My Top favorite Friday the 13ths

My Top Five Favorite Friday the 13ths

The Friday the 13th films have been around for more than thirty years. They have become a staple in pop culture and ranking for it's villain Jason in the kingdom of horror movies. After eleven movies, one remake, a television series, and so much more you really as a horror fan have to figure out why you love or hate these movies and which ones are your favorites. Here are mine..

LOWDOWN – I still clearly remember being seven years old and my father showing my sister and I the original Friday the 13^th for the first time when it played late one night on cable. I still remember jumping literary a foot from my chair and screaming “FUCK!” much to my father's amusement. Never before had I jumped or been so scared from a pop out in a movie ever. Of course it wasn't long before my interest and passion for horror began to grow. A few years later I'll never forget when my mother rented Prom Night, A Nightmare On Elm Street, and Friday the 13^th part IV The Final Chapter. I still clearly remember watching all those movies and really enjoying the Friday the 13^th one. I don't know what it was, maybe the music, the deaths, or just Jason himself, I just really fell in love with those movies. Before long as I started collecting VHS tapes, I remember commenting on my mother that I wanted to start buying the Friday the 13^th films. Back then the internet I don't even think existed so I really didn't know how many films there were. My mother said they were all pretty much the same. A bunch of camp counselors go into the woods, they do drugs, have sex...and Jason kills them. To me as a child, nothing could have sounded more awesome.

My mother explained to me as I began buying and slowly watching each sequel that a couple of them all took place within a few days of each other and from what she could remember the survivor from each past movie got killed in the beginning of the new movie. (Yeah she was sorta wrong with that one besides the opening of part 2, but still it peaked my interest even more.) At that time my older sister Alexis worked at a local movie/record store at the mall so she got discounts on VHS tapes. There is where I began my slow collection in trying to buy every Friday the 13^th movie. I have so many fond memories of renting these little babies and then going out to buy them.

Before long my love of horror was in full swing as just like the Nightmare On Elm Street movies, I re-watched the Friday the 13ths over and over and over again. I loved them all, the good, the bad, and the very ugly. I somehow enjoyed just how awesome of a slasher series this was and how it all started with such a humble beginning and in the end made a horror icon that changed the face of hockey masks forever. 

 

Would I say the Friday the 13ths are my favorite slashers? In all honestly I don't like to pick the more popular titles for my favorites. When people ask me to name my favorite slashers I list off such classics as Intruder, The Mutilator, The Initiation, and Killer Party. Still, such series as Nightmare and Friday hold very close to my heart. I don't like to pick sides with which series is better. I think each one is amazing and has some great movies,and some bad. That's the fun of it. Back when Freddy Vs. Jason hit theaters I was rotting for both of the villains and in the end I would like to say Jason was the last man standing.

The cool thing about the Friday the 13^th films is how they were released during a time that slashers were getting cranked out one after another after another. If you really wanted to see a series of films that showed the slow transition of the decade, the Friday movies would be your number one pick. These are movies that are special in their own way. I have been fascinated with the rise and fall of the series for years. Not only have I watched these movies so many times I know them like the back of my hand, I also now endless useless facts about the films. I have read articles, books, and interviews dealing with the making of each one. In fact funny enough back at school a friend of mine did a pretty impressive jeopardy game based just off the Friday the 13^th films. This was all because I showed one of my roommates that without looking at anything I can name every character from each Friday the 13^th movie and list their deaths in order. (I'm like sorta the smarter, sexier version of a horror Rainman...)

Well there were like fifty questions and of course nobody wanted to go against with me. In the end my friend Nate played and everyone stood back in awe as I rambled off answers they all thought would stump me. That by far was one of the funniest memories I had back at school having lots of fun with friends drinking and just being complete horror nerds. 

 

In fact a few people have remarked that I know more about the Friday the 13^th films than anyone else. Now I'm really not trying to brag, in fact there are I'm sure thousands of much bigger fans than I am. I'm still learning things about these movies even today and my modest little collection from these films are peanuts compared to other people's. Still, I think it's safe to say that one day when I do end up getting a Jason tattoo, I can rock it proudly. 

 

And of course every Friday the 13^th It's a MUST that I watch at least one movie from the series,

Another point to be made is yes growing up I was Jason one year for Halloween, and yes I'm a MASSIVE fan of Friday the 13^th the series. The television show that had nothing to do with the films taking a completely different direction than Freddy's Nightmares from the Nightmare films. I even named two of my dogs after the lead characters. If that doesn't show being a complete hard core fan I don't know what does!

So enough of me rambling, let's get down to business. I think I made it clear that the Friday the 13^th films hold a special place in my heart and I have a bit of history watching and loving them.

I plan on reviewing each film from the entire series over the months, and remarking why I either loved or hated that movie in particular. But here is my brief list of my top five favorite movies from the entire series and why.

Friday the 13^th

 

The movie that started it all. If it wasn't for this movie, there wouldn't have been any Jason. This is a VERY underrated movie. Not only is it a brilliantly made slasher that came after the success of such classics as Black Christmas and Halloween, it also paved the way for it's sequels, knock offs, rip offs, and so many awesome slashers that were made afterwards. This is a great movie that honestly is a tale of tragedy. So many people forget that it wasn't always the hockey mask wearing killer. It was somebody else...somebody who took their need for revenge and lost their mind. If it wasn't for this baby, Camp Blood would have never have been born.

Friday the 13^th part IV The Final Chapter

I love this movie for so many different reasons. Maybe because it promised to be really the final Friday film. I love the tag line “April 13^th is Jason's unlucky day.” How final and awesome this movie felt as the ever so awesome part two and three. The effects, the full blown insane ending, and of course Crispin Glover's dance moves. This is one hell of a movie that completely went balls to the walls. We were able to first meet Tommy Jarvis, and watch as he went one on one with Jason himself.

Jason Goes To Hell The Final Friday

So many people hate this movie! I don't understand. I mean really? People say this is worse than Jason X? I really don't get people. In fact I think it was ten times better than part 8! At least they took the film in a new direction and I myself loved it. This is the biggest guilty pleasure horror movie ever. I thought the effects were amazing, the storyline awesome, and of course it doesn't hurt to have Friday the 13^th the series star John D LeMay. I love the final fight “Go...To...Hell!” Also let us not forget it gave us one of the best endings/cliffhangers in horror history. This paved the way for the Freddy Vs Jason craze that went on for nearly ten years!

Friday the 13^th part V A New Beginning

The last in the gritty old school first chapter of the Friday films. This was the first half of the decade. This was back when Jason was still human and a good number of the films were all taking place around the same time-line and had many connections. I think after Jason Goes To Hell this is the second most hated movie in the film series. I couldn't disagree anymore. Yet again at least they tried to do something new and different with this movie! Yeah a lot of people say it was a cop-out, but I found it pretty clever. This is 80's goodness at it's greatest and the second part of the Tommy Jarvis trilogy. In fact the shirt I own from Fright Rags based off this movie is one of my favorites!

Friday the 13^th part 2

One of the best slasher sequels ever made. With one hell of an opening, this was the birth of meeting the Jason we all heard and were afraid of. No longer was he the boy from the lake. Now he was a grown man looking for revenge much like his mother. This was also before he began to wear his famous hockey mask. With a great lead girl played by Amy Steel, and one hell of a shocking show down, Friday the 13^th part 2 has some pretty awesome and unforgettable moments! 

So there it is, I'm sure in the future I'll be posting more about these movies and stay tuned for my post on which Nightmare On Elm Street movies in my eyes are the best...and the worst!