Case File 012: Pamela Voorhees (Friday the 13th)

December 18, 2019 / Christopher Schrader

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No hockey mask. No machete. No Jason (at least not the way we’re used to seeing him). Despite the fact that it kicked off one of the most popular horror franchises of all-time, the most notable thing about the original Friday the 13th is how little it has in common with the glut of sequels that followed it.

The filmmakers have never been shy about the fact that this was quickly cobbled together to capitalize on the success of Halloween - and it certainly did. Considering what this series evolved into and all of the other films it influenced, it's fascinating to go back to the source and examine what an outlier this entry truly is.

Topics include: the difference between capitalizing on a trend vs simply exploiting it, Betsy Palmer's reaction to the finished film and her iconic character, the appeal of slasher films and the assumptions people make about audiences who enjoy them, how the original crew felt about where the franchise went after this, some ways they might be able to bring Pamela back into the series, and much more!

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