Friday the 13th revolves around the machete-wielding, hockey masked murderer, Jason Voorhees. While most slashers have some kind of origin story that is developed over the course of the franchise, Jason's family history has always been more or less vague - especially when it comes to his father.
The mother-and-son bond that led his mother, Pamela Voorhees, to open hunting season on teenagers at Camp Crystal Lake after Jason's death is well-explored in the first two films. Jason Goes to Hell introduces his half-sister, Diana Kimble, who essentially is a means to an end. She serves the purpose of bringing Jason back to life (again) after he uses her freshly murdered corpse as a vessel to become reborn.
Though there are many ways someone could explore the Voorhees family tree, most fans of the Friday the 13th franchise are curious about Jason's father, Elias. As one of the most popular horror franchises of all time, speculation and fan theories have run rampant. Likewise, various Friday the 13th stories have picked up where a lot of the films left off and have taken the story behind this iconic villain further than they've dared to explore.
Who Is Elias Voorhees?
Elias Voorhees being explored in the Friday the 13th movies isn't a new concept. In Friday the 13th VI: Jason Lives, the original ending had Jason visiting his father's grave. Aaron Guzikowski's script for the next Friday the 13th movie, which was scrapped in 2017 due to a legal battle over the franchise, included more of Jason's origin story, including information on his father. In the abandoned script, Elias Voorhees was a murderous park ranger at the infamous Camp Crystal Lake, who was intended to rack up a high body count in the beginning of the film. He seemed to be a villainous foil to young, innocent Jason and an unfaithful husband to Pamela - who, according to the script, was responsible for her husband's demise.
Pamela's Tale Explores A History of Abuse and Violence
Elias Voorhees became a part of Jason's story almost a decade before Guzikowski's script. Back in 2007, a two-issue comic book miniseries provided another look at the Voorhees family in "Pamela's Tale". Written by Marc Andreyko, "Pamela's Tale" gave insights into who Pamela Voorhees was before Jason was born and her relationship with her husband. The comic describes Elias as "a simple, masculine man with simple needs" and implies an abusive relationship where he drank to excess and beat his wife. In this tragic, bloody little story, Pamela's psychosis that she exhibited after Jason's death is referenced here when Jason encourages her to kill her behemoth husband to protect them both, this time from the womb instead of from beyond the grave.
After disposing of her husband's body in Crystal Lake, Pamela takes up a position working for the camp and gives birth to Jason on the grounds. This seems to be a lead-in to the rest of the tale as we know it. The comic and Guzikowski's script share a similarity in that Elias Voorhees might be the root of Jason's violent, murderous temperament. Most media depicts Jason as a sweet, gentle child, which may have been inherited from his mother, before she was driven to kill.
Whether or not any of this is integrated into future projects within the Friday the 13th franchise is still unknown, as legalities are still keeping the rights tied up in courts and preventing future films from being made.