Friday the 13th (1980)

R | 95 mins | 1980 | 5/5

Here's the granddaddy of every slasher film ever made. Released in 1980, Friday the 13th would spawn a multitude of sequels, reboots, and even a television series that ran for three seasons. There's no doubt that this film kicked off the most successful horror franchises of all time.

It all started in the summer of 1957 at Camp Crystal Lake, when a young boy drowned. The following year two camp counselors went missing and were later found brutally murdered. The authorities were forced to shut down the camp. A few decades later, now under new ownership the camp is scheduled to re-open, and a new group of counselors have arrived to help prepare the grounds for the busy season ahead. While these teen counselors are too young to remember the camp's bloody past, they have all heard one iteration or another about what happened. Also, there's someone lurking in the woods who'll be more than happy to give them a history lesson.

Directed by: Sean S. Cunningham
Written by: Victor Miller
Starring:  Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan, Kevin Bacon