Friday the 13th (4 Stars)

1980. Rated R.

Camp counselors fix up Camp Crystal Lake (aka 'Camp Blood' from the locals) after many years of closure. There is a reason why the camp stayed closed for so long: a drowning, two murders, fires and bad water mixed with a superstitious town folk's mutterings of it being cursed. One by one the counselors are murdered by a knife/axe/machete wielding maniac until there is only one left to confront the killer and find out the reason behind the killings.

This is the grandmama of slashers; the one that started the killer-in-the-woods subgenre. It is a guilty pleasure by many, since a majority of critics dismiss it for it being nothing more than a bloodbath without substance. Closely following the "Halloween" formula and displaying both the delicious effects of Tom Savini and tight direction of Sean Cunningham , this film is scary and cannot be ignored for the way it propelled the early 80's slasher genre into the limelight.

You will find many duplicates during this era, but none that match its splendor.