10 Movies That Couldn’t Have Happened without Friday the 13th
Ryan C. Bradley
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Some movies make an indelible mark on cinema. Friday the 13th was one such movie, despite John Carpenter’s recent critical remarks, saying the film didn’t “rise above its cheapness.” To prove the venerable Mr. Carpenter wrong, here are ten films that couldn’t have happened without Friday the 13th.
1.) Friday the 13th Part 2
This movie opens with the final girl from the original getting axed, by another character introduced in the first movie: Jason Voorhees all growed up. It’s in the same location. Without Friday the 13th, there’s no way this movie could exist.
2.) Friday the 13th Part 3
The third installment in the franchise picked up right where the second one left off. Jason couldn’t finish killing his first batch of teenagers in Part 2, so he’s after them again. The bum! Same setting. Same good-for-nothing Jason.
3.) Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
In this movie Jason is so lazy that he dies.
4.) Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning
Jason stays dead the whole movie. It couldn’t exist without Friday the 13th because as everyone knows, that movie invented revenge.
5.) Scream
While Halloween introduced the tropes of the slasher, Friday the 13th codified them. The former implied that sex would lead to death, with the only survivor and the archetypal final girl being the only girl who didn’t have sex. Friday the 13th beat the viewer over the head with it. Pamela Voorhees in so many words tells the viewers that she’s killing the teenagers because of their sins and kills some of them mid-coitus. Friday the 13th leaves no doubt about why the killings are taking place, opening the door for Scream to satirize it.
