FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 (1981)
Article 2979 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 7-4-2009
Posting Date: 10-10-2009
Directed by Steve Miner
Featuring Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King
Country: USA

Camp counselors arrive at the camp across from the now-closed Camp Crystal Lake, the site of a series of murders from five years ago. Legend has it that the supposedly drowned son of the murderess from five years ago is still alive and stalking victims. It’s considered just a legend… until people begin showing up murdered.

I see the slasher film as basically a cross between one of the old “Old Dark House” stories (in which people in an old dark house are knocked off one by one by a murderer) minus the mystery elements and the old dark house, crossed with the homicidal psychopath trend that started with PSYCHO, minus the psychological underpinnings for the murders. In a way, they’re stripped-down bare-bones horror movies; they’re out to deliver the scares and the blood, and everything else is just window dressing. I suspect that the reason this series lasted as long as it did was because it more or less delivered on the expectations of those who came to see them. Though as a movie, it’s not very good, it’s markedly better than a lot of other slasher movies I’ve seen, and maybe that’s the best way to look at it. This is the movie in which Jason takes over the killing, though it’s still before he wore his trademark mask, so we get lots of shots of his boots. For the record, I don’t think this one is as good as the original, but since I’m not a particular fan of this subgenre, that may not mean anything to those who are fans. I do find myself wondering just how many more of these I’m going to see, though.