Every Friday The 13th movie ranked from worst to best
From 1980's Friday The 13th to, um, 2009's Friday The 13th, we're counting down all 12 horror movies featuring the unstoppable maniac Jason Voorhees
Film Features Friday The 13th
“Jason was my son … and today is his birthday,” Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) says coldly in Friday The 13th, Sean S. Cunningham’s 1980 seminal slasher, just before she carves up camp counselors as revenge for letting her boy, Jason, drown in Crystal Lake years earlier. “Those counselors were making love while that young boy drowned!” the exasperated mother explains. Of course, Jason didn’t actually die, and the masked maniac, who really knows his away around a machete, has returned for 11 more movies—including a face-off with A Nightmare On Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger and a 2009 reboot—to punish horny teens and young adults for their carnal priorities and lousy work ethic.
While the Friday The 13th films have been wildly inconsistent over the years—blame it on multiple studios, a string of directors, recast characters, and shifting censorship rules—they remain a horror touchstone. As does the iconic Jason, who ranks alongside Freddy Krueger, Dracula, Frankenstein, Pinhead, and the rest in Hollywood’s monster pantheon. In fact, Friday The 13th is the second-highest-grossing horror franchise of all time behind Halloween—the seasonal fright flick that inspired Jason’s series. So in celebration of this month’s actual Friday the 13th, we’re looking back at every movie in the fan-favorite slasher series and ranking the films from worst to best. Read on to find out which Friday The 13th movie is a cut above the rest.
77 Comments
For pure, dumb satisfaction, Jason X ranks higher for me. It’s maybe the only one of these I’ve watched more than once.
I do have a soft spot for these, but I don’t really know why; for such shamelessly trashy films, a number of them are awfully dull. I actually prefer the more shamelessly silly/gimmicky (and Glam Metal and Synth-pop soundtracked) 5th thru 8th films to the first 4 (although the third has its moments). I think Jason Lives is easily the best, some of the self-deprecating humor isn’t as fresh as it was at the time, but the energetic MTV-meets-Universal-horror direction is a real shot in the arm. I know Jason Takes Manhattan is often considered the worst, and I get it, most of it is actually on a boat and when they finally get to New York it’s actually Vancouver, but it still makes a change from a Camp again.
To celebrate Friday the 13th the digital versions of the first 8 movies are only $13 right now on the iTunes store.
That’s quite a lot for films that terrible.
Jason X is awful, but it does have one great scene – Jason is lured onto the ship’s “holodeck” where they recreate the original Camp Crystal Lake – right out of the 1980s. Jason is noticeably freaked out, especially when young teenagers appear for him to kill, but he can’t kill them because they’re holograms.
“Would you like to engage in sexual intercourse?”
…That said, the “ice bath” kill is pretty sweet, too.
“I don’t want him frozen, Rowan…I want him soft”. Cronenberg really sells that walk-on role.
Oh yeah, perfect use of your Cronenberg. Well done, sirs.
The softness of body horror. Pliability. Flexible. Succumbing.I’m sorry.
haha I swear I did not read your comment before I wrote mine–one epic fucking kill, though.
Honestly it’s one of the best scenes in any of the films, and it felt so crazy out of place for how good it was, particularly compared to the rest of that crapfest (minus, of course, frozen face shatter, because that was one epic kill).
I mean, none of these are good. But I watch the hell out of most of them anyway.
Part VI is ridiculous in that all the deaths that happen are Tommy’s fault – if he had just left well enough alone and not dug Jason up, he would have stayed dead. But they decided that Jason was dead at the end of Part IV, so they had to figure a logical (?) way to get him out of his grave.It reminds me a bit of Stephen King’s Misery, where the title fictional character is dead and Annie Wilkes forces Paul Sheldon to write a sequel where he’s alive. He tries to cheat by saying that she never died in the previous book, but she tells him that the last book ended with Misery dead and in the ground, so that’s where his new book had to start.
Yeah the way they bring Jason back is ridiculous, but I like how it gets right to the point afterwards. Jason VI wastes no time giving the people what they want, and it’s one of the most entertaining Friday films as a result.
I have so much respect for 6, as it started by not giving a single fuck, and then just kept on giving no fucks throughout. It’s possibly my favorite of them all for just going “oh is this what you want? BECAUSE HERE IT FUCKING IS”,
Tommy digging up Jason is probably related to the dream he has at the beginning of 5… in which little Corey Feldman watches from the bushes as 2 guys dig him up for unknown reasons. Presumably he wants to dig him up to get over this dream, which is likely reoccurring. Then again they completely abandon the end of 5 in which Tommy essentially becomes Jason… unless we are to believe he is in yet another dream after waking up from the dream in which he slays Pam with the machete from his bed.
And he got Horshack killed!
The first Scream movie probably did more to teach the general public that Jason was not the killer in the first film than those that actually saw the first film and remembered this.
Yeah that was actually a decent trivia question for a while.
They were straight up making it up as they went along those first few movies.
“Killer is an old woman!”
“NO! It’s a guy with a sack on his head!”
“NO! It’s a guy with a hockey mask!”
“NO! It’s a different guy with a hockey mask!”
“NO! It’s the original guy with a hockey mask, but now he’s a zombie!”
It would be interesting to hear the story of how they decided to convert dream-sequence Jason from the end of the first movie into the big bad of the second (and beyond). There’s nothing supernatural about the first one, it’s just an unhinged woman out for some sort of revenge. Then boom, huge undead killing machine.Either utter genius inspiration or a huge pile of cocaine.
That’s what I’ve always loved about this franchise. Nothing makes fucking sense! Hell, I didn’t realize Jason wasn’t the killer in the 4th one (I was a kid) until I watched it a decade after. I mean, he has hair in Freddy vs Jason!
Except Pamela Vorhees wasn’t “just out for revenge,” she was trying to keep the camp closed.In the beginning when Annie is getting a ride with the truck driver, he tells her about all the failed attempts to reopen Crystal Lake, from fires to wrecked plumbing. Pamela had been sabotaging the camp for years and only resumed her violence when it became clear it wasn’t working.
Yeah, good point – been a long time since I saw it. Without the sequels it would have been a solid standalone entry in the horror category.
IT’S GOT A DEATH CURSE!
Either utter genius inspiration or a huge pile of cocaine. This seems like the perfect spot for the “Why not both? “ meme!!
Why not both?!?
There’s nothing supernatural about the first one
There’s nothing supernatural about the second one either. He’s a normal dude, if a little disfigured.
I was going to say “Wasn’t he disfigured because he grew up submerged in a lake?” but a quick read of the synopsis says he was rumored to have lived in the woods all this time. Which doesn’t make sense since his mother was supposedly keeping the camp closed and then killing people as revenge for his death, but I probably shouldn’t dedicate too much thought to this.
I did a list on a wrestling board I’m on (list is from 2018) 1. Friday the 13th part 4
2. Friday the 13th part 6
3. Friday the 13th
4. Friday the 13th part 5
5. Jason vs freddy
6. Remake ( I like the dude from supernatural he is 6’4 so at least he is big enough to fight jason
7. Jason goes to hell
8. Jason x!!!! Best movie.to.watch drunk as.shit!
9..Friday the 13th part 3
10. Friday the 13th part 2
11. Friday part 7
12. Friday part 8.
I may have changed that now as I watched part 3-9 recently and 8 is the worst but 3 is a close 2nd.
Terrible. 2 and 3 should be way higher.
I redid it recently and 2 was way higher. 3 is a piece of shit and the 2nd worst movie behind 8. X is at least funny bad.
I love 3 for having the best theme song, some typically terrible 3D gags (the J! the yoyo!), and a gang with a leader whose primary weapon is a chain.5 has, undeniably, the series’ best set of boobs. I never really even considered the boobs in the series before I saw them as I’m more or less indifferent to boobs. But when my wife introduced me to 5, it was like, “Wow… if nothing else, this movie has those boobs.” And my wife replied, “Right?!”The worst entry is Jason Goes to Hell for asking the question(s), “What if Jason, but not? What if Jason, but The Hidden?”
Jasaon goes to hell was totally the Hidden. The remake also had great boobs and it’s why I have it high up! The people in part 3 are just so awful.
The remake had “stupendous” boobs, I believe. hahaThe lady with the awesome boobs in 5 is Deborah Voorhees… which is fitting.Shelly in 3 is basically an incel. Maybe the first onscreen? He’s the typical “kind of a dick, but sees himself as the nice guy.” I always get a kick out of the guy in the beginning’s delivery of “Day Fly Eggs?!” after eating the fish food.
Yeah Shelly 100% was an Incel! Good call! Ha!
Red Letter Media said the director of 5 was a porn director so if correct, that tracks.
Correct. I had no idea ppl had such low regard for them.
That’s fairly close to my personal ranking, but I might switch 4 and remake, definitely swap Jason X and FvJ…then move FvJ down to dead fucking last because I hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it with every fiber of my being.
Jason X is such a stupid fun movie and a fun movie to watch drunk or Hungover.
You don’t need the drunk/hungover qualifier, Jason X is just a super fun movie. People always feel the need to give it these weird backhanded compliments, like they’re ashamed of it, but it’s one of the very few entries in the series that knows exactly what it is and what it’s doing from the very first frame.
Some movies to me are just better when you are bored/tired and need a laugh. Movies like Jason X (and non horror) Drive Angry fit that bill to me. Both I saw the 1st time either drunk or hungover and I always think of them in that way.
Awful list. Part 5 being better than 2 and 3? Did you have a mannerism when typing that?
A mannerism like… stroking a bushy beard or suggestively winking?
OK. Pumping the brakes on this exercise after the very first entry. There are, at bare minimum, 3 entries worse than Part V. Yes, it doesn’t have the ‘real’ Jason with spooky powers, but what it does have is a thick sheen of sleaze and actual menace that feels way more in tune with other 80’s slashers than some garbage fanfic set in New York, Hell or freakin’ SPACE. C’mon.
There are no good Friday the 13th movies. It’s basically the only mainstream horror franchise that I can say that about.
Booo to the low New Blood rating! That movie rules, it’s an X-Men origin story disguised as a slasher, yes the toned-down violence hurts it but the sleeping bag kill is the best Friday murder and the final showdown is legitimately thrilling. Plus Jason has never looked cooler and it’s Kane Hodder’s debut behind the mask.
I’d go II, VI, III, I, and after that they start to run together except for the silly high-concept Manhattan and X.
One of the worst rankings I’ve ever seen, Robert DeSalvo needs to be fired. Do any of you people understand what makes a good Friday the 13th? Shocking.
This is a comment on the internet.
Mr. Mung looks upset about the Jason movie ranking
Yes. He is an online commenter sharing his thoughts and feelings.
“Robert DeSalvo needs to be fired” over a list of Jason movie rankings
Why would he be fired? Nothing drives engagement like people getting furious that someone likes a franchise in a slightly different order than they do. Listicles rely on people being unable to handle opinions.
The entire Jason Takes Manhattan fandom has spoken.
I worked at a theater when Jason X came out. I remember one Sunday showing, nobody came and we just turned the lights on halfway through.
I have some nostalgia for that one, but it is not a good movie. I feel bad for Kane Hodder, but I wouldn’t let him play Jason anymore after that flick either.
“You were in Jason X, dude. You lose permission. Your license is revoked.”
Um, actually…“ It is also notable for featuring the final on-screen performance of Englund as Freddy.”According to IMDB, he had two more credits as Freddy: A Nightmare on Elm Street: Real Nightmares and The Goldbergs.
Opinions vary wildly with this franchise, since fans tend to want/expect different things. Some want true horror, some want campy trash. Some want to stick to canon, some laugh off the very idea of plot consistancy. Some think New Blood was great, and others are wrong ;-)Personal Preference:Friday the 13th IV: The Final Chapter Friday the 13th VII: The New BloodJason X (I feel like people missed that it was intentionally ridiculous) Friday the 13th (1980) Friday the 13th 2 Friday the 13th 3 Friday the 13th VIII: Jason Takes Manhatten Friday the 13th (2009)Freddy vs. Jason Friday the 13th V: A New Beginning Friday the 13th VI: Jason Lives (I’m sorry, I just never understood why people seemed to like this one)Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
“Jason X (I feel like people missed that it was intentionally ridiculous)““Friday the 13th VI: Jason Lives (I’m sorry, I just never understood why people seemed to like this one)“There seems to be a disconnect here. I agree with your opinion on X… and feel like you’re missing the same thing with VI. I mean, they have a camper who can’t be more than 8 reading Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit…
No, I got it. I just don’t think it was done well. Yes, some individual gags do land (and the No Exit one is indeed great), but overall I thought it missed 9/10 shots that it took.
Ok, true story time – I saw Part 2 at an absurdly young age (I’ll say 6-7 yrs old) on good old HBO back in the day. Classic tale of a teenage babysitter doing what teenagers do and not really thinking about “should this 1st/2nd grader be watching this?” scenario.That shit F’d me up for several years. I had to sleep with the closet door to my room open for like 3 years, just so I could “be sure” that Jason was not hiding in there….which is ridiculous, I know (now).Oddly enough, although not a huge fan of horror movies per say (gee, I wonder why….), I actually have a fondness for this movie in adult life. Probably because it elicits such clear memories from my youth. I also say the grain sack was waaaaay scarier than the hockey mask, but that’s just my opinion.
This list is shit. Putting F vs J that high up is insanely stupid.
Insanity. Part VII is the best by a summer camp mile.
The only one of these movies I’d call outright awful is Jason Goes to Hell- the rest generally range from “kinda eh” to “pretty decent”. Like yeah, A New Beginning and Jason Takes Manhattan have their shortcomings but they’re not completely without interest.
It’s been awhile, but I thought 3 was not very good. Yeah, it introduces the iconic mask, but beyond that, all I remember is the distracting shots clearly intended for 3D.
Part V is an interesting experiment in putting a swerve into a long running series – it has a fake Jason, but he dresses like Jason, talks like Jason (i.e. doesn’t) and does everything a Jason would do, for all practical purposes in this movie he might as well be Jason. It’s the least swervy swerve they could’ve done – we’re not talking Halloween 3 or Jason Goes To Hell here – and it still gets a certain amount of “not a REAL Jason movie” flak.
Fuck this list
“Friday The 13th Part III … was the first 3D movie to get a wide domestic release in theaters.”Was House of Wax 1953 wide release? It was #1 at the box office for 3 weeks.
Jason Goes to Hell should be at the bottom of this list. He’s barely in the film!
All lists are subjective, but I gotta say (legally obligated, even): Freddy vs. Jason is a TERRIBLE Friday the 13th movie. As a Nightmare movie? Sure. It makes a lot of sense. As a movie about Jason mowing down hapless teens? One of the worst in the franchise. I dunno. These AVC lists always feel like they’re by people who are indifferent to the franchises they’re ranking. And if the rebuttal is,“What? Should they get someone who actually has a take on the series to rank these movies?” Yeah! It’d be way cooler!
For me I hate that FvJ’s cinematography looks like the early 2000’s music video astethitic.
Admit it, this is the only reason Final Chapter is #1:
Maybe critics do get the genre but much of the genre is bad?
Psycho and Halloween are critically praised. But they’re made with a ton of skill in a way that the Friday the 13th movies (and I have seen them all, friends) are not.
Have to throw in my $.021. Friday the 13th Part II2. Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter3. Friday the 13th4. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood5. Friday the 13th Part III6. Jason X7. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives8. Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning9. Freddy vs. Jason10. Friday the 13th (2009)11. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
12. Jason Goes To Hell
I have my “Pamela Voorhees” theory on the Friday the 13th series: Basically, Jason never came back. After Pamela was killed, her evil spirit possessed Jason’s body and she became an obsessed demonic figure from that time forward. Jason’s soul was always that of a kid and stayed at peace, possibly sad for his forever-angry Mom.Which makes Freddy vs Jason kind of a charming date night!
Hot take: If Final Chapter is the best film of the series then there are no good films in the series, which … sounds about right. Friday the 13th has always been a copy of the formula set by Carpenter’s superior Halloween. Aside from the iconic hockey mask, the series hasn’t accomplished much.