Bill Burr on Friday the 13th and why he stopped watching horror movies

Bill Burr was scared by Friday the 13th and doesn’t like modern horror movies because he feels they try to psychologically scar viewers

Stand-up comedian / actor Bill Burr just made his feature directorial debut with the Netflix-released comedy Old Dads (you can read the JoBlo review at THIS LINK), which is cool and all… but here on Arrow in the Head, the horror side of the JoBlo Network, we’re more interested in hearing Burr’s opinions on horror films. That’s why it caught our attention when YouTuber James Whale Bake Sale made a video to go with a clip from Burr’s podcast Monday Morning Podcast in which the comedian discusses the horror classic Friday the 13th – and goes on to explain why he stopped watching horror movies.

The video can be seen at the bottom of this article, and over the course of its five minutes he admits that the final jump scare in Friday the 13th really did scare the hell out of him, says that the franchise lost its appeal for him as it went on, and then moves on to more recent horror films. The Blair Witch Project is the point where he felt movies went beyond trying to just scare and started trying to psychological scar viewers. So movies like Oldboy, Audition, Saw, and The Babadook didn’t go over well with him.

Directed by Sean S. Cunningham from a screenplay by Victor Miller, the original Friday the 13th has the following synopsis: Crystal Lake’s history of murder doesn’t deter counselors from setting up a summer camp in the woodsy area. Superstitious locals warn against it, but the fresh-faced young people — Jack, Alice, Bill, Marcie, and Ned — pay little heed to the old-timers. Then they find themselves stalked by a brutal killer. As they’re slashed, shot and stabbed, the counselors struggle to stay alive against a merciless opponent.

The film stars Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Jeannine Taylor, Laurie Bartram, Kevin Bacon, Mark Nelson, Robbi Morgan, Peter Brouwer, Rex Everhart, Ronn Carroll, Walt Gorney, Willie Adams, Debra S. Hayes, Sally Anne Golden, Ari Lehman, and Betsy Palmer. It also features some great effects by Tom Savini.

Are you a fan of Bill Burr, and do you listen to his podcast? Do you share his feelings on the horror genre? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The Babadook
Source: YouTube

About the Author

Cody is a news editor and film critic, focused on the horror arm of JoBlo.com, and writes scripts for videos that are released through the JoBlo Originals and JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channels. In his spare time, he's a globe-trotting digital nomad, runs a personal blog called Life Between Frames, and writes novels and screenplays.