Friday the 13th Film Series Review

Recently I've been trying to watch popular horror film series' that I've never got around to watching. After completing Hellraiser and Nightmare On Elm Street (which I should have written up but sadly did not) I am now on the Friday the 13th film series. A series that help popularise the slasher genre (the first film being regarded as one of the first true slasher films) and created one of the most famous horror icons Jason Voorhees. Here I shall look at 12 films in the series (including the crossover and remake) and my thoughts on them.

Friday the 13th (1980)

Regarded as one the first true Slasher films, Friday the 13th has all the famous genre cliches (some of which it invented and would be used throughout the entire series) and when looked at in modern times has nothing to make it standout from all the slasher films that followed. It's the basic teenagers at a camp site getting killed off one by one by a mysterious killer who isn't revealed til the very end and is confronted by the final girl. A very simple generic plot but Slasher films have always been more about the kills, suspense, mystery and final confrontation then about interesting deep narratives, characters and stories (that's not to say these  don't exist in some). Also as iconic as he is now, Jason Voorhees is actually hardly in this first movie, having only a bit of screen time as a kid (including a scene which terrified me when I was younger). Instead the focus here is on Jason's mother played by Betsy Palmer who I think does a great job as playing the psycho Mom type.The film itself is actually very entertaining, Tom Saviini does the effects, so you get some nice bloody moments though these may seem alot tamer compared to today's standards, and the final confrontation is enjoyable too. Overall it's a solid start to the series that's well executed. ***1/2




Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

The second film in the franchise sees Jason take center stage as the killer for the first time. Not with his famed hockey mask though, but a sack over his head (which is surprisingly effective and actual scarier than the mask). This literally has the same plot as the first film except with Jason as the killer, with nothing really added and the same kind of structure. So again your typical slasher which is still manages to be quite entertaining considering particularly with the final confrontation. ***




Friday the 13th Part III (1982)

In the third film Jason finally gets famous iconic hockey mask, in a film which is of course is just like its predecessors as more teenagers get killed at crystal lake except this time in 3D. And though I did not see this film in 3D, the saying 'eye popping 3D' has never been more apt in regards to one scene. Despite another formulaic approach the film is again still enjoyable with some of its kills, has a fun climax, though the acting and script are weaker than usual and the film feels alot more campy. ***

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

 Intended to finally end the series for good. The fourth series changes up it's formula a little with the use of a family in addition the teenagers including a young boy played by Corey Feldman which helps the film feel a little fresher. Tom Savini is also back leading to some very lovely gore effects and also Crispin Glover is in it with some hilarious awkward dancing. Overall I think this very enjoyable and one of the better films in the series, it's not great by any means but still a good slice of slasher fun. ***


Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)

With the fifth film producers had intended to setup a new trilogy with a different villain for the series, which meant the killer in this film is a guy who dresses up as Jason, rather than Jason himself which of course lead to alot of fan backlash, making this film one of the most disliked in the series by fans. It certainly is one of the weakest films of the series, They should have gone full blown Psychological thriller with Tommy but instead they only add a few elements and keep the focus solely on the kills which there are a good number of and make it super generic. The film is still kind of fun to watch with its bad acting and script, but its certainly not as enjoyable as most of the other films. **


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

With the sixth film, Jason makes a real come back in the perhaps the best film in the series. A thoroughly entertaining entry featuring more plot than previous entries, some good bits of gore and a nice sprinkling of metahumour added to the mix. There are some good moments of tension and the film is really nicely shot. Throw in some Alice cooper songs and you got yourselves a very fun and entertaining slasher flick.***1/2



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

After the series high of the previous film, the series takes a small dip in quality with part VII but it's still an alright entry. Alot of the kills and gory scenes were cut considerably which ended up decreasing the overall quality of the film. It does however have two things that make it stand out and that is the main character having telekinetic powers, which leads to quite an enjoyable climax and also the best looking Jason of the series with a fantastic  makeup and effects job on the face. These are the two most interesting aspects of the film and without them this film would have been rather dull, as everything in between is really not as interesting. If they hadn't cut the explicit stuff this film probably would have been much more enjoyable, but as it stands Friday The 13th Part VII is alright, it just should have been better.**1/2



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

Or for a more apt name 'Jason takes a cruise and the Manhattan in the last 20 minutes or so'. Here the series reaches one of it's lowest points with an absolute mess of a movie. Now it still has it's moments, it's not boring and actually has some very interesting camerawork, but on the whole it's just feels excessive and tiresome and by that I mean things like Jason's chase of the final few people seems to go on forever and feels a bit much, also Jason's face looks nowhere near as good in this movie compared to the last one, which is a bit of a bummer also. The films just shoddy, inconsistent (apparently Jason can now defy the laws of space and time) and an altogether bad if still very slightly enjoyable experience.**



Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)

Here's another film in the series, that tries to do something a bit different with the slightly ridiculous but interesting concept of the evil inside Jason being able to transfer to other people  if Jason is completely incapacitated (I.e. Blown to pieces).  I thought this film was alright overall, it has some nice gore moments and a few great practical effects (though Jason looks a bit hokey) and I like how they went for something different. A step up from the previous film, not great but not bad. **1/2


Jason X (2001)
 
AKA Jason In Space. Here we have perhaps the most ridiculous film in the series and man is it a fun one. Filled with a few nice bloody moments (that freeze face kill!) and some fun practical effects (as well as cheap, dated CGI), Jason X is a nonsensical fun ride with a inconsistent semi-serious tone, that has a few one liners randomly scattered in. It's the kind of film that alot of people will find hard to get on board with, but I did and I liked it. ***



Freddy Vs Jason (2003)

It's Horror Icon vs Horror Icon in a really fun crossover movie, filled with blood, kills, humour and legends fighting. Freddy vs Jason is exactly what it says on the tin, a enjoyable bit of horror fun. I've got nothing more to say. ***

Friday The 13th (2009)

 So we finally come to the remake and it's probably the worst film in the entire series. Rather than do something creative and interesting, it rehashes the same kind of plot from the first 3 films but without the  same charm the first few films had, leaving us with a film that has some nice gory moments but is overall kind of boring. I just really struggled to get into it and wish they did something a bit more interesting with it, at least the kills are still enjoyable. **

So thats pretty much my thoughts on the Friday the 13th series, mostly enjoyable but nothing that great, my rank from favourite to least.

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

2. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

3. Freddy vs. Jason

4. Friday the 13th

5. Friday the 13th Part III

6. Friday the 13th Part 2

7. Jason X

8. Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning

9. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood  

10. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday

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

12. Friday the 13th (2009)