Genre analysis - Friday the 13th

Film name - Friday the 13th

Age certificate - 18

Production company - Paramount pictures

Distribution company - Paramount pictures, Warner Bros

Director - Sean S. Cunningham

Box office takings - $5,816,321 

The opening starts out calm and like many slashers takes a very immediate turn for the worst, this is made apparent in order for the audience to empathise with the victim in this scene.
Similar to Halloween the camera is shown from the POV of the killer who is driving, this is to show the Victims panic as the scene escalates, and to keep the killer's identity hidden so it can be revealed later in the film, although the scene starts from a camera panning left and tracking the Jeep's movement, this sets the scene effectively with little dialogue needed which is good for a fast pace moving slasher film.

A incidental non diagetic brass instrument plays which is a traditional tool used in Slasher films in order to raise the suspense and alert the audience that a tragedy (often murder) is going to occur.

The scene escalates greatly when the scene changes to a camera panning left this time from the rear to emphasise the Jeep speeding up, this leads to the victim making a rash decision in this case jumping from the vehicle and like in most slashers this leaves the victim injured and thus more vulnerable, this would leave the audience on the edge of their seats, and more fixed to the upcoming chase.

After the victim leaps from the vehicle it shows the vehicle reversing back towards the victim, it does this from a camera positioned in the back giving a extreme long shot focused on the victim to give te impression that its an over the shoulder POV from the driver, this answers the audience's suspicions that the driver is a threat to the victim, yet still not revealing anything about the killer.

The start of the chase is shown from the POV of the killer, which gives a rear view of the victim attempting to escape, the victim is shown stumbling and tripping as the killer draws closer, this is another classic element used in slashers to make the victim look helpless and panicked, this is also exaggerated by the incidental sound track which speeds up to show the escalation of the chase.

Another effect used in slashers is shown here, when it goes to a extreme long shot panning to follow the victim, to make it appear as if the killer has been escaped, and the incidental sound track ceases, to give the audience the feeling that she is out of the danger and everything is clear, until she finds herself face to face with killer, although the killer's boots and trouser leg is only shown to the audience, it is shown through the victim's reaction which is to stumble in horror that this is the killer.