Factual error: At the climax of the movie, Alice swings the machete at Mrs. Voorhees and decapitates her. When the blade makes contact with Mrs. Voorhees' neck, her head flies off at an incorrect angle, as though the cut began on the opposite side.
Friday the 13th (1980)
Plot summary
Directed by: Sean S. Cunningham
Starring: Adrienne King, Betsy Palmer, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan
Despite repeated warnings to stay away, a group of fun-loving but none-too-bright teenagers set out to reopen the eerie Camp Crystal Lake, which closed 20 years earlier after a series of bizarre and unexplained deaths. Now someone is lurking in the woods, spying on the happy campers, and plotting a gory, grisly revenge on those who would disturb the camp's slumber.
More mistakes in Friday the 13th
Tierney: It's not bad enough to have Friday the 13th, we've gotta have a full moon too. We keep statistics. We have more accidents, more rapes, more robberies, more homicides, more of everything when there's a full moon. It upsets people. Makes them nuts.
Steve Christy: You're making a science out of coincidence.
Trivia: In the scene where Alice finds Bill's body hanging on the back of the door to the generator room, the producers purposely did not tell Adrianne King what they were going to do to the body nor did they let her see the body beforehand. When she saw the body during filming it was for the first time. The scream she produced was genuine as it scared her badly. Needless to say, that entire scene was shot in one take.
Question: Maybe I've missed the reason, but why is the film called Friday the 13th? I'm sure there is never any reference to that date, so why be titled this?
Answer: Sean Cunningham was the one who had an idea for a horror film called "Friday the 13th", because he really felt like it was a can't miss film title. He got with Victor Miller about making a horror film similar to "Halloween" and Miller began writing a script. Miller had titled the first draft "Long Night at Camp Blood", but he admits he's never been good at coming up with titles, so this was just a working title. Cunningham had called Miller and told him he wants to name the film "Friday the 13th" and Miller said "That's great. Unfortunately, there's no reason for that." To which Cunningham replied with "Stick one in." (Which is why there's a few references to the date in the film.) Cunningham was so sure of the film's title that he put an ad in Variety magazine in July before any sort of production of the film had begun.
Answer: Another reason is in the scene where Pamela is talking to Alice she mentions that today was Jason's birthday, Friday the 13th.
Answer: I do not recall any answer, definitive or otherwise, been given to your question. Originally the film was to be called 'Long Night at Camp Blood'. I have no idea why it was changed. Or why the new title was chosen. However the film is set on a Friday the 13th. And it is mentioned as such after the credits when Annie is walking through the town. On the radio, the DJ says as much.
Answer: After Barry and Claudette was killed by young Pamela in 1958, it then flashes white to Crystal Lake and words in the bottom saying "Friday June 13 The Present." Present means the year 1979.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Chosen answer: Just after the credits, there's a bank sign that says "Friday, 13 - 7:01 - 60 Degrees". Then the DJ says "It's 7:01 on Friday the 13th of June." and goes on to say some more about it and lists some other bad luck superstitions. At two other points in the movie, two characters (Ralph and Tierney) say "it's Friday the 13th". So there are at least four references to the fact that the movie takes place on Friday the 13th.
Myridon