Review of Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) by Dougal S — 07 Aug 2010

Watching this now it's perhaps difficult to view it without being coloured by modern film making. This was made before sequels were the order of the day, before all the stalker clichés were embedded in the horror genre and when low budget B-movies could still receive distribution and widespread promotion. At the time this film really was a big deal.

Picking up an unspecified time after the first film this pretty much follows the same plot as it's predecessor - a bunch of camp councillors turn up at Crystal Lake to prepare for the summer and one by one are offed by a masked killer. To look for any more from this film is really to do it a disservice - it does exactly what it promises: replays what you enjoyed from last time, has an array of good looking young cast members, throws in some tension and shocks and mixes it all up with some gruesome kills. What else do you want?

It's true to say that the franchise did suffer from diminishing returns as it progressed and became it's own cliché until it's recent re-invention but this one still has the power to scare. It even plays the same trick as Psycho in killing off the recognisable 'star' (ie the main character from the first film) in the opening five minutes. And it's the first time we get to see Jason!

Watch it for what it is - just don't watch it alone.