1428 Elm
Fansided

10 examples of police (and related issues) in horror/thriller movies

By Wade Wainio

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 14: A dead zombie prop lies on the hood of a police vehicle at the Fright Ride immersive haunted attraction on October 14, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The creative team from the Fright Dome attraction made the new experience after seeing how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was shutting down many Halloween events across the country and decimating the entertainment industry in Las Vegas. Guests are driven through the 75,000-square-foot "research lab" on electric carts in groups of six or less to maintain social distancing. Other safety protocols in place include face coverings required for all guests, staff and actors, enhanced cleaning procedures and visit-specific entry times for all patrons. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 14: A dead zombie prop lies on the hood of a police vehicle at the Fright Ride immersive haunted attraction on October 14, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The creative team from the Fright Dome attraction made the new experience after seeing how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was shutting down many Halloween events across the country and decimating the entertainment industry in Las Vegas. Guests are driven through the 75,000-square-foot "research lab" on electric carts in groups of six or less to maintain social distancing. Other safety protocols in place include face coverings required for all guests, staff and actors, enhanced cleaning procedures and visit-specific entry times for all patrons. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 9
Next

8. Friday the 13th (1980)

Think my last pick for this list was odd? Well, this one’s positively bonkers! Still, Sean S. Cunningham’s highly influential Friday the 13th is low-key about police…or, rather, police failure (if not incompetence, which might be two different things if we want to split hairs). Upon discovering the bodies of victims Barry (Willie Adams) and Claudette (Debra S. Hayes), what did the police do?

Apparently, very little, because tragedy would strike again and again on and around Camp Crystal Lake. Had they successfully followed up on every possible lead, would Jason Voorhees had ever risen from the crystalline waters to kill off burdensome counselors? Shortly into the film, a camp cook named Annie (Robbi Morgan) is killed by an unidentified assailant, later revealed to be Mrs. Voorhees (Betsy Palmer).

Until perhaps the very end, there is practically zero evidence of police doing any successful investigations into such crimes, which is partly why Crazy Ralph (Walt Gorney) can run around calling it a mysterious “death curse” (and ironically prove more valuable than this film’s police officers). And we know they didn’t solve the initial counselor murders, or the poisoned well cases because Mrs. Voorhees wasn’t behind bars, or awaiting trial, or on house arrest.

She was free as a bird, only a bird that kills people and decorates the campgrounds with their corpses! Obviously, other horror films imply police failure (where would Leatherface and the Sawyer family had been without it?). However, here it seems like the police had a longer amount of time to address these deaths, which makes it seem like they drop the ball that much harder. Plus, let’s be real about the Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s aura: That neck of the woods probably barely has a police department. On Friday the 13th, we actually get to see a motorcycle cop named “Dorf” (Ron Millkie), who reflects no more competence in his craft than Tim Conway’s character “Dorf” does in a game of golf.

Officer Dorf badgers the counselors about hypothetical drug use and warns them about Ralph, then leaves, totally oblivious to any real dangers lurking around. The cop has no idea what’s going on, whereas Crazy Ralph and Enos (Rex Everhart) stand against the revival of Camp Crystal Lake, or “Camp Blood”. In essence, the motorcycle cop is a clown, symbolic of a vague era that died years ago, but he’s too clueless to catch onto that fact. Obviously, Friday the 13th spawned a franchise, giving birth to horror icon Jason Voorhees, and basically becoming somewhat of a sci-fi horror series. Still, it pays to look back at the series’ very humble origins, rather than solely consider how powerful Jason is.

In light of this movie and this topic, we might want to compare these largely incompetent, nobody cops to Donald Pleasance’s Sam Loomis from Halloween, or maybe John Saxon’s cop-dad character in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Or, of course, Sheriff Mike Garris (David Kagen) from Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives — who is sort of an unintentional hurdle character who ultimately redeems himself. The other cop character in Friday the 13th, Sgt. Tierney (Ronn Carroll), really only plays a minor role, but helps the “survivor girl” (Adrienne King) understand she might have merely imagined Jason Voorhees (Ari Lehman) attacking her from the water.  Basically, he’s the only police character who proves valuable in the film.

Home/Lists