Stars: Amy Steel, John Furey
Director: Steve Miner
By 1980, studios realized that slasher films were cheap to make and garnered great profits. Less than a year after Friday the 13th was released, the sequel made its way to theaters. Because of Adrienne King’s issues with her stalker, she would only agree to a cameo. But necessity is the mother of invention and what they came up with was an original film that, I feel, is the true kickstart of the franchise.
Brief synopsis:
Months after the first film, Alice is in seclusion, trying to recover from the events of the first film. After a phone call with her mom, a nightmare filled nap, and a jump scare from her cat, she finds Mrs. Voorhees severed head in her fridge. Barely able to recover from the shock, she is grabbed from behind by Jason and stabbed in the head with an icepick.
Flash forward to 5 years later and Paul is opening up a camp across from Camp Crystal Lake. The first week of summer is dedicated to training his new counselors, including girlfriend Ginny Fields, a college student majoring in child psychology. After having some fun with his counselors regarding the legend of Jason, including the fact that Alice was not found dead and rather listed as missing, he forbids them from visiting the camp. Unbeknownst to everyone, Jason is back and already killing. Crazy Ralph from the first film is garroted while peeking in on Ginny and the Sherriff is murdered when he finds Jason’s hideout. After a couple of counselors break the rule forbidding them to visit Camp Crystal Lake, they are forced to stay behind and guard the camp while the others go out to a local bar for the night. Unfortunately for them, Jason is not done killing yet.
Spoilers below (you have been warned):
While Ginny, Paul, and Ted drink and discuss the legend of Jason. Ginny wonders if Jason actually survived the drowning and saw his mother beheaded. The men laugh it off and Paul takes Ginny back to camp. Ted makes the decision to find an after-hours bar, a decision that saves his life.
Meanwhile, people are getting killed in the camp. Paraplegic Mark gets the most memorable death as he is hit in the head with a machete and his wheelchair goes backwards down the stairs. Jeff and Sandra are the victims of a double impalement, while others are slashed and stabbed. Ginny and Paul return to find a bloody machete. They fight off Jason multiple times. After seemingly defeating him, they hear a scratch at their cabin door. Paul opens it to find Muffin the dog. As Muffin enters through the door, Jason bursts through the window and grabs Ginny. The next thing we see is Ginny being transported by ambulance away from the camp asking, “Where’s Paul?” without anyone answering her.
My thoughts (with spoilers):
A step up from the original in almost every way, and one of my favorites of the films, Friday the 13th Part 2 is the film people think of when they talk about the franchise. While Jason does not have his iconic hockey mask yet, he is still baghead Jason at this point, this is his adult film debut. Slowly stalking the campers, his gait and use of the machete would be mainstays for the character throughout his films. Jason does not speak, does not reason, and does not care. You are in his woods and you are not supposed to be there. It is his job to continue his mother’s legacy and kill the trespassers.
The characters all have a little more depth and humor to them. Specifically, Amy Steel’s Ginny has always been one of my favorite final girls and that does not have to do with the fact that she is a Psychology major like me (DePaul – class of 2022). She is smart and has no problem being a smartass when she needs to be. A great early moment is when she is late for camp. When she finally gets there, Paul gives her a hard time and then says he was just worried about her. She quickly calls him out with a “Bullshit Paul.” It is a small moment but adds just a little bit to her character. We like Ginny, we want Ginny to survive.
Some of the other actors are a step up too. As a rabid soap fan in the 1980’s, I instantly recognized Lauren-Marie Taylor and Russell Todd from ABC soap Loving. They have a good energy to them and you can understand why they ended up having long careers on daytime TV. I may not have seen the others in much following this film, but they were at least on par with or better than the ones from the first film. You don’t need great character depth for these roles, just to like them enough not to want them to die. Some people claim that we watch slashers to see people we don’t like die but not me. I watch to see if the people I do like will survive. If I don’t like anyone in the film, why would I bother watching it? I would have no stakes in the outcome or what happens to them.
Friday the 13th Part 2 is the real starting point of this long-term franchise. Future installments will build on this film and seeds it planted about Jason, including how his drowning death and witnessing the murder of his mother affected him. If you want to watch the franchise, no one would blame you if you treated the original as a prequel and this as the start of the series.
Other films from 1981 to check out:
The Fox and The Hound – Sad and touching Disney film about childhood friends whose differences in adulthood become too much to overcome. Or a movie about a dog and a fox becoming friends as babies and then growing up – however you want to look at it.
Nighthawks – Overlooked Sylvester Stallone film with his cop facing off against terrorist Rutger Hauer. Scary enough to have clips included in the horror documentary “Terror in the Aisles”. Also stars Billy Dee Williams as Stallone’s partner.
Stripes – Bill Murray and Harold Ramis join the Army. Great cast includes John Candy and P.J. Soles from Halloween. Funny if irreverent look at being in the armed forces.