I was eight when I saw my first R-rated movie. I had two friends over – Jake and Michelle – and my mother took us to the video store to rent a movie. No doubt Mom expected us to pick something Disney, or, if not that, something on the G-end of PG, like
The Goonies. But Michelle – a raven-haired little angel who might’ve been the inspiration for Winnie Cooper from
The Wonder Years – had another idea.
Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter.
Mom was … a bit dismayed. This wasn’t
Gremlins or
Ghostbusters, where the scares aren’t grounded and, maybe, even a little campy. Jason loves murder more than his victims love not being murdered, and this installment, with SFX legend Tom Savini handling the gore, was especially visceral. Also, up to this point in the franchise, this was the movie with the most nudity (and responsible for my first crush, Judie Aronson), so we were getting exposure to