“Friday the 13th Part 2” (1981) Movie Review

Directed by Steve Miner

Written by Ron Kurz, Victor Miller

Starring: Betsy Palmer, Amy Steel, John Furey, and Warrington Gillette

Mrs. Voorhees is dead, and Camp Crystal Lake is shut down, but a camp next to the infamous place is stalked by an unknown assailant. Is it Mrs. Voorhees’ son Jason who didn’t drown in the lake some 30 years before?

12-year-old Nate was obsessed with this film. I still love it, but after 30 years, the scratches and dings are hard to ignore. The is the first in the franchise to feature Jason Vorhees (Gillette) as the killer – not shocking considering his mom was beheaded in the first film. Oh, and he saw it. That’s clear from the shrine he made in tribute to her decapitated head!

Please, Hammer, Jason! Don’t hurt em!

Jason lives! Wait, is that another film in the series? Anyway, Jason does live. After seeing his mother brutally killed at the lake’s shore in the first flick, he stakes his claim to the wilderness surrounding Camp Crystal Lake. He even moves into a lake adjacent creeper cabin and sets up shop. The rumors say he protects the lake, killing anyone that comes close to his watery abode. Of course, the only way to get killed by Jason is to infringe on his haunting grounds. Luckily for us, someone infringes. After killing off Alice Hardy in the beginning of the film (ice pick to the temple) he has his bloody ducks in a row and he’s free to murder the new round of campers that are sure to party on his property.

If you’re looking for an actual film, you’ll quickly find yourself shit out of luck. If you expect boobs n’ blood, well, you’ve chosen wisely, horror-san. The camp leader warns his counselors to steer clear of the dreaded land, something at least a pair of campers can’t obey. And the camp numbers are dwindling. The acting is sub-par at best, the script is nothing but make out scenes and creative kills. I think most people know what to expect when they sit down to watch a Friday the 13th film. If you enjoy legit horror movies that cater to every cliché in the genre, well, welcome home. Despite the crappy acting and paper-thin script, this is a completely enjoyable flick that sticks close the origins developed in the first. The creative murders and decent directing add a lot of replay value to this bloody classic.

You don’t have to spend your Friday the 13th watching this, but something tells me you better spend some time with one of the franchise’s 40 films.