FAQ

Twenty-two years after two counselors were brutally murdered at Camp Crystal Lake, the camp is reopening. Six counselors—Ned (Mark Nelson), Jack (Kevin Bacon), Bill (Harry Crosby), Marcie (Jeannine Taylor), Alice (Adrienne King), and Brenda (Laurie Bartram)—have arrived early on Friday, June 13th to help camp owner Steve Christy (Peter Brouwer) get the cabins in shape before the campers arrive in two weeks. What they don't know is that someone has already killed camp cook Annie (Robbi Morgan) and that they are next on the list.

Friday the 13th is based on a script by American screenwriter Victor Miller, inspired by the success of John Carpenter's "slasher movie", Halloween (1978), released two years previous. Due to the box office success of Friday the 13th, 11 more movies were made, leading to what has become known as the Friday the 13th film series. These movies include: Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Friday the 13th: Part 3 (1982), Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985), Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), Friday the 13th: The New Blood (1988), Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), Jason Goes to Hell (1993), Jason X (2001), and Freddy vs. Jason (2003). A remake, Friday the 13th (2009), was released in 2009. A fan film, The Cold Heart of Crystal Lake (2003), was also released in 2003. A novelization of Friday the 13th by Simon Hawke was released in 1987 along with numerous novelizations of subsequent movies, young adult novels, comic books, board and video games, toys, and a unrelated TV series, Friday the 13th: The Series (1987) that ran from 1987 to 1990.

Camp Crystal Lake is referred to by the locals as "Camp Blood" and said to have a death curse. In 1957, a boy named Jason Voorhees drowned in the lake. In 1958, two counselors were murdered. There have been numerous unexplained fires, and when they tried to reopen the camp in 1962, they found the water was bad.

Yes, there is a longer version available. To obtain an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) the original theatrical version had to be cut slightly. Until 2009, this was the only version available in the USA. It was released on Laserdisc, VHS and DVD. Because of the fact that "Friday the 13th" was released by another publisher in Europe (Warner instead of Paramount) the European version was uncut. In 2009, with the remake hitting the cinemas, a new DVD was released in the USA which for the first time in the US territory includes the unrated version.