17 Unexpected Truths About Friday the 13th

During the autumn of 1979, a team of relatively unknown actors, a filmmaker in desperate need of a hit, and a special effects genius came together in the forests of New Jersey to create what would become a legendary tale. Friday the 13th was initially intended as a straightforward venture into profitable horror filmmaking, leveraging the genre's tropes and gruesome thrills. However, it evolved into a defining moment in horror cinema, inspiring numerous imitations and nearly a dozen follow-ups.

Today, Friday the 13th stands as a cornerstone of the slasher genre, though its journey to success was far from smooth. To honor the film and its often chaotic production, here are 17 intriguing facts about the origins of Jason Voorhees' legend.

1. THE INITIAL SPARK CAME FROM HALLOWEEN.

In 1978, Sean Cunningham, both producer and director, sought inspiration for a commercially viable film and found it in John Carpenter’s iconic horror movie Halloween. While the two films share only the most general slasher elements, Cunningham admitted he was heavily influenced by the structural framework of Carpenter’s work.

2. THE MOVIE WAS PROMOTED BEFORE SECURING FUNDING.

To generate buzz for his project, Cunningham placed an advertisement in the July 4, 1979, issue of Variety, showcasing the now-famous logo shattering through glass. At that time, the film’s basic outline was set, but Georgetown Productions had not yet committed to funding it, and the advertised November 1979 release date was purely aspirational. Despite this, the ad garnered significant interest. Cunningham later remarked, 'Everyone wanted this film.'

3. THE SCREENWRITER ENVISIONED A DIFFERENT TITLE.

While Cunningham quickly embraced Friday the 13th as the title long before production began, screenwriter Victor Miller initially proposed a different name. In early 1979, he referred to the project as Long Night at Camp Blood.

4. MANY SPECIAL EFFECTS WERE CREATED IN THE CAMP’S KITCHEN.

Tom Savini, now celebrated as a master of makeup effects, owes part of his fame to his contributions to Friday the 13th. During production, Savini and his assistant, Taso Stavrakis, utilized the camp’s facilities to perfect the special effects. Savini revealed that many of the latex prosthetics used to depict the film’s brutal killings were crafted in the camp’s pizza ovens.

5. THE FILMING LOCATION REMAINS AN ACTIVE CAMP.

The iconic Camp Crystal Lake is, in reality, Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, a functioning camp that allowed the cast and crew to film after the summer campers departed in 1979. The camp

6. KEVIN BACON WAS NOT THE MOST FAMOUS CAST MEMBER DURING FILMING.

While Kevin Bacon is undoubtedly the most recognizable name associated with the film today, he was relatively unknown before Friday the 13th, having only appeared in minor roles like Animal House. At the time, the most prominent cast member was Harry Crosby, the son of the late legendary singer Bing Crosby, who portrayed the character Bill.

7. SHELLEY WINTERS WAS INITIALLY PICKED FOR MRS. VOORHEES.

For the now-legendary role of Mrs. Pamela Voorhees, Cunningham and his team sought an actress with a well-known name but a fading career to keep costs low. Cunningham compiled a list of potential candidates, with two-time Oscar winner Shelley Winters as his first choice. Winters declined, and while Estelle Parsons, another Oscar winner, entered negotiations, she eventually withdrew. Actresses Louise Lasser and Dorothy Malone were also considered until the last minute, but the role ultimately went to Betsy Palmer.

8. BETSY PALMER ACCEPTED THE ROLE TO PURCHASE A NEW CAR.

When Cunningham offered Palmer the role of Mrs. Voorhees, she was in urgent need of funds. After spending over a year on Broadway, her car broke down on her way back to Connecticut. The financial necessity of buying a new car ultimately led her to accept the part.

'I arrived home at five in the morning, and I was in desperate need of a new car,' Palmer recalled. 'If it weren’t for that, I probably wouldn’t have agreed to do Friday the 13th.'

9. CREW MEMBERS STOOD IN AS THE KILLER BEFORE PALMER JOINED.

With Cunningham still searching for an actress to play Mrs. Voorhees during filming, many of the early murder scenes were filmed without Palmer. Instead, crew members stepped in to portray the killer’s hands. For instance, special effects assistant Taso Stavrakis is the one holding the knife during Annie’s (Robbi Morgan) throat-slashing scene.

10. BETSY PALMER CREATED A RICH BACKSTORY FOR MRS. VOORHEES.

Once cast, Palmer immersed herself in the role. As a Method actor, she crafted an elaborate backstory for Mrs. Voorhees, delving deeper than the script required. She imagined Pamela having Jason out of wedlock with a high school boyfriend, leading to her parents disowning her due to societal judgment, as having a child out of wedlock was considered unacceptable for 'good girls.'

11. JASON WAS ORIGINALLY A TYPICAL CHILD IN THE FIRST SCRIPT.

In Victor Miller’s initial screenplay, Jason Voorhees was portrayed as an ordinary child who tragically drowned in Crystal Lake. However, financier Philip Scuderi sought a more compelling narrative and brought in screenwriter Ron Kurz for revisions. Kurz’s key contribution was reimagining Jason as the disfigured child seen in the final version of the film.

12. THE CREW ENJOYED LOU REED’S PERFORMANCES DURING FILMING.

With the camp closed during production and located deep in the New Jersey woods, the cast and crew experienced little outside interaction. However, they discovered a famous neighbor nearby: rock legend Lou Reed, who owned a farm in the area.

'We had the chance to watch Lou Reed perform for free, right in front of us, while we were filming,' said soundman Richard Murphy. 'He visited the set, and we spent time together. He was an incredibly kind and down-to-earth person.'

13. AN ACTOR SUFFERED TEMPORARY BLINDNESS FROM FAKE BLOOD.

For the scene where Bill (Harry Crosby) is struck by multiple arrows, including one in the eye, Tom Savini used a fake blood mixture containing PhotoFlo, a wetting agent intended to make the blood appear more realistic by soaking into clothing. However, PhotoFlo is not safe for use near an actor’s face. A latex prosthetic was applied to Crosby’s face, along with the blood, but during filming, the blood seeped into his eyes, causing severe pain when the prosthetic was removed.

'The unsafe blood pooled in Harry’s eyes under the prosthetic, which was meant to make the arrow appear embedded, and it caused a surface burn,' Savini admitted. 'It wasn’t a moment I’m proud of.'

Crosby required hospital treatment but eventually recovered fully.

14. KEVIN BACON’S MEMORABLE DEATH SCENE TOOK HOURS TO SHOOT (AND NEARLY FAILED).

One of the film’s most iconic moments is Jack’s (Kevin Bacon) death, where an arrow is thrust through his throat from beneath the bed. This complex scene required Bacon to crouch under the bed, inserting his head through a hole in the mattress while a latex neck and chest prosthetic were attached to simulate him lying down. The setup took hours, and Bacon had to remain in an uncomfortable position throughout. For the final effect, Savini, positioned under the bed, pushed the arrow through the prosthetic while an assistant operated a pump to simulate blood flow. Additionally, still photographer Richard Feury stood in as the killer’s hand to hold Bacon’s head in place.

After hours of preparation, including building the latex prosthetic and planning the scene, the crew was ready to film. However, when the critical moment arrived, the hose for the blood pump came loose. Realizing they had only one chance to get the shot (or else rebuild the prosthetic and reset everything), Stavrakis quickly grabbed the hose and blew into it, forcing the blood to flow and saving the scene.

'I had to act fast, so I grabbed the hose and blew hard, which luckily created a realistic arterial spray,' Stavrakis recalled. 'The blood didn’t taste too bad, either.'

15. THE FINAL JUMP SCARE WAS REPORTEDLY NOT IN THE INITIAL SCRIPT.

The origin of the film’s final scare, where a deformed Jason emerges from the lake to grab Alice (Adrienne King) in her canoe, is a point of contention. Victor Miller, Tom Savini, and uncredited writer Ron Kurz all claim responsibility. Kurz argues he transformed Jason into a 'creature,' while Savini credits inspiration from a similar moment in Carrie. Regardless of its origin, the scene left a lasting impact.

16. THE MAIN THEME MUSIC WAS INSPIRED BY A LINE OF DIALOGUE.

While creating the film’s score, composer Harry Manfredini sought a unique auditory cue to signal the killer’s presence. Upon viewing an early cut, he was struck by Mrs. Voorhees’ line, 'Kill her, Mommy!' and used it as inspiration. He isolated two syllables from the dialogue, recorded them himself, and crafted the now-iconic sound.

'I took the 'ki' from 'kill' and the 'ma' from 'mommy,' speaking them sharply and rhythmically into a microphone, then processed them through a '70s echo effect. The result is what you hear today! I incorporated this into the score whenever the stalker’s perspective was shown,' Manfredini explained.

17. THE SCREENWRITER DISLIKES THE FOLLOW-UP FILMS.

A pivotal twist in the original film, especially considering its numerous sequels (including a crossover with A Nightmare on Elm Street and a reboot, totaling 11 films), is that Jason is not the main antagonist. While his backstory adds a chilling layer, the true villain is his mother. Screenwriter Victor Miller emphasized this, shaping Pamela Voorhees as the mother he wished he had—a woman who expressed love in her own deranged manner. When the film’s success led to sequels featuring Jason as the killer, Miller felt let down.

'Honestly, I haven’t watched any of the sequels, but I fundamentally disagree with their decision to make Jason the villain,' Miller stated. 'The core of my screenplay was the idea of a mother figure as the serial killer, driven by a warped desire to avenge her son’s tragic death. Jason was never the villain; he was a victim from the start. I took the concept of motherhood and flipped it, which I found incredibly compelling. Mrs. Voorhees was the kind of mother I always imagined—one who would go to any extreme for her child.'

Additional Sources: On Location In Blairstown: The Making of Friday the 13th by David Grove (2013)