The idea of Friday the 13th as a scary day might date as far back as the Middle Ages, but say the phrase to anyone today and they’ll think of the slasher franchise that started in 1980. So on this latest Friday the 13th, here’s a look back at the 12 films of a franchise that won’t seem complete until an inevitable 13th film comes out. Rankings are from worst to best. (Click on the title of each film for my full-length review.)
12. “Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan” (1989)
After devising the great concept of bringing Jason Voorhees to the big city, the saga’s worst entry does everything wrong – including not getting to NYC until the final act. This is long after we’ve become so bored we want Jason to put us out of our misery. The rowdy yacht trip delivers none of the debauchery it promises, Final Girl Jensen Daggett’s arc about being scared of the water is dumb, and the loose editing makes everything painfully drawn out. (Here I’ll mention a problem “Part VIII” shares with every entry since the first: It ignores the timeline. Based on time jumps throughout the series, this one should take place in the 21st century, but it’s clearly still 1989.)
11. “Friday the 13th: A New Beginning” (1985)
The fifth installment sounds intriguing in retrospect: The serial killer is someone other than Jason; in fact, he’s not even in this movie except for dream sequences. However, the nuthouse setting doesn’t make sense, as none of these people are crazy enough to be there, including Tommy (John Shepherd this time, in part two of the “Tommy Trilogy”). The mystery of the killer’s identity is totally fumbled. If the movie had made it clear that it is indeed a mystery, it could’ve been fun.
10. “Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday” (1993)
New Line takes over the property from Paramount for the ninth installment, and in the cold open, it seems it’ll do it right: A woman behaves like a typical camp victim – showering and fumbling through a power outage – in order to draw out Jason. Then the military kills Jason. Gotta admit I didn’t see that coming. Then it gets stupid. Even “The X-Files’ ” Steven Williams and great character actor Lesley Jordan are powerless to make things coherent. Jason’s paranormal backstory is explained, but it’s so convoluted and goofy that you’ll immediately forget it.
9. “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives” (1986)
Writer-director Tom McLoughlin’s entry starts off dumb: Tommy (Thom Mathews this time) decides to dig up Jason’s corpse and accidentally resurrects him. After that, people actually act smart for a change. Law enforcement is interested in tracking down Jason, as is Tommy, making this more of a pursuit-based action film. And for the first time, there are kids at the camp. Nonetheless, this film is noticeably thin on tension, creative kills and even titillation.
8. “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter” (1984)
Writer Barney Cohen has a lot of good ideas for this fourth installment, but they are poorly executed. The biggest talking point is that he flirts with making little Tommy (Corey Feldman) into an accidental disciple after witnessing Jason’s string of kills. Unfortunately, this idea would be done better later in the decade by Danielle Harris in the “Halloween” saga. Even though this is only the first of the “Tommy Trilogy,” that doesn’t mean much since Feldman won’t return outside of a flashback cameo.
7. “Friday the 13th Part 2” (1981)
I can’t quite recommend this rushed first sequel, but it doesn’t miss by much. Jason – wearing a bag over his head in his debut as the main villain — has one of his best kills, skewering a post-coital couple like a shish kabob. The camp – restocked with potential counselor victims – is evocatively rundown, and I enjoy watching cute couple Lauren Marie-Taylor and Tom McBride until Jason picks them off. But most of the counselors escape Jason simply by spending a night at the bar. So this entry from writer Ron Kurz (who co-wrote the original without a credit) seems half-finished.
6. “Friday the 13th” (2009)
Although it seems logical to refresh the brand and try to make Jason scary again (or for the first time, if you’re harsh), director Marcus Nispel’s remake – unlike his 2003 “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” – ends up being tame and formulaic. That still puts it solidly in the middle of the pack in a series that has so many ridiculous misfires. Making this failed attempt at a new hit series watchable are two people we already liked – Jared Padalecki and Danielle Panabaker – along with several attractive, clothes-optional actresses.
5. “Friday the 13th Part III” (1982)
This first entry from writer Martin Kitrosser is the saga’s worst in terms of linking up with other films, yet it’s the best in terms of intriguing paths-not-taken. Final Girl Dana Kimmell is a big part of the likability. Kimmell’s Chris has an unusually close link to Jason (now with the iconic hockey mask), who chased her through the woods in the past, and may have raped her. Director Steve Miner, improving on “Part 2,” creates an atmospheric, storm-ridden yarn that closes with the one-last-scare introduction of a new villain, the Lady in the Lake. She won’t pop up again, but it’s fun to think about what might’ve been.
4. “Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood” (1988)
Writers Daryl Haney and Manuel Fidello try something unusual for the franchise: They focus on one character and give her a robust arc. It helps that telekinetic-inclined Tina is played by Lar Park-Lincoln, one of the series’ better lead actors. Director John Carl Buechler goes for old-school scares (not that these films can really be scary at this point), drawing out suspense and shooting in creepy woods. When Tina squares off with Jason (Kane Hodder, in the first of his four films) it’s goofy fun, highlighted by a genuinely nasty reveal of Jason’s visage.
3. “Jason X” (2002)
The cheapness is obvious compared to other space films of the time, as the ship’s rooms often resemble a black-box theater and the effects are at a SyFy Channel level. But put up against other “F13” movies, it’s ambitious. Director James Isaac doesn’t connect on everything he goes for – and we have to overlook the fact that Jason’s resurrection is not explained — but this 10th entry qualifies as a guilty pleasure. Jason does his thing on a spaceship, and a holodeck of a summer camp, and an alternate Earth in the 25th century. The cast features several attractive and good-enough actresses, and Todd Farmer’s screenplay has more fun with one-liners than is normal for the saga.
2. “Freddy vs. Jason” (2003)
Writer Damian Shannon and Mark Swift deliver the smartest sequel of both the “F13” and “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchises as the slasher icons finally square off a decade after New Line brought Jason into the fold. The scribes actually think about the rules of Freddy Krueger’s game and work them into a decently mysterious narrative. More money is spent than usual. This is evident in the epic final fight and in the quality of the young cast, which includes Monica Keena, Jason Ritter and Christopher Marquette.
1. “Friday the 13th” (1980)
The franchise’s original entry is not original itself, as it borrows from “Psycho,” “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” “Black Christmas” and “Halloween.” Yet the lakeside summer camp sets it apart, as director Sean S. Cunningham and writer Victor Miller take an idyllic locale and forever link it with horror. The casting of young non-Hollywood actors adds realism. Final Girl Adrienne King is great, but I wished for more of first victim Robbi Morgan, whose casual hitchhiking to Camp Crystal Lake is a throwback to a more innocent time. And while no one can watch it through this lens now (unless they’ve lived in a cave, as perhaps Jason did after his drowning that wasn’t a drowning), it’s neat to know this first entry is the series’ only overt murder-mystery. And it’s a pretty good one.
How would you rank the 12 films of the “Friday the 13th” series? Share your lists in the comment thread below.