ⓘ Details

Movie TitleFriday the 13th

Release DateMay 9, 1980 in the United States

TaglineThey were warned... They are doomed... And on Friday the 13th, nothing will save them.

Runtime95 minutes / 1 hour 35 minutes

DirectorSean S. Cunningham

Screenplay Written ByVictor Miller

Based OnOriginal screenplay by Victor Miller

Is It a Remake?No. It is an original slasher film and the first movie in the Friday the 13th franchise.

BudgetApproximately $550,000 to $650,000

Box OfficeApprox. $39.8 million domestic / approx. $59.8 million worldwide

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👥 Main Cast

Betsy PalmerMrs. Pamela Voorhees

Adrienne KingAlice Hardy

Harry CrosbyBill

Laurie BartramBrenda

Mark NelsonNed Rubinstein

Jeannine TaylorMarcie Cunningham

Robbi MorganAnnie Phillips

Kevin BaconJack Burrell

Peter BrouwerSteve Christy

Rex EverhartEnos

Ronn CarrollSergeant Tierney

Walt GorneyCrazy Ralph

Ari LehmanYoung Jason Voorhees

Dorothy KobsTrudy

Sally Anne GoldenSandy

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🏆 Awards

⭐ Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival Nominee — Grand Prize, Sean S. Cunningham

⭐ Mystfest Nominee — Best Film, Sean S. Cunningham

⭐ Golden Raspberry Award Nominee — Worst Picture

⭐ Golden Raspberry Award Nominee — Worst Supporting Actress, Betsy Palmer

⭐ Satellite Award Nominee — Best DVD Extras

⭐ Saturn Award Nominee — Best DVD/Blu-ray Collection for later franchise release

⭐ No Academy Award nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ The real legacy is franchise history: Friday the 13th launched one of horror’s biggest series and helped turn summer camp into a blood-soaked pop-culture warning sign.

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📖 Short Plot Summary

Years after a young boy named Jason Voorhees drowned at Camp Crystal Lake, a new group of counselors arrives to help reopen the cursed camp. The locals call the place Camp Blood, which really should have been enough of a red flag, but everyone still moves forward with cleaning, flirting, swimming, and splitting up like horror-movie professionals. As a storm rolls in, the counselors are stalked and killed one by one by an unseen attacker connected to the camp’s tragic past. By morning, final girl Alice faces the killer, the truth about Jason, and one lake-based jump scare that helped launch an entire franchise.

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❝ Key Quotes

“You’re doomed! You’re all doomed!” — Crazy Ralph

“Kill her, Mommy! Kill her!” — Young Jason

“Did you know a young boy drowned the year before those two others were killed?” — Mrs. Voorhees

“Jason was my son.” — Mrs. Voorhees

“Help me! Help me!” — Alice Hardy

“Camp Blood? Ain’t you going to Camp Blood?” — Truck driver

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💡 Trivia

Director

Friday the 13th was produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham.
Cunningham had previously worked with Wes Craven on The Last House on the Left.
The film was made after the success of Halloween, with Cunningham aiming for a scary, jump-filled horror movie.
The original working title was A Long Night at Camp Blood.
Cunningham placed a Friday the 13th ad in Variety before the script was even finished, mostly to test the title and stir up interest.

Cast / Casting

Betsy Palmer plays Pamela Voorhees, the grieving mother whose final-act reveal gives the film its main twist.
Adrienne King plays Alice Hardy, the film’s final girl.
Kevin Bacon appears early in his career as Jack, one of the unlucky counselors.
Ari Lehman plays young Jason Voorhees in the famous lake sequence.
Walt Gorney plays Crazy Ralph, the local doom prophet who is absolutely correct and somehow still ignored.
Betsy Palmer reportedly took the role partly because she needed money for a new car, which makes horror history weirdly practical.

Soundtrack / Score

Harry Manfredini composed the score.
The famous “ki ki ki, ma ma ma” sound effect was inspired by the line “Kill her, Mommy.”
The score uses sharp strings and stalking rhythms to build dread around the unseen killer.
Manfredini’s music became one of the franchise’s most recognizable trademarks.
The score often tells the audience the killer is present even when the camera refuses to show who it is.

Location

The story is set at Camp Crystal Lake in New Jersey.
Filming took place in New Jersey in the fall of 1979.
The main camp location was Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in Hardwick Township, New Jersey.
The real camp is still associated with the film and has become a major pilgrimage spot for horror fans.
The wooded location gives the movie a low-budget authenticity that makes Camp Crystal Lake feel like a real place you should absolutely not visit after dark.

Behind-The-Scenes

The screenplay was written by Victor Miller.
The film was produced by Georgetown Productions Inc.
Paramount Pictures distributed the film in the United States and Canada, while Warner Bros. handled international distribution.
The reported budget was approximately $550,000 to $650,000.
Special makeup effects were created by Tom Savini, who had recently worked on Dawn of the Dead.
The film became the first independent slasher movie acquired by a major studio, helping slasher films move into mainstream distribution.

Nostalgia

Friday the 13th is one of the key films in the early 1980s slasher boom.
Even though Jason is the franchise icon, the original film’s killer is Pamela Voorhees, not adult hockey-mask Jason.
The hockey mask would not arrive until Friday the 13th Part III.
The movie became a campfire warning about horny counselors, bad weather, and ignoring people named Crazy Ralph.
It may not have the polish of Halloween, but it has the body count, the lake, the twist, and the jump scare that made audiences scream.

Easter Eggs

The name “Camp Blood” is the locals’ nickname for Camp Crystal Lake, and honestly, marketing should have leaned into that.
The film hides the killer for most of the runtime, making it play like a murder mystery as much as a slasher.
The final lake scare was inspired by the ending shock of Carrie.
Jason’s drowning backstory becomes the mythology engine for the entire franchise.
Mrs. Voorhees’ sweater and voice shifts in the finale help show how deeply she has fused her grief with Jason’s memory.
The absence of adult Jason in the original makes the film a strange franchise starter, since the series’ biggest icon is mostly a ghost story here.

Misc.

Friday the 13th is rated R.
The movie runs 95 minutes.
The film opened on May 9, 1980.
It grossed about $59.8 million worldwide, a massive return on its small budget.
The franchise went on to include numerous sequels, a crossover with Freddy Krueger, a 2009 reboot, comics, games, and enough timeline confusion to make Camp Crystal Lake need a flowchart.
Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists Friday the 13th as Episode 29, with Don rating it 1.00, Ken rating it 0.00, Jon rating it 1.00, and an overall rating of 0.67.

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