Jason Voorhees Will Never Die! Every 'Friday the 13th' Movie, Ranked
If you love slasher flicks, Friday the 13th isn't an unlucky day at all.
Everyone knows that Friday the 13th is an unlucky date. It's also the worst possible time to go camping. The Friday the 13th movies star Jason Voorhees, the iconic hockey mask wearing killer. While the film series wouldn't be considered high art by many, they are very popular among horror and slasher fans. Whenever a Friday falls on the 13th of the month, it's a perfect opportunity to marathon this series. Here's a ranking of each film, from worst to best.
Related: The Best Slasher Movies of All Time
Friday the 13th Movies, Ranked
Jason X (2001)
New Line Cinema
The biggest problem with this movie is that it just isn't as fun as it should be. Jason X begins with Jason escaping his chains in a government facility, only to be cryogenically frozen. Over 400 years later, a group of students find him, take him on their spaceship and accidentally wake him up. The film is purposely cheesy and doesn't take itself too seriously, but that isn't enough to save it. While Jason fighting a crew of space marines is a funny concept, the execution is awkward, poorly lit and, worst of all, kind of dull. The worst part of this movie is definitely the musical score, which sounds like it was performed entirely on a keyboard bought from a Toys R Us.
How to watch Jason X: Rent Jason X from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Redbox, Vudu and YouTube.
Related: The Best Horror Comedy Movies of All Time
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
New Line Cinema
While many people fault the eighth film in this franchise for having a misleading title about Jason going to Manhattan, at least that movie eventually shows the titular killer stalking the streets of New York City. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, however, doesn't feature any scenes at all of Jason in Hell. Instead, it tells a strange story about Jason being a parasite that infects people while he searches for a previously unmentioned long, lost relative so that Jason can be reborn … it's confusing. The movie also introduces a bounty hunter named Creighton Duke, who somehow knows everything about Jason's new mystical powers—and then kills him off before doing anything interesting with him.
How to watch Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday: Rent from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Redbox, Vudu and YouTube.
Related: The Best and Worst Classic Horror Movie Remakes
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
New Line Cinema
The last film in the series to be released by Paramount Pictures, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan is often (and correctly) criticized for having a misleading title. Jason spends most of the movie on a cruise ship headed towards Manhattan. Many of the New York City scenes were actually shot in Vancouver, which results in a very non-NYC-looking NYC. Despite that, this movie features Jason stalking a bunch of teens on a boat, so if fans can get past the misleading title, it's fine.
How to watch Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan: Stream on STARZ or rent from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Hulu, Philo, Redbox, Roku, Sling TV, Vudu and YouTube.
Related: How to Watch the Hellraiser Movies In Order
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
Georgetown Productions
While Jason dies at the end of almost every film in the franchise, the fourth film implied that Jason was dead for good this time ... so when it came time to make the fifth movie, the filmmakers were left with a hockey mask-sized hole in their script.
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning film follows Tommy Jarvis, the survivor from the last movie, as he arrives at a camp for troubled teens. When people start dying, people start to wonder if Tommy might have snapped. The film deserves credit for trying something different with the franchise. Unfortunately, it's also a fairly poorly made film and lacks a clear protagonist.
How to watch Friday the 13th: A New Beginning: Stream on STARZ or rent from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Hulu, Philo, Redbox, Roku, Sling TV, Vudu and YouTube.
Related: How to Watch the Chucky and Child's Play Movies In Order
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
Terror, Inc.
After the fifth film attempted to move the series past Jason Voorhees, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives literally brings him back from the dead. Tommy Jarvis, now completely healed from his emotional distress in the previous film, digs up Jason's grave and impales the corpse with a metal rod. Unfortunately, lightning strikes and revives the killer.
Yes, it makes no sense. From there, Jason heads back to Camp Crystal Lake, renamed Camp Forest Green, which is currently full of young summer campers and teen counselors. While this is a popular entry among fans, Jason Lives tries to balance horror with comedy in ways that don't always work. Oftentimes, the humor ends up undercutting the tension and really hurts what's otherwise a solid Friday the 13th film.
How to watch Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives: Stream on STARZ or rent from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Hulu, Philo, Redbox, Roku, Sling TV, Vudu and YouTube.
Related: How to Watch the Halloween Movies In Order
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Paramount Pictures
After appearing only as a hallucination in the first film, Jason Voorhees makes his big screen debut in Friday the 13th Part 2. After exacting revenge on his mother's killer, Jason returns to Camp Crystal Lake, which now serves as a school for camp counselors.
This movie does a solid job of upping the stakes from the original, although the cast is a bit bigger and isn't as memorable as that of the first film. The ending of Friday the 13th Part 2 is completely nonsensical and leaves the fate of one of the characters completely unresolved. In this film, Jason wears a burlap sack over his head instead his iconic hockey mask, however, and the visual is genuinely creepy. Despite its flaws, this is still a solid entry in the series.
How to watch Friday the 13th Part 2: Stream on fuboTV and STARZ or rent from Amazon Prime TV, Apple TV, Google Play, Hulu, Philo, Redbox, Roku, Sling TV, Vudu and YouTube.
Related: The Most Memorable Horror Movie Quotes of All Time
Friday the 13th (2009)
New Line Cinema
Starting in the early 2000s, a string of slasher remakes hit the scene. Several of them were produced by Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes studio, including Friday the 13th in 2009. The film is a reboot that condenses the events of the original first three films into one story. It shows everything from Pamela Voorhees dying during her murder spree to Jason finding his iconic hockey mask for the first time. While the film is slickly made, it's also oddly paced due to how much story it tries to tell. The film is mostly fine but suffers from having too many characters and trying to cram too much into its 97-minute run time.
How to watch Friday the 13th (2009): Rent from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Redbox, Vudu and YouTube.
Related: The 50 Best Vampire Movies, Ranked
Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
Jason Inc.
After the second film introduced Jason as the series' new killer, Friday the 13th Part III cemented his place as a horror icon. This movie finally sees Jason become the iconic hockey mask-wearing killer.
The story moves away from the summer camp and instead focuses on a group of teens traveling to Crystal Lake for a weekend getaway. The cast is made up of a fairly diverse group of characters, although it does include some awkward stereotypes. The highlight of this movie is nerdy Shelly, whose love of practical jokes is what eventually provides Jason with his beloved mask.
How to watch Friday the 13th Part III: Stream on STARZ or rent from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Hulu, Philo, Redbox, Roku, Sling TV, Vudu and YouTube.
Related: 5 Must-Watch Horror Films Directed By Women
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
Friday Four, Inc.
On paper, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood shouldn't work. Jason once again returns to stalk a group of visiting teens, except this time, one of his potential victims has psychic powers and is able to fight back. The silly concept is played completely seriously, and it provides a fun alternate take on the final girl trope.
This film is also popular amongst fans as it's the first appearance of Kane Hodder as Jason. Prior to this, the killer was played by a different actor in each film. Hodder, however, would stay with the role until Jason X before being replaced in Freddy vs. Jason.
How to watch Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood: Stream on STARZ or rent from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Hulu, Philo, Redbox, Roku, Sling TV, Vudu and YouTube.
Related: The Best Demonic Possession Movies of All Time
Friday the 13th (1980)
Georgetown Productions
The original film in the series looks almost nothing like any of the sequels. Friday the 13th tells the story of a group of camp counselors who are hoping to reopen Camp Crystal Lake. The campgrounds were once a popular summer destination, but the murder of two counselors in 1958 shut the camp down.
As the counselors work to prepare the camp for visitors, a mysterious killer begins picking them off one-by-one. Unlike future films in the series, the killer's identity is kept a secret, and the movie teases out the surprise until the very end. The cast is good, the effects are top-notch for its time and the setting is genuinely creepy. Despite the lack of Jason, this is still one of the best films in the franchise.
How to watch Friday the 13th (1980): Stream on Paramount+, EPIX and EPIX Now or rent from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Philo, Redbox, Sling TV, Vudu and YouTube.
Related: Classic Horror Movies That Are Still Shocking Today
Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
New Line Cinema
While it might be controversial to place this movie this high up on the list, Freddy vs. Jason is one of the best films in the series. The ending of Jason Goes to Hell in 1993 teased the showdown between Freddy Krueger (from the Nightmare on Elm Street series) and Jason, but it wasn't until 2003 that audiences finally got to see the slashers fight.
The film begins with Freddy losing his powers due to the residents of Springfield having forgotten about him. He resurrects Jason and directs him to start killing teenagers in the town, which sparks fears that Freddy has returned. When Freddy realizes that he can't control Jason, however, the two slashers turn on each other. The film is a big-budget take on the franchise, but it deftly combines the two franchises and is a solid—and often hilarious—entry in either series.
How to watch Freddy vs. Jason: Rent from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Redbox, Vudu and YouTube.
Related: Stephen King Horror Movies Ranked
Friday the 13: The Final Chapter (1984)
Friday Four, Inc.
In 1984, the studio and producers behind Friday the 13th attempted to end the series. While there are varying reports as to why they wanted to close the book on the franchise, the most commonly told story is that they were embarrassed at making cheap slasher flicks. Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for audiences, the end result is Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.
After the first three films, Jason had finally been nailed down as a slasher and the movie is able to just dive right into the horror. The story once again sees Jason terrorizing a group of visiting teens, along with a single mom and her two kids. Since the film was meant to be the final movie in the franchise, the filmmakers went all out, and the end result is the best entry in the series.
Ironically, this would result in the series going on for another eight films, along with comics, video games and toys—and cemented Jason as a pop culture icon.
How to watch Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter: Stream on STARZ or rent from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Hulu, Philo, Redbox, Roku, Sling TV, Vudu and YouTube.