When John Carpenter released Halloween in 1978, the teen slasher genre truly arrived. Although earlier films like Black Christmas (1974) explored similar territory, Halloween opened the floodgates for imitators and long-running franchises: sequels focused on Michael Myers, Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street series from 1984, and the many entries in Friday the 13th.
Friday the 13th centers on Jason Voorhees, a bullied child who grows into a hulking, masked killer stalking and slaughtering sexually active teens and other perceived transgressors. Early installments focus on gruesome murders around Camp Crystal Lake, while later films take the rampaging, sometimes supernatural Jason beyond the camp to new environments and escalating body counts.
Beyond gore, inventive kills, and a parade of attractive young victims, the franchise endures thanks to Jason himself. He is deformed, silent and often wielding a machete, but he also functions as a twisted moral agent. Unlike Michael Myers, who feels like an empty embodiment of evil, or Freddy Krueger, who feeds on fear and pagan delight, Jason resembles a warped avenger: a son seeking to vindicate his mother’s sense of moral outrage. His motivations—defending conservative values and punishing perceived immorality—give the character a distinctive, if disturbing, identity within slasher cinema.
In this edition of Ranked, The Film Magazine evaluates each Friday the 13th movie based on memorability, creative plays on franchise formula, and how imaginative Jason’s kills are. Below are the Friday the 13th films ranked from least to most successful entries in the series.
12. Friday the 13th (2009)
“Are you looking for this? Because, uh, it completes your outfit.”
This 2009 reboot presents a compressed origin story: young Jason witnesses his mother’s death, and years later an adult Jason relentlessly defends Crystal Lake from a group of twenty-somethings who arrive looking for parties and illicit fun. Directed by Marcus Nispel, the film assembles capable actors yet offers little fresh insight. The movie is flat and bloated, with a prolonged, overrated prologue and characters so thin they feel like satire rather than real victims. The kills are present but rarely imaginative enough to lift the film above routine franchise fare.
Jason’s best kill: Impaling an arrogant athlete onto hay bale spikes on the back of a truck.
11. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
“I told the others, they didn’t believe me. You’re all doomed.”
Part 2 quickly establishes a recurring formula: a new group of young people, local doomsayers, and a slow, mounting body count. The movie introduces a burlap-wearing killer and builds toward a satisfying final chase featuring the resourceful Ginny. While the pacing is sluggish at times and the film borrows heavily from its predecessor, it successfully expands Jason’s world and sets important series precedents.
Jason’s best kill: A sympathetic character in a wheelchair receives a brutal machete to the face before tumbling down stairs.
10. Freddy vs Jason (2003)
“I had to search the bowels of hell, but I found someone. Someone who’ll make ‘em remember. He may get the blood, but I’ll get the glory.”
This long-awaited crossover resurrects Jason so Freddy Krueger can exploit the panic he causes. The film delivers fan service: vivid gore, set-piece carnage, and a climactic showdown between the two icons. Unfortunately, uneven acting and padded plotting undercut the concept, leaving the spectacle enjoyable in bursts but unsatisfying overall.
Jason’s best kill: Bending a brutish boyfriend in half together with his bed.
9. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
“They say he died as a boy, but he keeps coming back!”
This entry pits Jason against Tina, a young woman with lethal telekinetic powers. The film embraces a recent trend of psychic heroines and gives Jason a strikingly decayed new look. While the premise is intriguing and the production features a memorable fire stunt, the movie borrows too much from other horror classics and suffers from inconsistent tone and editing.
Jason’s best kill: Violently bashing an occupied sleeping bag against a tree.
8. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
“Look. You don’t understand. There is a maniac trying to kill us! / Welcome to New York!”
Jason leaves Crystal Lake on a boat with a high school graduation party and eventually reaches Manhattan. Much of the film plays out at sea and on the ship, which weakens the promise of an urban setting. Still, the climax in New York and Jason’s grim, comic interactions with city denizens provide entertaining moments and a few imaginative kills.
Jason’s best kill: Dunking an odious teacher into a barrel of toxic waste.
7. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
“Smoking some dope, having some premarital sex and getting slaughtered?”
After a violent end delivered by the FBI, Jason’s spirit possesses other bodies to continue seeking rebirth. The film leans into satirical elements—sensationalist media, exploitation, and vigilante culture—and borrows heavily from demonic-possession horror. Its inventive angle is appealing, but convoluted mythology and clumsy editing limit its success.
Jason’s best kill: Ramifying a road sign through a woman’s torso during intercourse.
6. Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)
“That is one fucking ugly man that goes there!”
Centered on Tommy Jarvis, a traumatized teen in a halfway house, Part V experiments with psychological horror and red herrings about the killer’s identity. It’s one of the franchise’s edgier installments, with a higher degree of explicit violence and an attempt to develop a protagonist with genuine depth, even if the rest of the cast remains underwritten.
“Jason’s” best kill: Forcing a lit flare into a victim’s mouth.
5. Friday the 13th (1980)
“We ain’t gonna stand for no weirdness out here.”
The first sequel to the original film—often called Part 1 by fans—follows camp counselors preparing Camp Crystal Lake for reopening, only to be stalked one by one. Made on a modest budget, the film proved a cultural phenomenon, combining efficient direction, economical music cues, and a likable cast. Although the killer in this entry differs from Jason’s later, more iconic incarnations, the movie established the tone and template that would define the franchise.
Not-Jason’s best kill: A hunting arrow launches from under a bed, skewering an unlucky victim in the throat.
4. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
“That’s you they’re talking about on TV, pal!”
Originally intended as the franchise finale, The Final Chapter brought Tom Savini back for makeup and effects and benefited from a stronger budget and memorable performances. The movie delivers tense atmosphere, sharp practical gore, and a standout dynamic between a protective sister and her resourceful younger brother, producing one of the franchise’s most satisfying and polished entries.
Jason’s best kill: A stalking victim has a corkscrew driven through his hand, followed by a machete to the face.
3. Jason X (2001)
“You’re not gonna bring him back are you?”
Jason X transplants the killer into a sci-fi setting: frozen, revived and awakened 400 years in the future aboard a spacecraft. The premise refreshes the formula by merging slasher tropes with confined-set sci-fi thrills and nanotech-enhanced transformations that turn Jason into an even more formidable adversary. The film revels in its campy, self-aware tone, and while effects and performances are mixed, the concept remains surprisingly entertaining.
Jason’s best kill: After a bungled autopsy, Jason smashes a doctor’s face against a table following a cryogenic bath.
2. Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
“Sex sex sex. You guys are getting boring, you know that?”
Part III marks the moment Jason adopts the hockey mask that would become his enduring symbol. Delivered in 3D during its original release, the movie amps up the action and energy. Jason—larger, stronger and more physically imposing—begins to take on a more dominant screen presence. The film balances slasher staples with a playful edge and a tense finale inside a cabin that converts the story into a claustrophobic, effective horror set piece.
Jason’s best kill: Emerging in his newly iconic mask and killing a girl with a spear gun to the eye on a dock.
1. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
“I’ve seen enough horror movies to know any weirdo wearing a mask is never friendly.”
Jason Lives revitalizes the series by turning Jason into an unstoppable, supernatural presence resurrected by lightning after a botched cremation. Director Tom McLoughlin injects humor, atmosphere, and genre-savvy self-awareness, yielding a movie that is frightening, entertaining, and consistently inventive. The film balances scares and laughs while fully embracing Jason as an indomitable horror icon—qualities that make it the high point of the franchise.
Jason’s best kill: A brutal close-quarters fight in a motorhome toilet ends with Jason forcing a victim’s face through a metal wall, leaving a perfect imprint.
Do you agree with this ranking? Which Friday the 13th film is your favorite? Share your thoughts in the comments below.