The original Friday the 13th was released by Paramount Pictures in 1980, but they really had no involvement in the actual production. Sean Cunningham brought his independent film to the company for distribution to have some name value attached to the project. On Paramountâs side, they got to put their name on just the type of film the public was clamoring for⦠thanks to John Carpenterâs Halloween two years prior.
With Carpenter not approving a script for a sequel to Halloween, Friday the 13th was Paramountâs chance to jump into the fray. With the greater-that-expected success of the first film, Paramount quickly ordered a sequel. On May 1, 1981, less that a year after the original, Friday the 13th, Part âdosâ debuted.
Cunningham, the producer/director of the original, opted out of reprising his duties for the sequel. Instead, Steve Miner, associate producer of the previous film, was chosen as producer/director. Associate producing duties went to Frank Mancuso, Jr. â the son of Paramountâs president at the time. Harry Manfredini returned to give us a musical score even more energetic than the first.
We start with our heroine from the last flick, Alice, plagued by recurring nightmares of what transpired at Camp Crystal Lake just two months prior (movie time). Sheâs stayed in the Crystal Lake area because itâs the âonly way she knows ofâ to put her life back together. Then again, why should she move? After all, she killed Pamela Voorhees, right? Hate to break it to ya, Alice, but weâve still got 85 more minutes left in the movie! Alice hears a noise coming from the kitchen. She investigates, but it turns out to be a stray cat.
She heads to the refrigerator to find some food for the kitten, only to discover the severed head of Mrs. Voorhees just chilling out. Moments later, an unseen assailant (I love that phrase) shoves an ice-pick through Aliceâs temple. A simple, yet effective way to set the tone, our potential two-time heroine is relegated to first-kill duties here.
Five years later, Paul Holt opens a counselor training center at Packanack Lodge on land adjacent to Camp Crystal Lake. Thatâs right boys and girls, weâve got a whole new cast of twenty-something teenagers being led to the slaughter. This time, we have the exquisite Terri⦠Ted the prankster⦠the libidinous Scott⦠Jeff and Sandra provide the token âhaving-sex-out-of-wedlockâ couple⦠the wheelchair-bound Mark⦠his love interest, Vicky⦠and Ginny, a sassy child psychology major and girlfriend to Paul. Walt Gorney returns as Crazy Ralph, and much like before heâs largely ignored.
Folks, Iâm telling you, listen to the crazy people of the world! Thereâs a reason theyâre a little off!
Our âdoomedâ counselors sit around a camp fire, and Paul reveals the legend of Camp Blood, mentioning the myth of Jason Voorhees. Paul also reminds the counselors that Crystal Lake is off-limits to everyone. No one is to go over there⦠for any reason.
After the teens retire to their cabins, Ralph spies on Ginny and Paul from a distance. Heâs disposed of rather brutally: garroted with barbed wire. The Guru is by no means an expert on implements of death, but I would assume thatâs not the most comfortable situation to find yourself in. So long, Ralphie!
The next day, Jeff and Sandra, disregarding Paulâs warning, sneak off to Crystal Lake. They are soon caught by the local arm of the law, and brought back to the center. On his way out, the officer notices a suspicious figure heading towards the forbidden piece of property. Doing his duty, he follows the mysterious person only to get a hammer claw to the back of his head. Itâs just the murderer doing his job.
That night, many of the trainers and counselors spend one last night on the town before their work really begins. Six stay behind for various reasons: Vicky, Mark, Jeff, Sandra, Terry, and Scott. Before too long, each one of them is picked off methodically and efficiently. Weâve get a couple of âgoodâ kills here. (As a side, I donât condone any sort of violence, but the main reason we watch this sort of film is because of the ingenious ways our victims are slaughtered. We do not watch these films for any sort of socially redeeming value!)
You might be wondering if our killer would attack a man in a wheelchair. What weâve got here is a politically incorrect psychopath, who is a equal-opportunity killer. So, yes, Mark gets a machete right through his face⦠not because heâs handicapped, rather he broke one of the all-important horror film rules:
If you think about, or engage in, sex of any kind⦠you WILL die.
The other original kill here is when Jeff and Sandra are put out of commission⦠for breaking the same rule. While in the act, our killer performs a double-impalement with a spear. This method of disposing of teens later becomes one of the seriesâ favorites.
During this time, we also are treated to our first look at this entryâs killer: a hulk of a man, with a pillowcase covering his head and a hole cut out for his eye. Who is the masked man? Itâs none other that Mr. Jason Voorhees, himself. Apparently he somehow survived when he supposedly drowned as a boy. Since then, heâd been living off the land in the woods of Crystal Lake. He saw his mother decapitated years earlier, and seeks revenge on anyone who enters his woods.
Meanwhile, back at the bar, our three remaining characters discuss the legend of Jason and what he would be like were he alive today. Suddenly an expert child psychologist, Ginny formulates a theory (which will soon be tested). Paul and Ginny decide itâs time to head back. However, in a moment of blind luck and accidental intelligence, Ted decides to remain at the bar thereby sparing his life. Way to go, Ted! Is this the only smart decision made in the history of horror flicks? Could be.
Paul and Ginny return to the center to find a bloodied bed. With the lights out, Jason attacks Paul. Ginny flees through the woods and arrives at Jasonâs ramshackle cabin, now filled with some of his latest victims. Along with the grisly discovery, Ginny also discovers a homemade shrine in honor of Pamela Voorhees, complete with her rotting head and an obviously 80âs-style sweater. Putting her theory to the test, Ginny dons the sweater and ties her hair back, in hopes of resembling Jasonâs beloved mother. Does it work?
Come on, you donât expect me to tell you everything, do you?
Opening to major critical scorn, Friday the 13th, Part 2 proved to be another box office success. In 2004-adjusted values, it took in nearly $48 million. Part 2 also holds some records to its credit. At nearly 12 minutes in length, the pre-credit sequence is one of the longest in cinematic history⦠quite impressive considering the film is only 87 minutes long. It also has the distinction of having the lowest body count of a Friday the 13th film: ten, which ties the original.
The acting here is about as good (or bad) as the first, however Amy Steel excels as our main character. Sheâs strong, intellectual, comical and sexy. Sorry guys, she will not return for the next installment. Neither would Warrington Gillette, who plays Jason. A struggling actor at the time, Gillette originally tried out for a speaking role. After getting turned down, he was eventually offered the role as Jason Voorhees, and gladly accepted.
Weâve got a little more gratuitous eye-candy here. Terri (Kirsten Baker) shows basically everything, and Vicky (Lauren-Marie Taylor) gives the boys at home a little undergarment action. For you gore-hounds, thereâs an adequate amount of blood and metallic penetrationsânot non-existent, but not too over-the-top. Near the end, we also get our first look at the man under the bag. After, the viewer realizes why Jason hides his face from others⦠it is not a pleasing site.
In all, Part 2 is an adequate follow-up to the original. There are the usual plot flaws and inconsistencies the genre (and especially the series) is known for, but these flicks are not Casablanca, nor do they try to be. Itâs a slasher flick, nothing more, and Part 2 sticks to that definition just fine.
