This is hard to be objective with, as despite not having seen it unedited in quite awhile, i've probably seen this one a good 10-15 times.
The story is interesting in that the whole movie is just a set up to the sequels, of course the audiences didn't know that at the time.
Of course there's a lot about it that's dated, but what worked to scare the fuck out of people in 1980 still works to scare the fuck out of people today, and if anything the old school look of the movie helps it even more in rewatching it now. It's just such an eerie visual.
The acting struck me as surprisingly competent. The dialog was cheesy of course, but it is 25 years old. Some of the kill edits were a bit bumbly, but from a technical stand point the movie generally hit it out of the park. The music still is some of the best horror music ever, the breathing sound effects still make the hair on my neck stand up. The camera work is also pretty damn awesome. Shocking reveals and excellent set ups really raised the bar for movies of this ilk. When Alice is hiding in the closet and we get the awesome shots of Mrs Palmer moving around the room, only able to see a scant bit through the paneled door, and then unbeknownst to Alice, but know to us, the door knob starts to move, it's just magnificent.
There's a good amount of skin and the chicks are attractive.
The last 20 minutes or so did drag for me but it's possible that comes from familiarity more than anything else. The final scene though is still pretty damn iconic with Jason making his first on screen appearance to drag Alice into the water while the music goes from gentle and relaxed, into the frightening dirge.
If you've never seen it I would suggest giving it a viewing more to see the way filmmakers technically raised the bar for this sort of movie. The camp setting, the music cues, the general color tone of the movie and the excellent way they build the suspense for the kills.
It certainly hadn't all come together yet. Hell, the movie isn't even really about Jason, but it is a solid first chapter in the story that lays the foundation for what would follow over the next five years and scare the shit of America.
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