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12. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993):

Jason is finally killed by the FBI, but his spirit possesses other bodies in an attempt to continue his killing spree. At this point in the series I just want to see Jason on a killing spree, not this very very strange plot. For me it’s easily the worst one.

11.Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985):

Five years after the events of the previous film, a new group of counselors gather at a halfway house near Crystal Lake, but they are stalked and murdered by an unknown killer. The twist is plain just plain ridiculous , making it one of the worst entries.

10. Friday the 13th Part III (1982):

A group of friends on a camping trip in the woods around Crystal Lake are stalked and killed by Jason, who now wears a hockey mask to conceal his identity. The use of 3D tricks in this one get me every time, they are so cheap and obvious. This one gets bonus points for introducing the iconic hockey mask, but the characters are incredibly annoying which puts it low on the list.

9. Friday the 13th (2009):

A group of teenagers are stalked and killed by Jason at Crystal Lake, but it is a reboot of the series and not a direct sequel to the previous films.

I’m definitely not against remakes or reboots, but this one doesn’t do it for me.

It isn’t a bad film, I do appreciate its attempt to bring Jason back into the fold using a less cheesy and goofy tone that many of these films become after the first two, but I guess call me a purist when it comes to this horror icon.

Jason is a hulking presence that slowly moves towards his victim and some how appears even when the victim runs away. The slow movement, coupled with his incredible power behind them, is what make him so fun to watch. In this version he’s different, faster, it just doesn’t quite feel like Jason to me. I will still revisit it from time to time, however. It does have a great mid 2000’s horror feel, which I love.

8. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988):

: A teenager with telekinetic powers is sent to a cabin on Crystal Lake, where she inadvertently resurrects Jason and must use her powers to defeat him. I give this one credit for its creativity in how Jason comes back and how he is defeated; it is a bizarre plot, but makes for a fun watch.

7. Jason X (2001):

Jason is cryogenically frozen and brought back to life in the future, where he begins to stalk and kill a group of students on a spaceship. This is straight up cheese, and the film knows it. It is a fun ride, once you let go of trying to think critically at all about this. I’ll always revisit this one when I want a mindless film.

6. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986):

Tommy Jarvis, who was a child in the fourth film, returns to Crystal Lake, to see Jason’s body and make sure he’s dead, but accidentally revives him. Jason then begins to stalk and kill a new group of counselors.

I love the old monster movie feel of the very beginning when Jason is brought back with a lightening bolt in his grave. Probably my favorite part of this film. The rest of the film is the normal trope of the cops not believing anyone and Jason going on a killing spree. The simplicity of the plot helps this one. I especially like the ending of bringing Jason back to the lake where it all began, and the shot of him chained under the water is iconic to the franchise. It’s a solid entry.

5. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984):

The movie picks up where the previous film left off, with the titular character Jason Vorhees being believed to be dead after being stabbed in the head by Chris Higgins. However, it is revealed that he is still alive and kills a doctor and a nurse during an autopsy, before escaping and returning to Camp Crystal Lake.

The movie introduces a new set of characters, including a young boy named Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman) and his mother and older sister, who live in a house near the camp. A group of teenagers also move into a house next door to the Jarvis’ residence. Jason begins to stalk and kill the teenagers, but has he met his match with Tommy Jarvis?

One it has Corey Feldman, classic 80’s child actor and his performance is great as usual. The ending between Tommy and Jason is a very unique and fun conclusion. Overall Jason is depicted well and some good kills, all that with the right amount of cheese,makes watching the film a good time.

This film gets bonus points for one of the greatest dance scenes in Cinematic History, performed by none other than Crispin Glover, I mean just watch it:

4. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989):

Jason stalks and kills a group of high school graduates during a boat trip from Crystal Lake to New York City.

This is one of the most fun entries in the franchise, though it spends a little too much time on the boat and not enough in Manhattan. This one offers up some of the more fun scenes in the franchise, namely the scene where a character goes toe to toe with Jason trying to box him, only to get his head literally knocked clean off. I probably revisit this one the most out of them all because it is so much fun to watch.

3. Freddy vs. Jason (2003):

The spirit of Freddy Krueger manipulates Jason into killing again so that people will remember him, but the two horror icons eventually face off in a final battle.

I honestly consider this more of a Freddy film than a Jason film, but it still deserves to be on the list. This film is so much fun, probably some of the most fun I’ve had at the movie theater. The rampage Jason goes on is fantastic. The exploration of Jason’s fears using Freddy as the Vehicle? That final fight between Jason and Freddy? it’s horror/slasher gold.

Oh and this is one of the funniest scenes in a slasher film the Pat and I quote pretty much all the time

Check it out here:

2. Friday the 13th (1980):

A group of counselors gather at Camp Crystal Lake to prepare for the upcoming summer season, but they are soon stalked and murdered by an unknown killer.

With how popular of an Icon Jason really is, I honestly don’t think the original gets that much credit. Yes, it is considered a classic, but it is also pretty monumental when it comes to the slasher genre.

The twist of who the killer is, is pretty well known at this point, but using the point of view of the killer the whole time to create that mystery was a great move. I was not around, but I could only imagine that it was quite the twist and experience when watching it for the first time in the theaters.

Just because it’s the original though, does not make it my favorite. When it comes to this franchise you of course automatically think Jason Vorhees, that’s why the next one is my favorite.

1. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981):

Five years after the events of the first film, a new group of counselors gather at Camp Crystal Lake, but they are again stalked and murdered by an unknown killer. It is revealed that the killer is now Jason, who has survived his drowning and seeks to avenge his mother’s death.

From a pure horror stand point this, part 2 is my favorite. Though Jason doesn’t have his iconic hockey Mask, I find this one to be the best iteration of Jason. Some of the shots of him are honestly chilling and his presence is so intimidating. I love the hockey mask, but there is something about that sack over his head that is very unnerving. The Psycho like ending of keeping his mothers head in the shed as a shrine is classic, and we’ll, psychotic. We also have the voice of his mom in his head, and that is just classic, brilliant and creepy. It adds another level of his psychotic and vengeful nature.

To hear me and Pat discuss the Franchise and origins of the legend of the Date, listen to our season 1 Bonus Friday the 13th Episode where ever you listen to Podcasts!

https://anchor.fm/horrortimevideo/episodes/BONUS-EPISODE-Friday-the-13th-e1ifr5e