Friday the 13th is easily one of the biggest franchises in horror cinema history. With 12 studio movies and a handful of fan films, it is also one of the genre’s most explored plots and villains. Since October means everyone is dusting off the classics, I figured there was no better time to rank all 12 of the Friday the 13th films. I will even mention some of the non-canon films. Without further ado, here is my list from worst to best.
*Warning, there will be spoilers for all movies mentioned.
12. Jason Goes to Hell
When viewers last saw Jason (Kane Hodder), he had been blown sky-high by a group of FBI agents. In Jason Goes to Hell, he has to find a way to overcome death for an all-new killing spree. When he returns, Jason takes out the FBI agents in his way before returning to the place he has called home for decades, Camp Crystal Lake.
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This film barely edges out Jason Takes Manhattan for the worst film in the franchise. It is so bad that the Rotten Tomato critics have not come to a consensus on the film. All of the clunky tropes come out with this one. Sadly, it is not a film that is so bad it’s good; it is just cringy and terrible.
11. Jason Takes Manhattan
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan shows Jason on a boat after once again being awakened from his death-like slumber. The ship is filled with celebrating recent graduates who Jason can’t wait to murder. Unfortunately, the vessel is heading to Manhattan, giving Jason a whole new pool of victims.
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There’s cheesy and then there’s terrible. This film falls into the latter category. The only way I can think to accurately describe this film is to say that it resembles a bad parody of a sloppily thrown-together Jason Voorhees story.
10. The Final Chapter
Believed to be dead, Jason (Ted White) is transported to the morgue in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. When he inevitably revives and escapes, he goes back to Crystal Lake. Unfortunately, a group of teens is staying in a cabin at the lake. Jason goes on one of his killing sprees, and the only thing that can stop him is the younger brother of one of the teens, who is skilled at horror effects. The young boy makes himself look like Jason as a child and forces him to confront the terrible events that led to him being what he is now.
There are no words in the English language to accurately describe how bored I was watching this movie. There are slow burns, and then there’s this monstrosity. It does not have the charm of the original, the brutal kills of most of the films or enough Jason action in general.
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9. A New Beginning
In Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, Tommy Jarvis (John Shepherd) is spending time in an asylum after taking down Jason Voorhees. While there, Tommy constantly deals with nightmares about the hockey mask-wearing killer. After Tommy moves to a rural halfway house, bodies start piling up, and he fears his deranged nemesis is back. Who is killing the patients, and why?
The biggest fault I have with this film is that Jason is not in it. A New Beginning was intended to take the franchise in a new direction. However, fans had other ideas and did not take well to the beloved, machete-wielding slasher being excluded from the film. While the story is good and the kills bloody, only a handful of fans pay any mind to this movie addition.
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8. Friday the 13th 3D
Friday the 13th: 3D takes up shortly after the second film. The plot is essentially the same. A new group of teens goes to the lake, and Jason stabs and slices them until they are all dead.
There is shockingly little to say about this film. It is another round of stalk, stab, rinse and repeat. It is nothing more than a rehash of the previous movies. Also, it is the lowest-rated Friday the 13th on Rotten Tomatoes.
7. The New Blood
Friday the 13th: The New Blood takes place after Tommy Jarvis chained Jason to the bottom of Crystal Lake. A telekinetic teen, Tina (Lar Park Lincoln) is still grieving her father who died drowning in Crystal Lake. When she returns to the lake, Tina tries to use her powers to resurrect her dad. Unfortunately, all she accomplishes is setting Jason free.
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Semi-decent in concept, this franchise addition takes it a bit too far by adding telekinesis. Obviously, Jason is supernatural, but adding a new character with powers works to detract from the former. This type of slasher is not meant to have an in-depth plot, and the writers tried too hard to give The New Blood an intense story. It doesn’t work.
6. Jason Lives
Friday the 13th: Jason Lives revisits Tommy Jarvis (Thom Mathews) who needs to be sure Jason (C.J. Graham) is actually dead. Unfortunately, when Tommy digs up Jason’s corpse, he brings the mindless killer back to life. Now, Tommy has to figure out how to put Jason to rest, permanently.
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This movie falls somewhere in the middle of the horror meter for me. It is neither epic nor horrible. There are some bloody and gruesome kills, and the plot makes sense but it doesn’t have that punch that the original or even the remake has. A solid meh goes to Jason Lives.
5. Jason X
Jason X takes the slasher to space. After being cryogenically frozen at the end of the 21st century, the killer is awoken in the year 2455. The human race is now living on a different planet called Earth 2. After thawing out, Jason takes up a weapon and begins killing the students and crew aboard the spaceship they are riding. At one point, Jason gets an “upgrade” and becomes Uber Jason.
It. Is. In. Space. Do I need to say more? My thought is that once a movie franchise that was initially set on earth goes to space, they have run out of ideas. It always means the end of the franchise is near. However, I actually like this one. The mecha Jason looks cool and he is more fierce than ever. Many of the scenes are visually incredible. The story is meh, but it’s Friday the 13th and no one is here for the story.
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4. Friday the 13th Part 2
Friday the 13th: Part 2 is set five years after the events of the first film. A new group of counselors heads to Camp Crystal Lake as the summer camp prepares to reopen. The legend of Jason Voorhees (Steve Dash) and his mother permeates the group and the area.
This film secures the template that dictates the rest of the franchise. This is where viewers are introduced to Jason as the main villain and where the iconic killer became synonymous with Friday the 13th. It is the perfect follow-up to the original. After all, it did start a cult following for the popular slasher.
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3. Friday the 13th – 2009
Friday the 13th -2009, the infamous remake of the franchise. Technically speaking, this movie was the beginning of the recent rash of requel horror films. Not exactly a remake, but not the usual sequel either. A group of young adults camp near the infamous Camp Crystal Lake where a brutal series of murders took place in 1980. Since then, the area has been boarded up and abandoned. Shortly after beginning to explore the closed camp, the group comes face to face with Jason Vorhees.
I came close to ranking this one above the original. While many fans do not care for this requel, it is one of my favorites. The story is decent, and the effects improved. Also, the stars include Jared Padalecki and Danielle Panabaker, two of my favorite actors! Honestly, this is one of my guilty pleasures of horror. To those who don’t like it because they are comparing it to the original, I urge you to look at it as its own film and give it another chance.
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2. Freddy vs. Jason
Freddy vs. Jason brings Elm Street and Camp Crystal Lake together for an epic showdown. These characters, Freddy Kruger and Jason Voorhees are two of horror’s most notable slashers, especially since both franchises were established in the 80s. The entire film revolves around bringing them together and the battle that ensues. Will the dream walker or the silent giant win? The odds are unknown.
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This movie was difficult for me to place in terms of this list. I recently rated the Nightmare on Elm Street films, so this is not the first time I have had to consider the merits of Freddy vs. Jason. The biggest thing I have learned from this experience is that the film’s value is dependent on the comparison film(s). On the other list, I didn’t rank it high. However, here, I am putting it at number two. I like and appreciate the Friday the 13th films as the brutal slasher films they are but when pitted against NOES, Freddy wins every time. Therefore, the same reasons I placed this movie low on the NOES list are why it is higher on this one.
1. Friday the 13th – 1980
Friday the 13th is where it all started. In 1957 a young Jason Voorhees was hoping for a fun summer at Camp Crystal Lake. Unfortunately, Jason is a bit different. He has severe deformations of the face and head, which makes him a target for the camp counselor bullies. That summer, Jason sadly drowns. Two counselors are murdered the following summer, and the camp closes down. Years later, in 1980, Camp Crystal Lake reopened, and counselors again began turning up dead. Everyone wonders if Jason has come back for revenge.
You can not beat the OG when it comes to this franchise. While the kills are cheesy, this film has one of the best twists in horror history. Throughout the movie, all the characters believe Jason has returned to exact the revenge he did not get as a child. They believe this so strongly that the audience dives into that mindset. When the realization occurs that it is instead his mother, it is fantastic.
There is a long list of fan-made films and related movies that I did not bring into this list. If you know of one that stands above the rest, I would love to hear about it.
Alright, horror lovers, this is my ranking of every Friday the 13th. Do you agree? Which film takes the number one spot on your list? Let me know in the comments!
This article was originally published on 10/25/22.
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