Discussion: The Strip Monopoly Game In 'Friday The 13th 1980'

When Friday The 13th 1980 was released in theaters on May 9, 1980, no one really knew what to expect from the film. Was it going to be a holdover exploitative piece from the 1970's? Would be a tense and psychological thriller with gore thrown in? Audiences eventually found out that it was all of that and more with a few moments of levity thrown into the middle of a truly horrific story. Unbeknownst to audiences at the time, a number of the truly fun parts of the film were not written by Victor Miller, but added in by producers to offer a bit of tension relief before the carnage really got going.

The entire scene of Officer Dorf arriving at Camp Crystal Lake to look for Crazy Ralph was not in Miller's script and to this day he is not pleased it was added into the film. In his mind, he wanted to create a mood and location that was secluded with a sense of separation that induced fear with no chance of help to come. Dorf's arrival, according to Miller, destroyed that idea.

Another scene that offered tension relief were the Monopoly game scenes. Yes, strip Monopoly was firmly entrenched into pop culture, or at least in the Friday The 13th community, when the characters Alice, Brenda, and Bill look to pass time when a storm hits Camp Crystal Lake. The Monopoly scenes are truly iconic to the franchise and has surely given guys and gals an excuse to strip in front of their friends on more than one occasion throughout the decades. In fact, the scene has been spoofed more than once in shows like the Psych episode Tuesday The 17th (Although they are playing cards instead of Monopoly, but they are at camp).

With how many times our readers have watched the original film, I am sure strip Monopoly has been attempted at least once. How do you feel about the scenes in Friday The 13th 1980 in terms of breaking the tension and did the Strip Monopoly game ever find its way into your extra curricular activities?