A significant number of reviews criticized the film for its depiction of violence: "The Hollywood Reporter" derided the film, writing: "Gruesome violence, in which throats are slashed and heads are split open in realistic detail, is the sum content of "Friday the 13th", a sick and sickening low budget feature that is being released by Paramount. It's blatant exploitation of the lowest order." Michael Blowen of "The Boston Globe" similarly referred to the film as "nauseating," warning audiences: "Unless your idea of a good time is to watch a woman have her head split by an ax or a man stuck to a door with arrows, you should stay away from "Friday the 13th". It's bad luck." The film's most vocal detractor was Gene Siskel, who in his review called Cunningham "one of the most despicable creatures ever to infest the movie business." He also published the address for Charles Bluhdorn, the chairman of the board of Gulf+Western, which owned Paramount, as well as Betsy Palmer's home city and encouraged fellow detractors to write to them and express their contempt for the film. Attempting to convince people not to see it, he even gave away the ending. Siskel and Roger Ebert spent an entire episode of their TV show berating the film (and other slasher films of the time) because they felt it would make audiences root for the killer. Leonard Maltin initially awarded the film one star, or 'BOMB', but later changed his mind and awarded the film a star and-a-half "simply because it's slightly better than "Part 2"" and called it a "gory, cardboard thriller...That younger viewers made it a box-office juggernaut is one more clue as to why SAT scores keep declining. Still, any movie that spawns this many sequels must have done "something" right".