Winding up on the floor of a movie theater is never a good thing. But that’s where one frightened audience member wound up in 1980 after seeing “Friday the 13th” in a sweltering Hollywood theater.
The filmgoer — OK, it was me! — was finally breathing easily as “final girl” Alice Hardy (Adrienne King), the sole survivor in the murderous rampage that had killed her fellow Camp Crystal Lake counselors, sat in a canoe, waiting to be rescued.
Then suddenly, a grotesque moss-covered child leapt out of the water, grabbing Alice and pulling her down into the lake.
At that moment, it felt like my head was literally coming off. The only other time that feeling hit me was during Brian De Palma’s “Carrie,” when Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) reached from her grave to grab Sue Snell (Amy Irving).
“Friday the 13th” launched an iconic franchise featuring Jason Voorhees, a hulking, mute masked killer with an insatiable appetite for blood, especially when hormonally charged, obnoxious young people were involved.
Jason’s superstar status has survived close to 50 years, via a dozen installments. The fanaticism of “Friday the 13th” devotees is evidenced by one devoted disciple who recently posted an emotional YouTube testimonial detailing how his out-of-print “Friday the 13th” box set was one of the few items he grabbed while escaping last year’s Eaton fire.
Peacock’s “Crystal Lake” brings fresh energy to the “Friday the 13th” franchise while reflecting much of the flavor and style of the original film. The prequel series stars Linda Cardellini (“DTF St. Louis”) as Jason’s mother, Pamela Voorhees, who suffers a breakdown after the accidental drowning of her son at Camp Crystal Lake. The drama, now streaming, traces her evolution from grieving mother to vengeful killer.
Since my visceral moment with the first film, my relationship to the “Friday the 13th” franchise has been detached. I never really found the movies particularly scary, as they’re anchored by a shaky premise, mediocre scripts, subpar acting and flat characters. Suspense is mostly lacking since Jason’s victims have all but a “kill me next” sign on their foreheads.
I’ve often wondered about the weakness of Jason’s origin story, and how he evolved from a child too weak to swim to a murderous entity with superior strength. His laser-focused blood lust becomes repetitive and one-dimensional. And it’s hard to feel sorry or invested in his often insufferable victims, which diminishes the horror of his mission.
In order to better understand the Jason phenomenon, I tracked down the Shout Factory collection and staged my own marathon, watching all 12 films, including the crossover “Freddy vs. Jason” and the 2009 reboot. The observations are my own. Your actual bloody mileage may vary. The grading system is based on a one to five hockey mask scale, five being best.
Actor Robbi Morgan as Annie Phillips in a scene from the original “Friday the 13th” film.
(Paramount Pictures)
‘Friday the 13th’ (1980)
Grade: Five hockey masks
Deep cuts: A group of counselors at Camp Crystal Lake are being bumped off in bloody fashion by a mysterious assailant. The killer is revealed to be middle-aged camp cook Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer), who blames the accidental drowning of her son Jason on negligent camp staff.
Die hard: Still the OGG (Original Gruesome Gangster), effectively establishing its grindhouse-flavored formula of gore, violence and gratuitous nudity. Palmer doesn’t appear until the last 15 minutes, but her creepy performance is indelible. Her climatic fight with King is a hoot. And that ending!
Catch and kill: Counselor Jack Burrell (Kevin Bacon, in only his second film role) is lying with his girlfriend post coitus when a hand appears from under the cot, grabs his head and an arrow pierces his throat.
‘Friday the 13th Part 2’ (1981)
Grade: Two and a half hockey masks
Deep cuts: Set five years after the carnage at Camp Crystal Lake, Jason, who is retconned as never having died, tracks down Alice at her home without the help of Google Maps or GPS and kills her before returning to the camp — now nicknamed Camp Blood — to target a new set of counselors.
Die hard: The gore gets bloodier as Jason shows off his implements of destruction, which include barbed wire, machetes, long blades and claw hammers. The nudity is also more gratuitous and the counselors more obnoxious. Palmer and King make cameo appearances.
Catch and kill: Lying on top of each other during a bedroom romp, counselor trainees Jeff Dunsberry (Bill Randolph) and Sandra Dier (Marta Kober) are skewered like shish kabobs by a spear.
Ginny Field (Amy Steel) is the heroine in “Friday the 13th Part 2.”
(Paramount Pictures / Getty Images)
‘Friday the 13th Part III’ (1982)
Grade: Two hockey masks
Deep cuts: Still troubled by her terrifying encounter with Jason at her family‘s cabin near Crystal Lake, Chris Higgins (Dana Kimmell) revisits the area accompanied by several friends. Jason, of course, is on the loose and on the hunt for fresh blood.
Die hard: The installment, filmed in 3-D, marks the seminal moment of Jason discovering and putting on the hockey mask that will become his trademark. The film ends with Chris “killing” Jason with an ax.
Catch and kill: A tie. Jason fires a 3-D harpoon into the eye of Vera Sanchez (Catherine Parks), and later crushes the skull of Rick Bombay (Paul Kratka), causing his eyes to pop out.
‘Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter’ (1984)
Grade: Two hockey masks
Deep cuts: You can’t keep a masked serial killer down. Jason comes alive in a hospital morgue and resumes his killing spree, stalking a house in the woods filled with sex-hungry teens. Also in harm’s way are neighbors Trish Jarvis (Kimberly Beck) and younger brother Tommy (Corey Feldman).
Die hard: The film was intended by Paramount Studios as a farewell to Jason, who is killed with a machete by Tommy. But the ending hints at the possibility that the spirit of Jason may have leapt into the youngster.
Catch and kill: Weird house guest Jimmy Mortimer (Crispin Glover) murders the art of dance with his jumpy “frog on a hot griddle” dance moves.
‘Friday the 13th: A New Beginning’ (1985)
Grade: Half a hockey mask
Deep cuts: Haunted by nightmares of Jason, an adult Tommy (John Shepherd) is sent to a rustic halfway house. A series of new murders raises suspicion that Tommy may be the new Jason.
Die hard: While the success of the so-called “final chapter” sparked a new film, the result was both a new high and low. The film has a higher body count — 20 kills — than any previous “Friday the 13th.” (Fun fact: One of the victims is played by Debi Sue Voorhees — no relation to Jason or Pamela Voorhees.) But the final twist — an ambulance driver is posing as Jason — infuriated many fans.
Catch and kill: A lit car flare is shoved into the mouth of an unlucky motorist.
‘Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives’ (1986)
Grade: Two hockey masks
Deep cuts: Still traumatized by his memories of Jason, Tommy (Thom Mathews) travels to Jason’s grave to open his coffin and dispose of him once and for all. But instead, he accidentally revives the masked monster, who is now more even powerful and indestructible in resuming his campaign of terror.
Die hard: The film’s writer-director Tom McLoughlin injects a bit of meta humor into the proceedings. The opening credits spoof the iconic James Bond gun barrel signature, with Jason slashing his long blade instead of shooting a gun. A graveyard caretaker wonders, “Why did they have to go and dig up Jason? Some people have a strange idea of entertainment.”
Catch and kill: Jason twists off the head of an unfortunate counselor.
‘Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood’ (1988)
Grade: One hockey mask
Deep cuts: Jason is accidentally resurrected once again after being trapped under water. His resumption of his killing campaign is met with a new foe: a young woman named Tina Shepard (Lar Park Lincoln) who has telekinetic powers.
Die hard: Producers attempt to rejuvenate the sagging franchise with a return to meat-and-potatoes, filling the film with bloody kills while giving Jason a “Carrie”-style adversary.
Catch and kill: Jason smashes a sleeping bag occupied by a terrified camper against a tree.
They should have called “Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan” by a different name: “Jason Takes a Cruise With Teens.”
(Paramount Pictures / Getty Images)
‘Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan’ (1989)
Grade: Minus two hockey masks
Deep cuts: A graduating senior class from Crystal Lake celebrates with a cruise to New York, unaware that Jason, who has been resurrected from a watery grave, is along for the ride.
Die hard: The more accurate title for this entry would be “Jason takes a cruise with teens traveling to New York,” though it would not have fit on the theater marquee. The possibilities suggested by the compelling title are only hinted at when Jason glares at a group of street urchins. Most of the mayhem takes place on the ship (filmed on a soundstage in Vancouver), with only about 15 minutes of the movie set in New York — and most of that is in a sewer tunnel.
Catch and kill: Jason knocks off the head of a teen boxer. The head rolls into a nearby dumpster.
Allison Smith and Steven Culp in “Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday,” which wasn’t very final.
(Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)
‘Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday’ (1993)
Grade: Minus three hockey masks
Deep cuts: Jason’s body is blown up during an FBI sting operation. However, his heart survives the explosion and it is in pursuit of a new host body. Meanwhile, a bounty hunter tries to warn surviving members of the Voorhees family.
Die hard: Jason goes to hell, and so does the viewer. The formula veers in a new direction with a dose of social commentary and elements from “The Evil Dead.” The bloody tedium, which includes a Jason-possessed coroner who shaves one of his victims before killing him, concludes with a tease of Jason’s imminent battle with “Nightmare on Elm Street” villain Freddy Krueger.
Catch and kill: A scene showing a young camper being sliced in half while straddling her lover in a camping tent was cut down by the ratings board in order to avoid an X rating.
‘Jason X’ (2002)
Grade: Minus three hockey masks
Deep cuts: Set in the year 2455, a cryogenically frozen Jason is aboard a space station, waiting to be studied by a collection of young scientists. They soon regret having him on board.
Die hard: This entry is lost in space, a desperate vehicle with almost no connection to the other films. The masked monster is transformed into a uber Jason with a new metallic body and mask. The mayhem is more sci-fi action than horror.
Catch and kill: Jason freezes the face of a young scientist in liquid nitrogen, and smashes it on a counter.
‘Freddy vs. Jason’ (2003)
Grade: Two hockey masks
Deep cuts: “Nightmare on Elm Street” serial killer Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) uses Jason, who is stuck in the bowels of hell, as a vehicle to resume his terror campaign on Elm Street‘s residents.
Die hard: Heavyweight fright between two horror icons which serves as a sequel to “Jason Goes to Hell” and “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare.” Like most highly anticipated bouts, the buildup is more exciting than the final conflict. The CGI-heavy showdown becomes tedious after a while, and the ending is ambiguous, leaving the door open for a rematch. Although fans seemed to like the crossover, the conflict pales in comparison to other monster duels such as “Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman” and “King Kong vs. Godzilla.”
Catch and kill: Jason slices a stoner possessed by Freddy in two.
Jared Padalecki pumped new life into Jason in the “Friday the 13th” reboot.
(John P. Johnson / Paramount Pictures)
‘Friday the 13th’ (2009)
Grade: Two hockey masks
Deep cuts: A group of partiers visiting a cabin near Crystal Lake join forces with a brother who is searching for his missing sister. They soon discover that the legend of Jason is very real.
Die hard: Jared Padalecki of the CW’s “Supernatural” brought some star power to this reboot, which gave Jason more of a backstory with a glimpse of his lair and his connection to a captive he feels resembles his mother. The violence and sex are more graphic. But in the end, it’s like putting lipstick on a hockey mask. It’s still a hockey mask.
Catch and kill: Jason pops up behind a sheriff who is trying to enter a cabin, plunging a fire poker into his eye and through the front door.
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