How Friday the 13th accidentally perfected the slasher movie

A look back at the first installment in one of horror's most enduring franchises

Friday the 13th

If you compiled a list of the most scathing reviews in cinema history, Gene Siskel's blistering takedown of the 1980 slasher Friday the 13th would probably top the list. "It has been suggested to me that a great way to keep people from seeing a truly awful movie is to tell them the ending," he wrote. "I like that idea a lot, and I know it is a powerful (and controversial) weapon. So you're going to have to trust me to use it wisely… and sparingly."

In the paragraphs that follow, Siskel reveals the entire third act of Friday the 13th — spoiling the identity and motive of the killer, and describing her ultimate demise. "Now there," he wrote. "I hope I've ruined Friday the 13th, which is the latest film by one of the most despicable creatures ever to infest the movie business, Sean S. Cunningham."

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Scott Meslow

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.