Friday the 13th - As for the Cast...

Storm is brewing..

Victor Miller’s script includes a couple uncomfortable bits for Mark Nelson’s happy-go-lucky clown, Ned, where he wears a headdress and mimics a type of exaggerated Native American dance, giving the comedy relief deputy (named Dorf, played by Ron Millkie, never wavering a dead serious tone, speaking to the kids with great authority) chances to use Cochise and Tonto. That certainly wouldn’t fly today. But Ned is the classic slasher goof who is playful and consistently quick to a punchline when available. He seems interested in Marcie (Jeannine Taylor, memorably mimicking Katherine Hepburn impressively in the bathroom before getting the hatchet to her noggin), but she’s all Jack’s (Kevin Bacon). The three of them ride up to Camp Crystal Lake in Ned’s truck, quick to work at Cristy’s immediate command, giving no chance to settle in. Cristy leaves them to buy supplies and that is the opening Pamela needs to surprise each one of the counselors one by one. Ned’s particular demise, not shown onscreen, as he hears a noise, sees Pamela (or whoever is substituting for her, as she wasn’t around for a lot of that footage) at the cabin (where Jack and Marcie inevitably fuck, copping a squat on the bottom bunk), and investigates to his own peril. I think one of the film’s best shots is of Ned, with slit throat and eyes wide open, on the top bunk as Marcie orgasms on the bottom bunk. Jack isn’t safe for long on the bottom bunk.

I really like the storm that eventually arrives, giving Marcie a moment to tell Jack about her rain dream (it turns to blood as she tries to drown out the sound, she tells him) she has over and over. The storm adds some extra atmosphere to the film, I think. If anything the rain forces Jack and Marcie into a cabin considerably distanced from Alice (Adrienne King), Bill (Harry Crosby; son of Bing), and Brenda (Laurie Bartram), who are playing strip monopoly (of course). Bill uses the machete to kill the snake, certain to polarize animal rights activists while cheered by many, many folks that hate the creatures. Brenda and her archery range escape the arrow from Ned and his silly antics while the second time she’s not so lucky (although we don’t see it for ourselves, only hearing her scream). Bill might have gotten the worst of Pamela’s wrath, hanging on a door quite mutilated. Plenty of Marcie’s grass to drag but only a little bit of promiscuity. Pamela isn’t having none of that shit for very long.

The swimming with Ned pretending to drown just to try and get some “mouth to mouth” with Brenda while Pamela seems to keep an eye out on them and Crazy Ralph eventually startling them with his warnings of doom ahead before hopping back on his bike and riding off provide enough time with the young cast before Pamela starts dwindling down the numbers. The generator Jack jumpstarts keeps the lights on for a while, but all the time Pamela is out there, her jeep hidden somewhere. The rain comes down, providing her with some real cover, as does the advantage of surprise. These kids never have a chance.

Miller seems to try and give the characters little details, like Brenda and her healthy advice tips (what to eat, vitamins to take, etc.), Bill and his guitar licks, Alice and her sketches (the film hints at Cristy’s romantic interest in her, hoping she won’t head back to California and stay on at the camp), Marcie and Ned’s senses of humor, Jack’s physical “prowess”, but Palmer didn’t mince words about his script being “a piece of shit”. Cobbled ideas taken from other films preparing for kills and that Manfredini score to help bolster the film, Miller is now trying to secure his piece of the action in court against Cunningham. I wonder if we all stand to lose if this never gets resolved.