After iconic horror films like Black Christmas, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Halloween laid the groundwork throughout the ‘70s, the ‘80s went all-in on the slasher craze. The explosion of masked killers and creative and practical-effects-heavy kills in formula-defining franchises like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Child’s Play helped establish the ‘80s as the undeniable golden age for slashers, ultimately resulting in the meta-revival of the ‘90s. As the subgenre experiences something of a renaissance in the 2020s, one of the best ‘80s slashers just started streaming on Peacock, and the timing couldn’t be any better.
Friday the 13th slashed its way into theaters in 1980 as one of the first and most important slashers of the ‘80s craze, and more than 40 years later, it’s now streaming on Peacock. Sean S. Cunningham’s seminal slasher about a group of teenage camp counselors stalked and murdered as they attempt to reopen a shuttered summer camp with a tragic past joined the NBCUniversal streamer on March 1st alongside Friday the 13th – Part III. The two films, in addition to Friday the 13th Part 2, are now streaming ahead of an actual Friday the 13th this month and as Peacock prepares to revive the franchise with the upcoming Crystal Lake prequel series, which is expected to premiere later this year.
Friday the 13th Is a Slasher Masterpiece
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Ask any horror fan to name iconic slashers, and the original Friday the 13th will undeniably be one of the first named. The movie is a slasher masterpiece and effectively perfected the formula established in Halloween – a tragic backstory, the final girl and teenage victims’ tropes, the killer POV, stalking, and practical effects gore – to solidify the structure of the 1980s slasher subgenre. The movie also established the classic, isolated summer camp setting, something that became a staple in horror and allowed for a more secluded, trapped atmosphere. The movie put a heavy focus on entertainment, shock, and visceral thrills, delivering more brutal and bloody kills than those seen in ‘70s slashers and featuring one of the most iconic and shocking final twists in horror.
Although Friday the 13th’s graphic violence initially sparked some unfavorable opinion, it didn’t stop the film from becoming a certified horror classic that still holds up well today. The movie ultimately launched one of the most iconic and enduring horror franchises to date, which now consists of a total of 12 films and the upcoming Crystal Lake show. That long-awaited Peacock series is set to serve as an origin story for Jason Voorhees and his mother, Pamela Voorhees, focusing on the events leading up to the original movie.
What’s New on Peacock?
March is a great month for streaming on Peacock after dozens of films joined the platform at the start of the month. In terms of horror, Peacock subscribers can now stream nearly the entire Leprechaun franchise, with only the most recent installment, Leprechaun Returns, absent. Other new streaming titles include Fast Times at Ridgemont High, John Wick: Chapter 4, Legally Blonde, and both Ted and Ted 2, as well as Season 2 of Peacock’s Ted TV show.
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