Friday the 13th Drinking Game - Hair of the Dog
Originally published February 2015.In celebration of the holiday that isn’t really a holiday because it just happens whenever it feels like it--I'm looking at you Easter--we have decided to dissect the infamous horror franchise, Friday the 13th, down into some drinking game rules.
I never cared much for the slasher genre when it came to horror movies unless there was something special about the movie, like Alien for instance. Alien was essentially a slasher movie once it got loose and grew large, but it had its hooks and uniqueness largely in part to the creative and excellent direction of Ridley Scott. When it came to slasher films, the direction definitely seemed to make up for the somewhat boring formula. This is probably why Friday the 13th didn't stand up well to the greats of the same era like Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street, directed by John Carpenter and Wes Craven respectively.
Nevertheless, FtT managed to make a smash due to its strict adherence to a successful formula as well as some clever use of budget and special effects. The gore effects by practical effect master Tom Savini, while quite minimal and not so great to look at on remastered versions of the movie, make up for the dull moments where we have to listen to the horny teenagers spout dialogue that was written by someone who had just finished reading an encyclopedia of idioms and cliches.
Having just watched the film again for the first time in years, I’m reminded that: it still sucks. But now that I've grown fond of watching terrible movies for their terribleness since the last time I watched it, Friday the 13th and its much worse sequels can still be fun to watch.
Viewer beware, the movies are bad so if it is a challenge watching such films sober, we've got 13 drinking rules to help you out. If you want another reference for some other drinking rules or just to help remember the ones we have, look no further than movies like Scream or Cabin in the Woods that clearly make fun of the genre. Half the rules here can be applied to those movies.
Hair of the Dog - Friday the 13th
You hear the signature “chi chi chi ah ah ah” sound
There is Nudity/Sex
It’s obviously cold (you can see the girl’s nipples through her shirt)
Someone dies
It starts raining/Thunderclap
The Harbinger of Death (Sorrow) talks about Crystal Lake
POV (point of view) shot
False scare
You get really annoyed by the sound of the stupid string instruments
Someone says "Jason"
Particularly Bad Acting - We’ll let you use your discretion for this rule because you could technically be drinking anytime someone is talking in these movies
Bad Special effects- applies more to the sequels since Tom Savini only did the effects for the first and fourth movie, but even the first has its moments.
False Death - Someone is down and appears to be dead but gets right back up again.
On a side note (spoilers if you haven’t seen the movie) I always thought Mrs. Vorhees showed up much earlier in the movie to introduce her as a character that could never be the killer. Instead, she doesn't show up until the third act and basically behaves completely inconsistently from how she’s behaved the entire movie: instead of just killing the main girl, she talks to her and gives us a ton of exposition as though she’s giving the twist to the movie, even though there was no set up for the twist.