Friday the 13th [4K UHD]

Love it. This is great for any fan of the movie. It has both the theatrical and uncut versions and lots of extras.

Though following in the footsteps of 1978's Halloween, Friday the 13th is every bit as important to the history of the sub genre of horror known as the slasher genre (even if neither were the first of it's kind). Halloween was of course a smash hit with both audiences and critics, but it was Friday the 13th that solidified the popularity of the genre, and from the moment Friday the 13th was released the genre couldn't be stopped. There's nothing like a good 80's slasher.Steve Christy and 7 counselors are in the process of re opening Camp Crystal Lake (which people in town have nicknamed Camp Blood) despite the camp's bad history (which include a drowning of a young boy and the unsolved murder of two teen counselors). Soon enough a mysterious killer shows up and slowly stalks the counselors one by one. Who is the killer? And will anybody survive the long night at camp blood?Friday the 13th is the first film in one of the longest enduring and greatest horror series of all time . It may come off a bit like a prequel to audiences today, but this is where it all began, and all is the better for it. From it's fantastic camp setting (which jumps from quiet and peaceful during the day, to eerie and ominous at night) to the film's top notch and gruesome gore effects done by effects legend Tom Savini, it's easy to see why Friday the 13th has help up all these years later, why it's gotten all the sequels it deserves, and why the fanbase for the series continues to grow today. Everything just clicks from day 1.The acting here is overall pretty good! Kevin Bacon makes his film debut in a supporting role playing one of the more horny counselors, and his death scene has been a showstopper ever since the movies debut in 1980. Another interesting cast member here is Harry Crosby who's actually one of the sons of the one and only Bing Crosby. He plays Bill, who's one of the more likable counselors in the film. Though despite having a future A lister, and a pop culture icon's offspring, the film really belongs to our two leading ladies Betsy Palmer and Adrienne King. King plays the first of one of the many final girl's the series has had, and she's right up there with the very best. She's strong willed and vunerable all in one, and carries the film very well. Betsy Palmer plays the legendary Pamela Voorhees. And even if she may only have about 20 minutes of screentime, she has a profound effect on the series, and is one of the genre's most memorable characters. Palmer plays her role perfectly, and leaves quite the lasting impression.Overall Friday the 13th is a suspenseful and gory slasher classic.An absolute must for genre fans.

I think Friday the 13th is a great slasher and a classic that hasn't lost its power after 32 years. I have a huge admiration for this movie. It uses a very basic premise and formula but still manages to have its own unique style due to clever execution. As the producer and the writer openly admits, it was supposed to be a ripoff from Halloween. They basically used the same structure and formula. But thanks to clever use of camera, brilliant special effects of Tom Savini, awesome score of Harry Manfredini, beautiful art direction of Virginia Field, the movie becomes alive and grabs you from start to finish. It just goes to show that just because an idea is not original, doesn't necessarily mean the movie would fail. It all depends on the execution and cinematic style. I'd use this movie as an example to show all producers and directors how you can take a simple idea and turn it to success.I saw this movie when I was a young kid and before I saw Halloween and I couldn't tell that it was a ripoff and I certainly cannot tell you whether this Blu-ray version would fail to meet your expectation for reasons some reviewers have stated here. However, I can tell you that the video and audio quality are excellent. Camp Crystal Lake has never been more crystal clear. I enjoyed all of the extras on the DVD (I cannot compare to previous releases as this is the only copy I ever own). I truly enjoyed the Renuion of the cast members (the camera use at the panel was amateurish; that's my only criticism). The interviews with the writer, producer Sean S. Cunningham were all great and insightful.If you are fan of the horror genre, and not too picky about 80s feel (as I know the new generation has hard-time accepting older movies due to their era-specific feel), you will definitely enjoy this Blu-ray edition.