It wouldn't be spooky season without a re-watch of the original Friday the 13th (1980) and Halloween (1978). These films sit side by side in my mental horror movie shelf, and together have contributed to an infinite amount of horror films that have come since. How similar are these two films really? Is one better than the other? What stands these films, and their subsequent franchises, apart from each other? This post assumes basic knowledge of these films so if you haven't seen them then please go and take a watch now - you won't regret it!
When I first watched these two films, I would have assumed that Friday the 13th came before Halloween, even if just by a few years. The latter film feels more in touch with modern times by latching on to the common experience of being a high school babysitter. To begin with you almost feel like you're watching an old-school romantic comedy. In fact, the first Halloween film was released first in 1978, directed by John Carpenter, predating Friday the 13th which was released in 1980, directed be Sean. S Cunningham. Friday the 13th I think reaches back in time (like many horrors do) in its content. Both these iconic films became the start of what would be long standing horror film franchises that we still know and love today, 40 years later. The two villains of the films, Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers, run similar in many ways.
While Jason in Friday the 13th dons a brilliantly anonymising hockey mask (although only from the third film in the series), I realise that Jason is not technically the villain of the first Friday the 13th film, but the whole film is made to set up his villain arc which can be seen in the rest of the franchise. I actually think that despite not technically being the one behind the violence, he still is the villain of the story really. In contrast, Michael Myers in Halloween is famous for his brutally deadpan white mask which he wears throughout all the films. This mask allows him to be completely anonymous and removes all humanity from his face. The uncanny valley of Michael's mask helps feed the 'is he even human' idea that runs through his story. You can see the obvious comparison between the two villains here even just aesthetically.
Both the settings of these films are used as a basis from which to ramp up the helplessness of the victims. Whether that is to be hidden in nature or hiding in plain site.
The two films are set in very different locations, one at a remote summer camp, the other in a suburban American town. However, both these settings set up a brilliantly isolated atmosphere from which the stories can play out. Camp Crystal Lake is truly remote and separate from civilisation, and Haddonfield is designed to be just like any other suburb. One film throws us into the depths of nature on a stormy night, surrounded by thunder and lightning, mud and leaves everywhere. The other takes an eerily still night on a calm and quiet family street and uses that tension to its advantage. Despite these differences, both the settings of these films are used as a basis from which to ramp up the helplessness of the victims. Whether that is to be hidden in nature or hiding in plain site.
Both these films are iconic and influential. I almost loathe the need to compare them against each other when I would much rather look at them side by side as sisters in horror.
Cinematically, Friday the 13th brings the jump scare to life. The film relies on graphic violence which in this day and age we may not blink twice at, but at the time of its release would have been a far more shocking and terrifying thing to witness on the big screen. In contrast, while being gory and violent still, Halloween works predominantly on incredible suspense. Think long-tracking shops and a brilliantly tense and recognisable music score. In terms of critical review, Halloween is usually better acclaimed because of its incredible cinematic craftsmanship and impact on the genre. Friday the 13th on the other hand is held to huge praise by its audience as a cult classic, and remains one of the most well known slasher horrors of its time.
Halloween is very often credited with being the birth of the popularised slasher genre and has had a huge impact on horror films that have come since. Equally, Friday the 13th is a pivotal franchise that really contributed to the increasing slasher boom of the 1980s. Both these films are iconic and influential, and to be honest I almost loathe the need to compare them against each other when I would much rather look at them side by side as almost sisters in horror. Together, these films formed a brilliant groundwork for so many popular slasher films that would come.
John Carpenter's 'Halloween' is often described as a landmark in the horror genre, with an enduring legacy that has left an indelible mark on the way we perceive and create horror films. The film quickly become a template for how to create fear in cinema, and has been used time and time again ever since. 'Halloween' also introduced the concept of the 'final girl,' a strong, resourceful female character who confronts the killer, which has since become a staple in the genre.
Friday the 13th definitely followed in Halloween's footsteps, and together they become almost the blueprint for the kind of high body count, brutally gory, anonymously masked killer in the night type of slasher film. Not to mention being the birth of the 'Final Girl' trope - which I will definitely give its own blogpost to, because honestly Laurie and Alice are utterly iconic and I refuse to shove them onto the end of a different post instead of giving them their own. Jamie Lee Curtis is literally a god tier human I swear.
This post itself only touches the surface of the relationship between Halloween and Friday the 13th, and perhaps I'll get to writing more about it another time. If you haven't seen these films but you're a fan of horror, I truly recommend that you settle down with some popcorn and enjoy - it is spooky season after all! And as you know, there are so many sequels and reboots of these films which will keep you entertained for hours on end if you get hooked on them like I think you will. These films are bloody brilliant. I'm off to watch the Halloween sequel now before spooky season ends!
Until next time,
Alice xoxo
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