"Ranking Jason Voorhees: From the Worst to the Best in the 'Friday the 13th' Franchise"[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-_G5JD8E1c[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y10jRZLzTAE[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka8QJjfpw1w[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ5cMK-3Z_I[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij9c4_yFwks[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AyRUWJriuY[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCfO1aB8CIE[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDdBhDJ7wdA[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpWpe8REbag[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDrOvFtzyPQ[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mNnJuOoI80[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljFRYn1W9Lk[/embed]

Horror movies have their own subgenres. The film series “Παρασκευή και 13” or otherwise known as Friday the 13th, has shaped what we call “slasher movies“. Practically, we are talking about those films where there is one serial killer who gruesomely -and often in particularly humorous ways- slaughters a group of victims, until one remains, who usually has some connection to the killer.

The genre was “born” with the Halloween movies and Mike Myers, but Friday the 13th sealed its characteristics, with the iconic killer/undead Jason Voorhees and his hockey mask, haunting the nightmares of millions of viewers.

Here come some spoilers for the Friday the 13th movies.

Of course, it took some time for the franchise to take its final form. The movies began in 1980 with the first becoming a box office hit. However, in the original film, the killer is not Jason Voorhees, but his mother, Pamela (Betsy Palmer), who seeks revenge for her son’s death due to the negligence of the old counselors at his summer camp.

The movie ended with a twist, suggesting that Jason was still alive and returned – now an adult – in the 1981 sequel. In the third movie of 1982, Jason ditched the sack he wore on his head (from the 2nd film) and took a bloody hockey mask, which has since become part of his iconic look, and the formula was fully established.

In the subsequent nine films, Jason was “built up,” engaging in various activities each time, often funny and exaggerated. He died many times. He was resurrected. He fought with “colleague” Freddy Krueger. He terrorized Manhattan and, of course, went to space.

The franchise had its good and bad moments, often suggesting that it “ended,” but after Jason X, the flow of movies practically stopped, as we have only seen a crossover with Freddy and a relatively failed reboot in 2009 since then.

However, Jason cannot stay dead, and so a prequel television series is currently in the works, which is all the rage and is called Crystal Lake, named after the legendary camp where Mr. Voorhees operated.

Until we see whether the series will actually be “watchable,” we decided to rank the movies from worst to best to remember the most iconic moments of Jason Voorhees.

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

Perhaps the only film in the franchise that is genuinely “unwatchable.” Every scene hurts. It earns points only because it tries to differentiate itself a bit, as Jason is a “ghost” and possesses people. It has no coherence with the rest of the series and is completely poorly made in every aspect. Other films in the series may be very boring, but this one takes the award.

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

Let’s say the movie came out at a time when they were looking to see what to do with Jason to refresh him, and they thought it would be a good idea to bring him to an urban setting. It wasn’t -not entirely- a bad idea, but the execution was the worst. This was the transition to the truly bad movies of the franchise, which were also its last. Yes, but why is Jason X ranked higher? Because…

10. Jason X (2001)

Jason goes to space. It’s such a ridiculous idea that it brings with it a bit of fun. But let’s not be deceived. Even Jason X belongs to the worst movies of the series, meaning it was made during a time when studios would pay to produce films literally with “whatever.” And you can see that. However, this also led to one of the best scenes in the entire franchise. Yes, that scene with liquid nitrogen.

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

We reach a better time for the franchise (compared to the previous films). Number 5 in the series was the beginning of its decline and was really bad with an even worse central idea. It was supposed to end at number 4, and if it had, it might not be as well-known today, but it would certainly have been of higher quality. Unfortunately, all good things eventually come to an end, and A New Beginning decided to take this upon itself and do so skillfully. Jason is missing, and this is more apparent than ever.

08. Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

One of the most well-known and enjoyable crossovers in all of cinema. “A Nightmare on Elm Street” meets the killer of Crystal Lake, and -paradoxically- it makes sense narratively, hitting the right points. Okay, it remains ridiculous and feels like watching a comic book, as it pulls us out of the atmosphere of the films, but it’s probably one of the “okay” attempts in the franchise.

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

Although it belongs to the “old” recipe, the good one, unfortunately, it is the least memorable, while it tried to introduce some other fantasy elements that didn’t work very well.

06. Friday the 13th (2009)

The reboot was decent when one remembers how terrible most of the older films were and how awful most reboots of that era were too. Here we have a somewhat “back to basics” approach that worked somewhat but ultimately ended in failure, plunging the franchise into a deep sleep.

05. Friday the 13th Part III (1982)

Here we are in the “good” movies of the series. Unfortunately, the third one lost the charm of the first two films, which had a heavier, more mysterious atmosphere. But it is the film that gave Jason his iconic look with the hockey mask.

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

The fourth film in the series was exactly what it needed to be for the time and to fully close the story up until then. It is the most “classic” “Friday the 13th” movie in that it has all the elements one expects and provided suspense in its purest form.

03. Friday the 13th (1980)

This movie laid the groundwork. While it reminded us of Psycho and Halloween, it had its own identity and an unparalleled atmosphere, far better than the second film. The twist at the end elevated it further. And looking back at it now, historically speaking, we see the very important inception of a significant film franchise. It even has Kevin Bacon in it.

02. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

The “birth” of Jason. He may be coming with a sack on his head instead of his well-known hockey mask, but he is equally imposing and perhaps more frightening. Many of the core ideas began here that we saw evolve further down the line.

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

While 4 was practically the most “classic” of the series, here we have the perfect balance that combined the “darkness” of the earlier films with the “ridiculousness” of the later ones. Jason’s grand return is equally funny, it has iconic kill scenes, and, of course, one of the most memorable resurrection scenes. It takes itself seriously enough and leaves room for self-references, with interesting characters and a plot. This was the peak of the series, and we may never see that “sweet spot” again.