Slasher Consistency
When compared to the other big two slasher franchises, Friday the 13th is the most consistent by far. A Nightmare Elm Street dropped the ball by turning Freddy Kruger into a comedic character. Halloween has several different timelines plus a few duds. Out of the twelve films that make up the Friday the 13th series, I’d say there are only three bad ones. That’s a 77% success rate. Pretty damn good by Hollywood franchise standards.
Out of those ten, here are my top five Friday the 13th movies.
#5: Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning
Part V: A New Beginning is a polarizing entry. Spoiler alert for those who haven’t seen it, but Jason is only in the movie for about a minute or so. It’s the opening sequence, a nightmare Tommy Jarvis has while asleep in the backseat of a car. The killer is Roy Burns, a local paramedic seeking vengeance for the murder of his son.
Producers were planning to use this film as a catalyst to take the franchise in a new direction. The plan was for Tommy Jarvis to succumb to the psychological stress of parts four and five and turn into a cold-blooded killer in the sixth entry. But those plans eventually fell through. Many fans weren’t happy with Jason’s absence in this movie.
Still, Part V has several high points. It has a sleazy, grindhouse style atmosphere. You can find everything from drug use to nudity to voyeurism to political incorrectness in this movie. It takes place at a halfway house in the Crystal Lake area rather than a summer camp. Thanks to this, the characters are unique. They’re not the typical teenage camp counselors found in other films. Just to name a few, there is Eddie and Tina, a pair of nymphomaniacs, Violet, an angsty punk rock chick, Jake, a nerd with a bad stutter, Vic, a brute with anger issues, and Joey, the obese kid nobody likes.
Tommy Jarvis is at his most badass in this film too. He’s the strong and silent type, slamming guys and throwing roundhouse kicks as if he belongs in Roadhouse. He also has nice chemistry with the final girl, Pam. It’s subtle, but cute. Her character should have returned in Part VI and developed a relationship with an adult Tommy.
Can you imagine it? The two of them kicking ass together in that canoe surrounded by a ring of fire.
It would’ve been epic.
#4: Part III
There are several memorable moments in this movie. Jason dons his iconic hockey mask for the first time. He crushes Rick’s head with such force his eyeball pops out like a jack-in-the-box. He also splits Andy in half while he’s doing a handstand. Pamela Voorhees even makes a surprise appearance in a scene reminiscent of the dream sequence in the original film.
Chili, a loveable stoner, has a hilarious death sequence. She discovers Shelly lying on the floor with his throat slit. She proceeds to run around, slowly, screaming “Shelly’s dead” in the most drawn out, baked way. To make matters even more hilarious, she runs away from an open door, which would’ve been the obvious route to safety. Instead, she turns back into the cabin and Jason greets her with a fireplace poker in the stomach.
There’s also Chris Higgins. I don’t hear her name brought up as much when horror geeks discuss final girls in the franchise, but I like her a lot. She’s a resourceful, girl-next-door type of woman. She has an interesting backstory too. In the past, Jason attacked her in the woods. She managed to escape and ever since then she’s been afraid to venture near Crystal Lake. The moment she finally faces her fears she encounters Jason again. During their final showdown with each other, he lifts his mask to make sure she knows he’s the same man who attacked her before. Solid storytelling.
And let’s not forget that kickass disco theme song.
#3: Part II
This film takes the formula of the first movie and improves upon it. It doesn’t have pacing issues, the kills are more intense, and the group of camp counselors are much more interesting characters. For example, there’s Scott, the sleazy pervert that won’t stop tormenting Terry, the reserved hot girl. He’s very persistent. He shoots slingshots at her ass and steals her clothes when she goes skinny dipping for Christ’s sake!
Paul is a stoic leader that oozes a subtle form of machismo. Mark and Vickie are one of the cutest couples I’ve ever seen. Mark is wheelchair bound and Vickie doesn’t care. She eyes him as if he’s the sexiest person on Earth. That’s beyond progressive for 1981. Jeff and Sandra are another likeable couple. They’re chill and charismatic by nature. They’re the kind of couple you can hang out with and not feel like a third wheel.
And how could we forget Ginny, one of the best final girls in the franchise. I can’t quite place my finger on it, but there’s something relatable about her. Everyone knows a Ginny or two in real life. Her showdown with Jason is memorable too. She disguises herself in his mother’s clothes and convinces him to kneel down before her. While he’s obeying orders, she raises a machete to kill him. At the last second, Jason snaps out of his Oedipus Complex-induced trance and regains the upper hand. Paul shows up just in time to save the day.
It’s also notable for two reasons. First, Jason debuts in this movie. He’s only mentioned in passing and through flashbacks in the first film, so when we are finally introduced to him as an antagonist we are kept on the edge of our seats. Second, Jason has a unique appearance. He’s clad in blue overalls and a sackcloth on his head instead of the hockey mask and dark overalls fixed in the public imagination. He’s also a bit more human. It isn’t until later entries that Jason turns into an indestructible force. In this film, he’s a feral adult, strong, but vulnerable.
#2: Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
If I recall, this movie was pitched as Jason vs. Carrie. Throwing a final girl with telekinetic powers into the mix is a bold move for a slasher franchise. Audiences could’ve easily turned their backs on this movie and ridiculed it for its parapsychology. But I don’t think they did because this script pulls it off well. The story itself is solid. Tina Sheppard, the Carrie in question, accidentally releases Jason from the bottom of Camp Crystal Lake with her powers, allowing him to embark on another murder spree.
Out of all the final girls in the series, Tina has the most depth. She has a traumatic backstory involving the death of her father. We see the stress this event has on her in the present day during nearly all of her scenes. She even has her own personal psychologist, Dr. Crews. Crews isn’t a mere shoulder to cry on though. It turns out he’s using Tina for his own personal benefit: career advancement. I love subplots like this that turn an innocent character into an asshole. It creates more conflict within the story. My motto has always been more conflict equals a better movie.
Susan Jennifer Sullivan stars as Melissa, the stereotypical mean blonde. She kills it in the role. She’s so mean you actually celebrate when Jason puts an axe in her head. Honestly, Melissa’s meanness is charming though. She’s cool, stylish, and attractive and she knows it. She’s a femme fatale in bloom.
As for Jason, this has to be his best look. His mask is broken at the ends, a broken chain hangs around his neck like a noose, his clothes are wet, ripped, and torn. You can see his spine and rib cage. He looks like a demon cast straight out of hell.
#1: Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter
This is the apex of the franchise and I’m not the only person who holds this opinion. Ask any Friday the 13th fan and they will either name this one or the sixth film as the best. I don’t like that one. It’s too corny and watered down in a 1980s type of way.
But The Final Chapter is perfect! Just like Part V, this film has a grindhouse style. We’ve got everything from coroners making out in the morgue to sleazy exercise videos to skinny dipping to stag films to Rear Window style voyeurism. The kills are bloody and gruesome. For example, Jason cuts a coroner’s throat with a saw and then twists his head around. He also crushes another’s character’s head in the shower by pressing it against the wall. Jason takes out his victims in this film aggressively. It seems like he has a vendetta to settle.
Above all else though, I think it’s the characters that elevate this film above the rest. Every one is an individual and some characters, like Ted and Jimmy, are hilarious, but their humor doesn’t turn the film into a comedy. Others characters, like Sara, are the kind you grow attached too. She’s a nice girl, way more innocent than the average teenager. You don’t want to see her die at all. When Jason comes after her, you cross your fingers and hope that she makes it.
Final Chapter perfectly serves as a culminating chapter in the trilogy that began in Part II. Like Part III, it picks up right where the previous film left off. And remember Sandra from Part II? Well, apparently she had a brother named Rob. Ever since she was killed, he’s been searching the Crystal Lake area for Jason to avenge her death. He meets the final girl, Trish Jarvis, and together they team up to bring an end to Jason’s reign of terror.
We meet Tommy Jarvis in Part IV too. In the first act, he’s an average twelve-year-old boy, but by the end of the movie he has transformed into a badass hero, the likes of which Jason has never seen before. He single handedly saves his sister’s life and sends Jason to the graveyard.
…Until Part VI: Jason Lives.