It's time to check in on our favorite machete-wielding serial killer, Jason Voorhees. The Friday the 13th franchise is nearly forty years old and Jason has had his fair share of glorious bloodstained moments. Jason has kept his machete arm strong throughout his endeavors at Camp Crystal Lake, New York, Hell, and even Elm Street. His legacy as a prime slasher villain is more than cemented.
Audiences are familiar with his homicidal tendencies and obsession with goalie face garbs. However, there are many more moments that the melted, milk dud mamma's boy has endured. Here are The Top 10 Underrated Moments In The Friday The 13th Franchise.
Tommy Jarvis Vs. Jason
Freddy Krueger has Nancy Thompson. Michael Myers has Laurie Strode. Leatherface has...meat processing companies? Regardless, every slasher has had their own rival seeking to vanquish them from existence. Good always fights evil, with the only difference being the forms assumed by both entities.
Tommy Jarvis was Quint to the great white shark that is Jason Voorhees. The history between these two spans through three Friday the 13th sequels and a recent video game adaptation. The wounds Jason inflicted upon Tommy run deep. This is due to the fact that he was left orphaned and institutionalized after Jason's reign of terror on his life.
New Blood, Old Scars
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood quite possibly has Jason's most iconic appearance to date. It also brought Kane Hodder into the role that would define his career, Jason Voorhees.
What is often overlooked is the character of Tina Shepard, a telekinetic teenager. Tina's story is much more complex than any of the past Friday the 13th heroines. Her telekinesis manifested against her alcoholic and abusive father, which led to his death at the bottom of Crystal Lake.
Tina's guilt and power resurrect Jason from his watery grave. Jason becomes a physical symbol of Tina's guilt that she must conquer.
Nightmare On Crystal Lake
Fans had been waiting for over a decade for Freddy vs Jason. Layered beneath the marquee value of "Hey they're gonna fight!" is an exploration of Jason's psyche and character.
Freddy Krueger literally invades Jason's dreams and showcases to audiences as to what makes Jason tick. What is discovered is truly depressing as audiences catch glimpses of Jason's struggle with the memory of his mother and the relentless cycle of violence he lives.
Jason inadvertently aids the teenagers in putting an end to Freddy Krueger's bloodbath.
Terror In Times Square
A change of scenery isn't a bad thing, especially for a franchise with eight sequels that mostly take place in the woods. Which is what Director/Writer Rob Hedden wanted when he set the eighth sequel in Manhattan.
Sadly, audiences' complaints were primarily aimed at the fact that three-quarters of the film took place on the boat to Manhattan rather than Manhattan itself. Nothing can stop Jason Voorhees! Well except maybe budgetary restrictions.
Regardless, once Jason makes it to Manhattan, he sprouts some inadvertent heroics. Rennie, the lead character, is kidnapped, and nearly assaulted by hoodlums. Jason intervenes with a syringe through the assailant's chest, even if protecting Rennie was probably not his main priority.
The Book Of The Dead
An Easter egg can draw attention, joy, and theory. 1993 brought upon New Line Cinema's first addition to the franchise with Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.
A new mythical legacy to Jason Voorhees was established in Jason Goes to Hell. Jason could now body jump from person to person via a demon worm. Farfetched? Yes. Ridiculous? Sure. Different? Definitely. These are all adjectives that can describe this sequel.
There is one element that can justify this plot: The Necronomicon. The Book of the Dead makes an appearance in the rundown Voorhees home. It's never explained how it got there. It's just there. The emergence of this supernatural book from the Evil Dead franchise spawned speculation and curiosity. This Easter egg brought upon a crossover comic between Ash Williams, Freddy Krueger, and Jason Voorhees.
Paramedic See, Paramedic Do
Apparently, Jason has immense influence. That hockey mask is iconic and synonymous with Jason Voorhees and his brutal path. However, audiences had no clue that idea would be brought to fruition within a franchise sequel.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter planted the seeds to the idea of Tommy Jarvis carrying on Jason's legacy in the wake of his death. The sequel Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning attempted to follow-up that notion. It did, rather unsuccessfully.
SPOILERS galore from here on out.
Roy Burns, a paramedic whose son was killed, vows revenge on the psych ward where his son was kept. He just so happens to use Jason's identity as a scapegoat and Tommy's presence as a red herring. There's the twist. There's the movie. There's the dumbfoundedness.
Shelly's Gift
Jason's hockey mask is iconic. However, the prop's cult status usually overshadows its origin and journey.
Friday the 13th Part II introduced an adult version of Jason Voorhees. In this installment, he isn't wearing his infamous hockey mask. He's wearing a burlap sack over his head with one eye-hole for vision.
Friday the 13th Part III in 3-D is where the hockey mask was introduced. That was thanks to rotund, stumbling, and bumbling Shelly. Shelly accompanies his friends to Camp Crystal Lake after the massacre that occurred a few days earlier. His awkwardness feeds into his randomness.
Shelly attempts to get his blind date's attention by scaring her while wearing a hockey mask. Once Shelly falls to Jason's blade, his hockey mask is stolen. This look has survived the test of time.
Rise From Your Grave
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives might be the best film in the franchise. Director/Writer Tom McLoughlin wanted this sequel to feel like a throwback to classic Universal Monster films while having a sense of self-awareness.
Jason is literally resurrected by lightning and rises from his grave. Jason showcases his newfound, undead strength by punching a victim's heart out, ripping someone's head off, and even bending someone in half. Larger than life, Jason was no longer just a man stabbing people. He was now a force of nature from beyond the grave.
Monsterous Victim
In terms of lore, the Friday the 13th franchise traces back to Jason's childhood. His mental disabilities necessitated special care from the counselors at Camp Crystal Lake, leading to Jason drown when he was a child.
The Friday the 13th franchise has explored this history in snippets. Friday the 13th introduced the concept of Jason drowning while his camp counselors weren't looking after him. Friday the 13th Part II introduced the character of Ginny, a camp counselor with a child psychologist background. She brings up the idea of Jason's mental condition after going through his ordeals. She also manages to outsmart Jason by impersonating his mother, who was the only one who cared for him.
Ki Ki, Ma Ma
Pamela Voorhees has always been the catalyst of the entire Friday the 13th franchise. It is often forgotten that she was the original killer. The first film's premise was a mother seeking revenge for the death of her child. All the while, she channels her son's voice.
This concept is nearly a reverse of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. The roots of Friday the 13th are also engrained in the legend of Beowulf with the character of Grendel, a monster. However, Grendel's mother is more monstrous than he ever was. Don't let the hockey mask overshadow where Jason came from.