In honor of Friday the 13th

I recently saw a horror movie which I thought must be pretty good. I thought this because there was a sequel. After watching the movie, I learned an important lesson: Just because a movie has a sequel, it doesn't mean that it's good.

Yes, this movie was bad. Not just "meh bad" but "VERY BAD!" Stupid bad. Too unrealistic bad. I'm not going to out this movie, but I will say I won't be watching its sequel.

On the other hand, this isn't to say that all movies with sequels suck. (Indiana Jones, anyone??) One sequeled movie I like are the Friday the 13th movies. Granted, some of the sequels DID suck, but, for the most part, it was good.

The thing I like best about Friday the 13th, though, is that it carries a story so well. This is why I didn't like the movie I saw. I complained about it to my husband, saying that I just couldn't suspend my belief anymore because the writer chose to use something VERY STUPID in the movie. (I'll give you a hint: A ghost can possess you if you bleed.) He agreed and said that it doesn't matter if a story is fiction or just made up, it STILL has to have some degree of believability for readers and viewers to accept it. The things used in a story have to make sense or be possibly realistic.

Now I know that Jason doesn't REALLY exist. That there's not a REAL Camp Crystal Lake (although there IS a real Crystal Lake!). But the Friday the 13th movies have really done well in keeping viewers hooked. It doesn't matter that the villain isn't someone real or someone who COULD be real. Most of the stories in the series are played out well enough to keep viewers scared out of their wits, because the story is real enough for them to believe.