The Belfast Film Festival, in association with the Strand Arts Centre and the Northern Ireland Hospice, presents a very special screening of horror classic Friday the 13th with director Sean S. Cunningham in attendance for Q&A!
A truly spine-tingling surprise addition to the 17th Belfast Film Festival, the original Friday the 13th will be screened to a lucky audience of horror lovers who can then pose questions to one of the founding figures of the genre as we know it today.
Sean S. Cunningham made the seminal Friday the 13th in 1980, developing themes that had come through in contemporary horrors like Halloween (1978), and setting up ‘The Rules’ of the slasher film. “…perhaps more than any other film, it helped to popularize the slasher genre and codify the formula.” Movie Metropolis.
The Rules, the iconic anonymous killer and many other aspects of slasher horror were revisted in Wes Craven’s Scream series that built heavily upon conventions created by the Friday the 13th franchise, originating with the cinematic invention of Sean S. Cunningham.
The beginning of what would become one of the most loved and successful horror series in cinema, Friday the 13th gave life to eleven more slasher films, a TV show, novels, comic books, video games and merchandise. It’s a large part of any young film fan’s education into the horror genre, and this event is sure to be a thrill for its many dedicated fans.
Of the series, Sean. S. Cunningham had direct involvement in Friday the 13th, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, Jason X, Freddy vs. Jason, and the 2009 reboot. He is the founder and CEO of Crystal Lake Entertainment, which was named after the storied lake in the films.
This is a great opportunity to hear first hand about a major part of horror movie history from one of the key players in that genre.