Do The Friday The 13th Films Have More To Offer Than Just Gore?

Do the Friday the 13th movies have more to offer then just gore?

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If you have ever been to a Friday the 13th movie and thought that it was nothing more than ninety minutes of tasteless gore, you are not alone. However, the movies do have more to offer. In this horror series, there are many hidden messages. Although not everyone chooses to analyze them, they do play a role in the feeling people get when leaving the theatre or taking the video back to the rental store.

The hidden messages in the films are presented differently, and have different meanings. The three most prominent messages involve having sex, doing drugs, and illegal drinking. If teens embark in any of the three, they usually die. Other messages include insecurity, swearing, taunting, trespassing, and smoking, but none are as prevalent as the first three mentioned.

The enforcer of the hidden rules in the majority of Friday the 13th movies is Jason Voorhees (the killer). In the movie he was born in 1946. He lived in the woods close to Crystal Lake. In 1957, Jason drowned in Crystal Lake. Counselors were making out rather than paying attention to the swimming child. The body was never recovered, leaving speculation about Jason's demise. Pamela Voorhees goes insane, vowing to get revenge for her son. Many attempts to keep the camp running over the next twenty years end in murder, and the nickname of "Camp Blood" is given to Camp Crystal Lake.

Though the nickname remains, the camp is finally set to reopen in 1979. A deranged Pamela would not let it happen, as she kills all of the counselors except one girl who finally stops the vicious attack, murdering her. The deaths do not stop, however, as Jason vows revenge for his mother. Although no proof is ever found of Jason, the locals derive that he has been living in the woods for over twenty years. Many people try, but no one has been able to stop Jason for good.

The Crystal Lake murders are directly associated with young people and their flaws. Sex, drugs, and alcohol are always associated, with other character flaws inciting the murders. In the first two installments of this series, revenge plays a factor. Pamela murders to avenge the death of her son in Crystal Lake. In the second movie, Jason kills to avenge the death of his mother. After these two movies, however, the motive changes, and the deaths are due to the feeling that Jason has to protect his beloved Crystal Lake, and the fact that the teenagers killed are not model citizens. This contributes to the hidden message of who dies. The victims are "bad kids" in one way or another, turning those watching against the victim.

People that have sex in one of these movies, for example, are certain to die. Sex is in every episode of the series, and is the background for the killings. In every movie, there is at least one couple that goes camping with sex on their mind. This is supposed to come across as wrong to the viewer, to justify the killing of the teens. This aspect to the series is important, because it tells the viewer that if you have careless sex before you should, then you are taking a chance. It does not mean you will be slaughtered for your actions. The message could come in the form of an unwanted pregnancy, a transmitted disease, or getting caught. In any case, you are taking a risk and there are always consequences to pay if you are not lucky.

Aside from the hidden messages of sex, there are many messages concerning drugs and alcohol abuse. There is always a teenager in every Friday the 13th movie that brings some illegal drug or gets some liquor. They will certainly die as well. The message is exactly the same as the message for having sex. If you live recklessly and break the law, you will pay the consequences.

Of the many types of characters in the Friday the 13th series, the purest are the survivors. They represent the most respectful and well-behaved people of the group. It is usually a girl in her teens, who is sometimes accompanied with a boy that has proven to be a decent figure. She will claw, bite, tear,