simply the debut of him killing people. He left that to his mom in part one! Steve Miner didn't mess around too much with Sean Cunninham's successful formula simply adding some quite inventive kills and bloodletting.

No-one could be accused of using method-acting here, truth is its all pretty embarrassing. The high-school script though probably isn't that much out of place - they are schoolkids after all.

Jason himself, though still slightly diminished of stature is one creepy little dude, still without his hockey mask but wearing a burlap sack with holes cut out for his eyes. What appears to be his demise is of course anything but...as parts 3 to 10 will attest. The final 15 minutes are quite tension-filled and better than anything in the original.

A must-see for devotees of the series.