‘Friday the 13th’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan
October 13, 2026 · Friday the 13th (1980) · Horror · Mystery · Thriller · 1:45:49 · ▶ Listen on Spotify
Categories
Most Rewatchable Scene
Bill Simmons▶ 30:39The opening scene set in 1958 at the camp (singing 'Michael Row the Boat Ashore', the makeout attempt, and Jason's mom killing the counselors)
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Chris Ryan▶ 48:12Two unanswerable questions: what is Ralph's home life like, and why the guy at the cemetery warns everybody but nobody leaves despite clear danger signs (grave robbing, 105-degree heat)
Van Lathan▶ 48:40Agrees Marcy and Jack's deaths are the key unanswerable/defining 'biting of the apple' moment of the movie — the point where you know you're in Friday the 13th
Is There a Better Title?
Bill Simmons▶ 1:05:34Camp Blood (the original screenplay title), proposing it be used for a separate franchise while Jason/Friday the 13th continues as its own series
Van Lathan▶ 1:06:06Questioned whether Camp Blood sequels (e.g. 'Camp Blood Takes Manhattan') would have the same versatility as the Friday the 13th sequels
Butch's Girlfriend Award
Bill Simmons▶ 1:08:39Annie's early death / Alice as final girl - feels Annie (the Karen Allen-esque character) should have survived as the true hero and Alice, who he found unlikeable and unattractive, was killed off too late
Chris Ryan▶ 1:07:21Ned - specifically the scene where he wears the Native American headdress and the cop says 'settle down Tonto,' calling it an annoying, weird subplot full of cultural appropriation
Van Lathan▶ 1:11:13The killing of the snake scene - the drawn-out sequence of Ned and friends catching/killing a snake
Overacting Award
Bill Simmons▶ 1:14:43Mentions the Ruffalo/Hannah Rubenek cartridge as overacting award option, but pivots to giving John Rambo (Adrienne King as Alice) the Underacting Award instead - says she's not freaked out enough, not animated, unrealistic problem-solving reaction to finding her friends dead.
Chris Ryan▶ 1:15:20Agrees with Bill's underacting take on Adrienne King, noting other final girls (Marcy, Brenda, Annie) were more interesting/low energy comparisons.
Van Lathan▶ 1:15:33Piles on the underacting critique of Alice (Adrienne King), riffing on her unrealistic calm reaction ('no no no it's okay') upon discovering her friends' deaths.
Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Van Lathan▶ 1:16:32Society was in a much better state when weed was called 'grass' — it was cheaper, cooler, you had to know a guy (the people smoking grass in The Big Chill and Dazed and Confused seem like a cool time)
Casting What-Ifs
Bill Simmons▶ 1:20:15Ran through casting trivia: Sally Field was considered but couldn't afford her; Shelley Winters turned down the Mrs. Voorhees role; Betsy Palmer agreed to do it because she needed a new car, was paid $1,000/day for 10 days and thought it was a 'piece of shit'; director Sean Cunningham wanted his son to play young Jason but his wife vetoed it. Later also floats casting Tom Hanks as Ned and young Sharon Stone as Alice as fun recasting ideas, and notes Kathleen Turner would've been 'beneath her' for the role.
Chris Ryan▶ 1:20:28Adds that Sally Field would have been only 32 at the time, and questions who Estelle Parsons is; later jokes that Kathleen Turner showing up in 1980 would've caused guys to commit seppuku.
Van Lathan▶ 1:20:57Presents his own 'flex' list: Top 5 movies that didn't need any Black people in them (zero Black people), ranked: #5 Friday the 13th, #4 The Big Chill, #3 Grease, #2 Good Will Hunting, #1 Jackass.
Half-Assed Internet Research
Bill Simmons▶ 1:30:49Corrects that Temptation Island still exists and is airing; jokes he'd love to host one of those dating shows and imagines confronting a couple ('Chris, it seems like you and Phoebe are having some issues')
Van Lathan▶ 1:30:11Robbie Morgan, who played Annie at the beginning, is married to Mark L. Walberg (the Temptation Island/Antiques Roadshow host, not Mark Wahlberg) since 1987
Apex Mountain
Bill Simmons▶ 1:31:58Adrienne King — definitely. 1980 drowning movies — Ordinary People makes it a big drowning year, so no. Jason — no. Kevin Bacon — no. Summer campsite movies — probably Meatballs. Halloween-ripoff movies — definitely.
Van Lathan▶ 1:33:06Dumbest kids who have ever lived in a horror movie — these are the ones: 'they're not scared enough from day one', 'truly imbeciles'
Sequel/Prequel/Limited Series/Remake
Bill Simmons▶ 1:36:37Notes the franchise has already done sequel, prequel, streamer, remake - the only thing untouchable/missing is an all-Black cast version; also jokes about a prequel with Linda Kozlowski-type character finding out about Pam's marriage
Chris Ryan▶ 1:36:46Says the upcoming prequel covers the intervening years, from before Jason's death up to Jason Voorhees becoming the killer
Is This Movie Better With
Bill Simmons▶ 1:37:06Picks Dr. Chuck Nichols and does a bit imagining him announcing 'my friend Pamela doesn't feel well, go back to your dessert, your coffee'; also does an extended Steven A. Smith/Jason Voorhees media beef bit as his 'better with' pick
Chris Ryan▶ 1:38:56Picks Tom Savini (the makeup/special effects guy) as the one who should get an Oscar, joining in on the Steven A./Jason Voorhees bit
Van Lathan▶ 1:38:03Plays along with the Steven A. Smith vs. Jason Voorhees bit, voicing Steven A.'s threatening lines about Camp Crystal Lake bodies, rather than giving a distinct personal pick
Coach Finstock Life Lesson
Bill Simmons▶ 1:41:42Don't reopen 'Camp Blood' / don't take a cook job at a camp without reading the Yelp reviews first (i.e., heed the warnings about the camp's deadly history)
Van Lathan▶ 1:41:54Listen to the people in the diner warning you about the horrible history of the place where children get killed routinely
Movies Referenced (41)
Actors Referenced (11)
Kevin Bacon
8 mentions · Van Lathan, Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Footloose, Hollow Man▶ 48:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Betsy Palmer
2 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons · Known for Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th Part 2▶ 1:20:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Chris Rock
1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Top Five, The Longest Yard, Head of State▶ 11:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Harry Manfredini
1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Friday the 13th▶ 59:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Karen Allen
1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Starman, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull▶ 1:09:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Kathleen Turner
1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Romancing the Stone, Peggy Sue Got Married, Body Heat▶ 1:26:32IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Luke Wilson
1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Old School, The Royal Tenenbaums▶ 1:16:29IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Mark Jackson
1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Hustle, Air Bud▶ 27:43IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Sharon Stone
1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Basic Instinct, Casino, The Quick and the Dead▶ 1:26:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Shelley Winters
1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Poseidon Adventure, Lolita, A Place in the Sun▶ 1:20:34IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Writers Referenced (2)
Sean S. Cunningham
3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Friday the 13th, Jason X▶ 5:46IMDb ↗Lb ↗
Victor Miller
1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Jason X, Friday the 13th▶ 1:29:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗