Every Kill in Friday the 13th (1980) Ranked
Seeing as it is Friday the 13th today, I decided to make a fun post to start off my revamped blog.
I have soft spot for these movies, even the terrible ones. Not the best horror films or franchise, but there’s something about them that seemed to perfect the slasher formula – Even if most of the resulting blends aren’t among the highly esteemed. But the first four nail the sub-genre in my opinion, and a couple of the later ones are a fun watch too.
The original is also arguably the most influential slasher movie of all time in terms of clichés and formula, for better or worse. Although Halloween is still the godfather of slasher films. I’ll discuss this in more detail when both are placed into the crypt.
For now, a more quick fun post where I’ll be ranking the kills from the original film from 1980 from least favourite to top spot. Let’s go:
11. The Snake
In bottom place is the poor old snake, dismembered by the counsellors for no real rhyme or reason. To make matters worse a real snake was used for the onscreen kill in the scene. Poor taste, and completely unnecessary to the film. Boo, not a fan of this one.
10. Claudette
I’ve got to hand it to Claudette, she pretends to play the guitar even worse than Bill does, which is pretty damn impressive. Unfortunately for her she meets her maker purely because she falls for Barry’s charms and sneaks off for some teenage camp fun. However we don’t see any violence, nor do we even know how she was ultimately killed.
There are rare behind the scene stills of her with a machete to the face, however these have been deemed to be a bit of fun and never a shot or written scene. So although the iconic freeze frame before the opening credits, I’m afraid she’s the first human on this list.
9. Brenda
I actually really like Brenda’s character, which makes me feel slightly guilty for putting her so low on this list. She was fun, but also took on the mother role, reportedly both on and off camera which I think comes through.
Although we’re teased a kill with her at the archery range with the killer in the rain, her death actually happens off screen (like a few characters in this movie, most likely due to time and budget restraints) Used as a nice jump scare when her body is eventually thrown through the window, but again it’s not even clear how she died. She’s bloodied up, with a random rope wrapped around her shoulders?? That’s all we get.
8. Steve
Steve screams predator from his first scene with Alice, and so in theory I should be happy to see him hanging upside down with a knife in his chest. But to be honest it is all just a little lacklustre. Initially he plays a suspect – Disappearing conveniently when the killings start.
But when he finally makes his return to camp, we don’t see anything except his shocked face when he’s attacked. And although the reveal of his body a little later showing he was actually stabbed in the chest (or gut? It’s honestly hard to tell) is a nice jump scare, his whole death just falls a little flat.
7. Ned
Another character who we don’t actually see meet his demise, but Ned’s reveal is a little more effective in my opinion. The slow pan up to the top bunk teases us, maybe initially fooling us into thinking we’ll see the killer, before seeing his lifeless face with his throat slashed.
The juxtaposition with Marcie and Jack having sex underneath is perfect and is possibly the first shocking reveal in the film. Another slasher film rule established – Don’t follow a random figure alone into a cabin, especially when you know nobody else should be there.
6. Bill
Bill is the last character who’s death we don’t see played out on screen. However being the last man standing, and his reveal being arguably the most gruesome of the lot, I feel he deserves this spot on the list. Bill is your typical alpha nice guy slasher trope, the final girl’s last remaining hope if you will. When he is revealed to also be killed along with the rest of her friends, we feel Alice is really up against it.
Bill is pinned to the door with multiple arrows, one of which has been shot through his left eye. Nice practical effects, but a bit strange now that I think about it. Did he stand in front of that door, waiting for Pam Voorhees to reload her bow 4/5 times? Or did she pin him against it after he died? Even more impressive, she’s dedicated if nothing to else.
5. Marcie
Ahh, Marcie. I always had a soft spot for her.
The slow, drawn out bathroom scene is great at building the tension as she does her Audrey Hepburn impression in the mirror before pulling back curtains looking for the source of the noise she hears. Her playful nature then turns into a look of hopelessness as she screams, before we see an axe come down, knocking the light in the process. A great effect as we then see her with the axe buried into her face and our mind fills in the blanks subconsciously. Slow, tense, atmospheric, and great practical effects as a pay off.
4. Pamela
Controversial choice to have Pamela Voorhees in at #4. Heathen! She’s the final kill! The killer’s demise! Awesome beheading! I hear you cry. All good points, but I always feel the build up cat and mouse scene with Alice is just too drawn out.
The moment the head gets cut off is satisfying, even in this day and age, although the slow motion now seems a little corny. But once you’ve noticed the hands that then come up actually belong to Taso Stavrakis (SFX Assistant) and are incredibly hairy, you can’t unsee it. Love Mrs Voorhees, but in terms of kills, she’s placed at #4 on my list.
3. Jack
Arguably the most infamous death scene in all of the franchise, and possibly slashers in general, Jack played by Kevin Bacon is brutally stabbed through the throat with an arrow by Mrs Voorhees who is hiding under the bed.
The image is ingrained in every horror fan brain, and the cool little blood spurt was actually a happy accident – The blood pumping mechanism failed while shooting, so one of the crew members blew into the pipe. There’s a sketch making the rounds (think it might even be on Wikipedia) showing how they managed to create this scene – It is impressive and definitely worth a look.
2. Annie
Annie is placed at number 2 for me for a few reasons. She is so cute, and charming, and has an innocent aura about her that makes us fall for her and want to follow her through the journey hoping she’ll be okay. Foreshadowing Drew Barrymore in Scream, this turns out to be a slight red herring.
She never makes it to Crystal Lake, and is chased through the woods after jumping out of a moving vehicle and eventually has her throat slit open on screen quite graphically. Even now after countless viewings, it still makes me shudder a little. The ever so slight delay between the slit and the blood starting to pour out makes it all the more heartbreaking. Justice for Annie.
1. Barry
I never get tired of seeing this smarmy guy get a machete to the gut. He just always comes across so slimy, so predatory, just a complete asshole. Definite manosphere material. “We weren’t doing anything…” he says cockily doing up his shorts. Good riddance, Barry.
The original Friday the 13th definitely does not have the most innovative, funny or gory kills in the series. But many are still iconic and helped form the slasher kill blueprint that would dominate the 80’s, and implant themselves in horror fans’ memories to this day.
Agree/Disagree? Let me know your personal ranking, would love to see different opinions.
I’ll probably try and do a similar post for a different sequel every Friday the 13th, so stay tuned if that’s your thing.
TCM
