Definitive Ranking Of 'Friday The 13th' Franchise Movies

TV & Film

Oct 10

October is here so that means we are officially into Spooky Season. And when you look at the Mount Rushmore of horror, one name, and personal favourite so call me bias, is definitely front and centre. Jason Vorhees. Friday the 13th is one of those special film series that spawned a film genre, the slasher, and an iconic killer in Jason. And with 12 films in the official series, not including the countless parodies and homages and flat-out rip-offs, it is tough to decide what is truly the best of the best for Jason and those hapless victims of Camp Crystal Lake.

But have no fear as we are going to give you the definitive ranking of the films that while not clear on the timeline within the franchise which honestly you would need a PhD to understand or just a helpful friend at NASA but it will also be a nice primer into your Halloween watching as we make that slow, Jason-like strut towards October 31st. In order to understand how we ranked, keep in mind we stuck with the official movies associated with the franchise so not only do we get the main films but I am also including Freddy vs Jason and the remake from 2009. Spoilers abound so be aware.

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

What is there to say about this film? Everything we thought we knew about Jason was politely thrown out the window and replaced with a worm that seemingly went from person to person and the concept of Jason became less about a man obsessed with avenging his mom’s death to a soul-jumping ghoul. Credit where credit is due, while the story is downright confusing certainly the kills are good and everyone will remember that the ending featured the appearance of Freddy Kreuger’s gloved hand apparently dragging Jason to hell which was to act as a prequel to a movie we didn’t get right away thanks to the poor performance of this movie.

11. Friday the 13th (2009)

In the early 2010s there was a big push from studios to reboot and reimagine some of the classic horror movies from the late 70s and early 80s. Michael Bay, the infamous producer and director of classic films like Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had already made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and turned his attention to the Friday franchise. Originally it was to follow along in the story of the franchise but then became an origin story reboot combining various elements from the original four movies but with some amped up gore and even more gratuitous nudity. In this story, a young Jason witnesses his mom be killed and becomes an amped up hermit in the woods. In modern times, Jason continues to kill but is stopped by a final girl sort of like the ending of Part 2 and 4 mixed together.

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

In a film that tells us Jason is in Manhattan we see him for essentially the last 15 minutes. The remainder of the film he is on a boat and the shores of Vancouver, I mean Camp Crystal Lake. By this point in the franchise, it seemed like the franchise was running out of steam. What keeps this movie from being in the bottom is the during his time in New York, he makes quite the mark but the city does seem to take a bit of a beating in the tourism by showing the seedy underbelly but the kills are unique and seeing Jason punch a man’s head clean off is amazing.

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

Set following the events of the fourth film, Tommy Jarvis, the protagonist from that film, is now a teenager and suffering from the effects mentally and must now face a new killer at Crystal Lake who is copying his nightmare from a few years earlier.

There was a lot to fill in following a pretty flawless film 1-4 of the series and I will give the producers full credit for trying but what drops this down in the ranking is the reveal that the killer was never Jason but a copycat and their placement within the series and timeline of the movie was flimsy at best. But the kills were solid and it seemed to lean into the nudity a little more than I remembered. But still a solid entry.

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

Tommy Jarvis is back again and we get everything reset when it comes to our Jason. In the cold open of the film, Tommy awakens the body of Jason during the course of a lightening storm and with it we get Jason’s mask back then thanks to a group of paintballers, we get Jason with his machete back and all is right again in the franchise. We get closure to the Tommy saga with Jason and another common aspect of the franchise is the possibility that Jason is not really dead but just waiting for a chance to be resurrected. The film was well received by critics and fans alike and the influx of humour in to the movie made for a better overall experience.

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

While it appears, we aren’t going to get a return of Tommy the series takes a psychic twist with Tina using her powers to resurrect Jason from the lake and he begins to terrorize a new group of teens. The kills in the film are excellent and the story is definitely easy to follow along. It was pitched as a Jason vs Carrie and while the execution was not precise, thanks to some rights issues they made due with what was available to them. We also got to see Jason without his mask and let’s say he has not handled his trials and tribulations well. But to see Jason try and fight someone who is using her mind, makes for an intriguing movie.

6. Freddy vs Jason (2003)

A showdown that was quite literally years in the making finally came to the big screen. Two of the biggest names in horror, Jason Vorhees and Freddy Krueger meet head-to-head but first they leave a lot of people dead in their wake.

Freddy who no longer has much power in his home town, resurrects Jason to reignite fear but instead discovers that it is tough to keep our guy Jason under control. Yes, there is some trouble in the writing with some cringe worthy lines and out of date words being used but there is no denying how fun this movie truly is and makes for a fun watch.

5. Jason X (2001)

Honestly by the time we get to the tenth movie in the franchise there really is no other place to go but to space. In this installment, Jason is taken into custody by the US government in order to research how Jason is able to come back to life over and over again in hopes of exploiting it but he becomes cryogenically frozen and then resurrected 455 years later on a spaceship in space. Yes, the dialogue was horrendous, the acting was subpar but to see a beefed-up Jason from nanites and bashing co-eds stuck in a sleeping bag against the tree can wipe away a lot of trouble.

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

Following the events of the third movie, Jason’s body is taken to the morgue but as we know, you can’t keep a good man down and he comes back to life, in order to reek havoc on another set of people near his homebase of Camp Crystal Lake. We are introduced to Tommy, as a pre-teen, who would go on to become the focal point for movies to come. Teens are partying (and dancing hilariously) and death is sure to follow. The film was intended to the be end of the franchise but we know that is a lie. And we sort of get a glimpse of where the franchise could have gone with a young Tommy but that never came to be but that’s okay.

3. Friday the 13th (1980)

The movie that started it all. Looking back with a seasoned horror eye, the scares are not necessarily as intense as future movies would become or even the remake but there is no denying how influential to the genre this movie would become. In this story, Camp Crystal Lake, or Camp Blood to the locals, is set to re-open but as the counsellors who spend their time smoking drugs, drinking and engaging in pre-marital sex start getting knocked off one-by-one, we start to think there is something to the rumours. The POV camera angles kept the viewing guessing who the killer could be right up until the end and it was a great twist. The ending of the movie as well was quite the scare and undoubtedly freaked out audiences at the time.

2. Friday the 13th Part III (1982)

A badly injured Jason thanks to events in Part 2 is holed up in a barn for the entirety of a movie but still manages to kill and maim a lot of people. The final girl does appear to have the upper hand by driving an axe through his head but as we know nothing is ever as it seems and Jason appears to disappear to perhaps kill another day. The only film which was shot in 3D and while re-watches has made this difficult to watch, I am sure it was great for back in the day. The other reason why this movie was so good is because Jason got his now iconic hockey mask.

1. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

Following the events of the first movie, we get a wrap up in a cold open when we see the final girl, Alice, trying to move on with her life but someone has other plans for her via an ice pick to the head. Fast forward and the camp are planning on opening again but with no killer, what could possibly go wrong. Well, a lot. There is a lot of great deaths, coherent story line and awesome practical effects. We get a deeper understanding of the Vorhees relationship and how important Jason and his mother were to were to each other. And honestly was something that carried for the rest of the series in some capacity.

And there you have it. A definitive ranking of the Friday franchise. Earlier this year, it appears the court proceedings around the franchise finally has a settlement and I am sure with the writer’s strike officially over I think we will see a return to discussions and updates about where the franchise is headed. I think the best thing we can do with it is take it back to basics. Set the movie at Camp Crystal Lake, no gimmicks necessary and let’s bring back the slasher genre for all to enjoy in a new generation.

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