In 1980, when director Sean S. Cunningham offered Ari Lehman a role in his new movie, he asked only one question. “Can you swim?”
At the age of 14, Ari appeared in Friday the 13th. He didn’t get much screen time but his performance and appearance as the young Jason Voorhees created a moment of fright that lives on today.
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.
The Friday the 13th films aren’t exactly known for being the most visually impressive horror films ever made. That’s especially true of the first 8 films, which were all shot on a low budget and in a hurry. Actually, I think you could argue that’s a part of the enduring charm of the series. Today is Friday the 13th and there’s no way that I, as a lover of the horror genre, couldn’t use the 4 Shots format to pay a little bit of tribute to one of the most successful and influential horror franchises of all time.
So, with that in mind, here are….
4 Shots From 4 Friday the 13th Films
Friday the 13th (1980, dir by Sean S. Cunningham)
Friday the 13th Part II (1981, dir by Steve Miner)
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984, dir by Joseph Zito)
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989, dir by Rob Hedden)
Back in 2012, I reviewed every single film in the Friday the 13th film franchise! It was a lot of fun!
My Friday the 13th reviews:
Happy Friday the 13th everyone!
As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly watch parties. On Twitter, I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday and I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday. On Mastodon, I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We tweet our way through it.
Tonight, at 10 pm et, I will be hosting #FridayNightFlix! The movie? Sharktopus!
If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, find Sharktopus on Prime, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #FridayNightFlix hashtag! I’ll be there happily tweeting. It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.
See you there!
Artist Unknown
From 1980, this is the British poster for Friday the 13th. Sadly, the identity of the artist is not known.
Happy Friday the 13th!
Enjoy!
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Highway to Heaven, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!
This week, Jonathan and Mark help out a vet.
Episode 5.7 “The Squeaky Wheel”
(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on June 16th, 1989)
Jonathan and Mark attempt to turn Wayne Secret (Robert David Hall) into a disability activist. Having lost his legs in Vietnam, Wayne wants to live a quiet life with his wife (Deborah Benson) but, while staying at a recently renovated hotel, he is woken up by a fire alarm. With the the elevators not working and no ramps, Wayne is forced to depend on the kindness of a stranger who carries him down a flight of stairs. The fire turns out to be a false alarm but the experience leads to Wayne protesting the fact that the hotel is not wheelchair accessible.
The owner of the hotel not only agrees to make changes to the building but he also offers Wayne a job. Things are looking up for Wayne! But, when a gang of young men harass him and his wife at a drive-in movie, Wayne snaps. He buys an Uzi and then heads down to their clubhouse to take them out. Luckily, Jonathan appears and talks Wayne out of becoming a mass murderer. Wayne goes on to receive a “man of the year” award while Jonathan beats up the leader of the gang.
This episode felt very familiar. In the past, this episode would have featured Mark’s brother-in-law, Scotty. Instead, it features Wayne, who is not a particularly compelling character. I think that this episode would have worked if it had just focused on Wayne advocating for wheelchair accessible buildings. I also think it would have worked if it had just focused on Wayne’s anger to the gang and his struggle to let go of his bitterness over his war experiences. Unfortunately, trying to cram both those storylines into one 45-minute show led to the whole thing feeling half-baked.
There was one poignant scene in this episode. It opened with Mark and Jonathan visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Mark got excited when he came across Michael Landon’s star. “Never heard of him,” Jonathan shrugged. “I forget you’ve been dead for forty years,” Mark replies. It captured Jonathan and Mark’s friendship, which was always been one of the more underrated aspects of Highway to Heaven. That said, it was also a bit of a sad scene as the episode itself aired a day after the death of Victor French and Landon himself would pass away nearly two years later.
Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Decoy, which aired in Syndication in 1957 and 1958. The show can be viewed on Tubi!
This week, Casey gets involved with gun smugglers!
Episode 1.20 “Across the World”
(Dir by Teddy Sills, originally aired on February 24th, 1958)
Andrew Garcia (Frank Silvera), Herbert Carson (Arthur Batanides), and Carl Walton (Nicholas Colasanto) are using an import/export business to smuggle guns to the communists. (Booo!) When the owner of the company finds out, they murder her in a hit-and-run. Because of the suspicious nature of the woman’s death, Casey is sent undercover to investigate. She shows up at the company, claiming to be the woman’s only heir. Her cover is blown early, leading to her getting knocked around by the bad guys. Fortunately, for her, the bad guys end up turning on each other and eventually, the rest of the police force arrives and puts an end to the smuggling once and for all.
This episode didn’t feature much of Beverly Garland. Instead, the majority of it focused on the three smugglers arguing amongst themselves and then plotting various double crosses. Unfortunately, the smugglers weren’t particularly interesting. Sometimes, bad guys can be compelling to watch but these dopes were obviously doomed from the minute that they first appeared. Though it’s never specifically said to whom they were smuggling the weapons, I’m going to assume that it was probably Castro and his forces. In 1958, there were a lot of Americans who actually thought that Castro would be more willing to work with America than Batista was. Needless to say, they turned out to be incorrect. Casey could have warned them if anyone had bothered to listen!
This was a lesser episode of Decoy but the episode did feature some location shots of New York City. The actors where shivering so I can only assume it was very cold when they filmed this episode.
There’s something instantly recognizable about Gregory Abbott’s “Shake You Down.” From that opening synth line to the smooth, almost whispered vocals, it feels like pure ’80s romance bottled into four silky minutes. This wasn’t a loud song — it didn’t need to be. Abbott’s voice doesn’t demand attention; it draws you in with that gentle charm that made it the perfect track for dimly lit gym floors, disco balls spinning, and teenagers swaying in slow circles, trying not to step on each other’s shoes.
What made “Shake You Down” stand out wasn’t just the melody but how effortlessly seductive it was without ever being explicit. The song oozes quiet confidence — cool, easy, and slightly shy — the way the best R&B hits of the era did. It’s the kind of tune that made every listener feel like they were starring in their own movie moment: that hesitant glance, that first slow dance, that unspoken “this might be something” energy. Even now, it triggers a rush of nostalgia for a more innocent kind of intimacy.
Decades later, it’s no wonder “Shake You Down” still sneaks its way into prom playlists and retro nights. It doesn’t chase trends or rely on flashy production — it’s just a solid, soulful groove that makes you want to close your eyes and sway. For anyone who grew up in the ’80s or ’90s, hearing those first notes is like being transported back to a simpler time when a slow song at the end of the night could mean everything.
Shake You Down
Girl, I’ve been watching you
From so far across the floor, now, baby
That’s nothing new, I’ve watched you
So many times before, now, baby
I see that look in your eyes (look in your eyes)
And what it’s telling me
And you know, ooh girl, that I’m not shy
I’m glad you picked up on my telepathy, now, baby
You read my mind (you know you did)
Girl, I wanna shake you down (oh well, oh well)
I can give you all the lovin’ you need
(I’m gonna love you)
Come on, let me take you down (oh, baby)
We’ll go all the way to Heaven
Ooh, I been missing you
And the way you make me feel inside
What can I do? I can tell you’ve got your pride now, baby
Come to me (oh well, oh well)
Let me ease your mind (oh babe)
I’ve got the remedy, yes I do
Now give me just a little time
I wanna rock you down
(I can give you all the lovin’ you need)
I’m gonna love you
(Come on, let me take you down)
Oh well, oh well
(We’ll go all the way to Heaven)
Girl, I’ve been missing you
And you know, it’s funny
Every time I get to feelin’ this way
I wish I had you near me
I wanna reach out and touch you
I can’t stop thinking of the things we do
The way you call me “baby” when I’m holding you
I shake and I shiver when I know you’re near
Then you whisper in my ear (oh baby, well, well)
Oh baby
(I can give you all the lovin’ you need)
I’m gonna love you
(Come on, let me take you down)
Oh well, oh well
(We’ll go all the way to Heaven)
Eeny-meeny-miny-mo (you read my mind)
Come on, girl, let’s shock the show (girl, I wanna shake you down)
(I can give you all the lovin’ you need)
Roses are red and violets are blue
I’m gonna rock this world for you
Hey baby
(We’ll go all the way to Heaven)
(You read my mind)
Girl, I wanna shake you down
I can give you all the lovin’ you need
Come on, let me take you down
We’ll go all the way to Heaven
Divorce is Hell. Losing a common law marriage is Hell. Losing the love of your whole adult life is Hell.
I was in denial for YEARS!!! It was over MANY MANY years ago, but I just couldn’t sign the papers or sell the house. Maybe the Catholic upbringing? Maybe it was losing that connection to when I was 23 and when that young man just KNEW that it was going to be forever? She was my forever, but she left a LONG time ago.
I was in denial. Understand, denial isn’t lying; it’s when your brain is so offended by something that it rejects this horrible true fact. My denial was twelve years old and halfway through the 7th grade. Technically, I was married even though for all intents and purposes- I wasn’t. It wasn’t until she said, ENOUGH- it’s time for government to get involved in all this and really end it, when I finally agreed.
It’s funny that was how my marriage ended because that was also how it began. Years ago, we’d been living together as husband and wife and she said – why don’t we get married? My libertarian instinct replied: why do we need government up in all this? Her: true, but we’d save on taxes and why not?
A few months later, we were married. As for finishing the divorce, I would’ve stayed in marital purgatory forever, if she hadn’t stepped in and said – Enough!
Marriage doesn’t need governmental intervention; for example, in my beloved Texas, there is common law marriage- have joint bank accounts, live together, say you’re married, and presto change-o – you’re married! Sadly, nowhere in America is there common law divorce. I get that there are property issues for some, but for us there weren’t property issues and common law divorce would’ve been a mercy to break the veneer, expose my broken heart, and allow the healing to start. Common law divorce could’ve stepped in where I could not even bear to look. Divorce was beyond looking into the abyss; it was losing decades of jokes, tears, loss, Christmas ornaments, hospital visits, hopes, homeownership, and most importantly – children raised with us together.
Many of whom who know me well, know that I have real problems with things ending: I’m just now watching the last two seasons of “The Office”; so, imagine me admitting to a divorce! I never talked about my separation or divorce, but I can tell you that the hurt is GRIEF, not sadness- GRIEF. Grief grabs your soul by the balls! Grief is the Babadook! Grief is the irresistible pain that you are addicted to because you can’t possibly move on! Grief is borne from death and divorce is death and grief gives your heart that mirage of hope and that fix so that you can keep hurting until you either let go or be consumed. I was nearly consumed.
Divorce is unfair not just because of grief, it is unfair because while the court can award property, it cannot award years back so that you can face the pain with more strength and youth. No, you have to face divorce with the wisdom and cynicism as an adult. No one knows the world’s cold pain like an adult. I knew “adulting” when I was young because of my father. I used to call the scars that he left on my face – my memories of my father. I just took ownership- you think you broke me you SOB? You’re not good enough to even bruise my soul. Divorce hit worse than anything my father did. Divorce got my soul where he could not.
Maybe I am still young because for this reason: I have stupid hope. There is nothing more stupid than hope because hope is the biggest gamble of all. Hope makes buying a Powerball ticket look like buying a mutual fund. Hope is the gamble that you’ll get it right, that it will get better, and this time it’ll be ok. Hope is what I have though, so I’m going with it. I will get right this time and I will find my forever lady. I hope.
Today would have been the 90th birthday of Joe Don Baker!
Our scene that I love features Joe Don as Sherriff Buford Pusser. Some local crooks thought that they could keep the sheriff out of their bar. In this scene from 1973’s Walking Tall, he proves them all wrong.
Through the Shattered Lens 