Few horror franchises have created a villain as instantly recognisable as Jason Voorhees. Since the original Friday the 13th arrived in 1980, the hockey-masked killer has terrorised campers, stalked unsuspecting teenagers and turned ordinary summer vacations into nightmares. With a 13th theatrical movie now in development for 2027, it is the perfect time to revisit the franchise’s most memorable entries. From the brilliantly executed kills of The Final Chapter to the wonderfully self-aware Jason Lives, these are the 10 best Friday the 13th movies ranked by their scares, entertainment value, iconic moments and contribution to Jason’s legacy.
10. Jason X (2001)
Sending Jason Voorhees into space sounds like the kind of idea that should never have made it beyond a late-night writers’ room, but Jason X turns that ridiculous premise into an entertaining change of scenery. Set in the year 2455, the film finds Jason aboard a spacecraft after being preserved through cryogenic freezing. When he awakens, the unsuspecting crew discovers that escaping from the most persistent killer in horror history is considerably harder than expected.
The biggest attraction is the film’s willingness to embrace its absurdity. Jason eventually transforms into the futuristic Uber Jason, receiving an upgrade that makes him even more difficult to destroy. The famous liquid-nitrogen sequence is another standout moment, demonstrating that the filmmakers understood the franchise’s appeal even when the setting became increasingly ridiculous.
Jason X is hardly the scariest instalment, and its science-fiction elements will not appeal to everyone. However, it deserves a place among the franchise’s most entertaining experiments because it refuses to play safe with a formula that had already produced numerous familiar sequels.
9. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning takes a major gamble by moving attention away from Jason Voorhees and focusing on Tommy Jarvis, the boy who survived the killer’s attack in The Final Chapter. Played by John Shepherd, Tommy is now a teenager struggling with the psychological consequences of his childhood encounter. His new surroundings at a halfway house introduce another collection of troubled characters, but the violence soon returns.
The movie’s biggest strength is its exploration of Tommy’s trauma. Rather than immediately repeating the familiar summer-camp formula, it attempts to show how surviving Jason’s attacks could permanently affect someone. The increasingly disturbing murders also create uncertainty about the identity of the person responsible.
Its controversial reveal remains the biggest reason audiences disagree about this sequel. Without spoiling the twist, the decision to use a different killer instead of Jason disappointed viewers who expected another straightforward Voorhees rampage. Nevertheless, A New Beginning deserves recognition for attempting something different and expanding Tommy Jarvis’s story beyond a single confrontation.
8. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
What happens when Jason Voorhees encounters someone who can fight back using supernatural powers? Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood answers that question by introducing Tina Shepard, a young woman with telekinetic abilities. After returning to Crystal Lake, Tina accidentally releases Jason from his watery grave, setting up an unusual battle between a supernatural killer and a teenager capable of moving objects with her mind.
Lar Park-Lincoln gives Tina an interesting emotional motivation because her abilities are connected to the accidental death of her father. Her guilt and psychological struggles provide a more unusual protagonist than the typical group of teenagers who happen to arrive at Jason’s territory. The story also introduces Dr. Crews, a manipulative psychiatrist who wants to exploit her powers.
The biggest attraction, however, is the showdown between Tina and Jason. Watching her use telekinesis against a killer who normally overwhelms ordinary victims gives the film a distinctive identity. Its practical effects and memorable confrontations make The New Blood one of the more enjoyable entries, even if its theatrical violence was affected by extensive censorship.
7. Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
Friday the 13th Part III earns its place in horror history because it introduced the most important visual element of Jason Voorhees: his hockey mask. Before this film, Jason appeared with different coverings, including the sack over his head in Part II. The familiar mask transformed his appearance into something instantly recognisable and helped establish the visual identity that would define the franchise for decades.
Set after the events of the second film, the story follows Chris Higgins and her friends as they spend time at a lakeside property near Crystal Lake. Jason arrives to turn their getaway into another killing spree, while the film uses its original 3D presentation to create several deliberately exaggerated moments. Objects flying towards the camera, gruesome attacks and inventive staging give this instalment a different personality from its predecessors.
Part III is not particularly sophisticated storytelling, but it understands what audiences came to see. Richard Brooker’s physical performance as Jason also gives the killer an imposing presence. The hockey mask alone makes this one essential viewing for anyone interested in the character’s evolution.
6. Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
Two of horror cinema’s most famous killers finally sharing the same movie was a dream matchup for genre fans. Freddy vs. Jason brings together A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger and Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees in a confrontation that had been anticipated for years. Rather than simply placing both villains in the same location, the story uses Freddy’s ability to manipulate dreams to bring Jason back into the world of the living.
The central conflict works because the two characters have completely different personalities and methods of killing. Freddy is theatrical, manipulative and enjoys psychologically tormenting his victims. Jason, meanwhile, is a physically overwhelming force who rarely needs elaborate tricks to terrify anyone standing in his way.
Director Ronny Yu delivers the confrontation horror fans wanted, with increasingly brutal encounters between the two icons. Robert Englund returns as Freddy, while Ken Kirzinger portrays Jason. The film is not especially subtle, but its crossover premise, energetic action and memorable final battle make it one of the franchise’s most entertaining spectacles.
Its commercial performance also demonstrated the appeal of bringing established horror properties together. Freddy vs. Jason remains the highest-grossing film in the franchise’s domestic box-office history, according to Box Office Mojo.
5. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
The second instalment deserves special recognition because it establishes Jason Voorhees as the central killer of the franchise. The original movie’s shocking revelation that Pamela Voorhees was responsible for the murders left audiences with a major question about Jason himself. Part 2 answers that question by bringing the supposedly drowned boy into the spotlight as a terrifying adult killer.
Steve Miner directs the sequel, which follows a group of young people training to become camp counsellors near the infamous Crystal Lake. Their activities are interrupted by a killer who gradually eliminates anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path. Jason’s appearance is particularly memorable because he wears a sack over his head rather than the hockey mask that would become his signature in the following film.
Amy Steel’s Ginny Field also gives the story a particularly effective survivor. Instead of relying entirely on physical strength, she uses intelligence and her understanding of Jason’s history to create an opportunity to escape. Part 2 successfully moves the franchise beyond its original mystery and establishes the foundation for the Jason Voorhees mythology that audiences would follow through the subsequent sequels.
4. Friday the 13th (2009)
The 2009 Friday the 13th reboot is one of the franchise’s most effective modern interpretations of Jason Voorhees. Directed by Marcus Nispel, the film combines elements from the first three original movies rather than simply reproducing the 1980 storyline. Jared Padalecki plays Clay Miller, a young man searching for his missing sister Whitney around Crystal Lake, where another group of visitors has arrived for a weekend getaway.
Derek Mears delivers an intimidating version of Jason, presenting him as an intelligent and physically imposing predator. This version of the character moves quickly, sets traps and uses an extensive underground network beneath the abandoned camp. His lair gives the movie a different dimension, making Crystal Lake feel like territory that Jason has controlled for years.
The film also benefits from its strong supporting cast, including Danielle Panabaker and Amanda Righetti. Its combination of familiar franchise elements, modern cinematography and brutal practical horror sequences makes it a particularly accessible starting point for viewers unfamiliar with the original movies. Although it received mixed critical reviews, its commercial success demonstrated that Jason still had considerable theatrical appeal.
3. Friday the 13th (1980)
The movie that started everything remains one of the most important slasher films ever made. Directed by Sean S. Cunningham, the original Friday the 13th follows a group of young counsellors preparing to reopen Camp Crystal Lake despite the area’s disturbing history. Their plans quickly turn into a nightmare as an unknown killer begins eliminating them one by one.
What makes the original so effective is its atmosphere of uncertainty. Jason Voorhees is not initially presented as the unstoppable hockey-masked murderer audiences know today. Instead, the film builds its mystery around the camp’s history, local warnings and the possibility that something terrible could happen when nobody is watching.
Betsy Palmer delivers a memorable performance as Pamela Voorhees, whose connection to the camp’s tragic past provides the film with its defining revelation. Adrienne King also makes Alice Hardy a compelling final survivor, while the young cast includes Kevin Bacon in one of his early screen roles.
The original may not feature the Jason audiences associate with the franchise, but that is precisely why it deserves such a high position. Its unexpected reveal, memorable musical score and effective slasher structure created the foundation for 12 theatrical films and an enduring horror icon.
2. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
Jason Lives is arguably the franchise’s most enjoyable sequel because it understands that the series can become more entertaining when it occasionally acknowledges its own ridiculousness. Directed and written by Tom McLoughlin, the sixth instalment brings back Tommy Jarvis, now played by Thom Mathews. Still haunted by his childhood encounter with Jason, Tommy returns to the killer’s grave intending to destroy his body permanently.
Unfortunately, a lightning strike brings Jason back to life, creating an even more dangerous version of the murderer. The town has renamed Crystal Lake as Forest Green in an attempt to escape its history, but Jason’s return makes that effort meaningless. Tommy must convince the authorities that the killer is alive before another group of innocent people becomes his next target.
The film’s greatest strength is its combination of genuine horror and self-aware comedy. McLoughlin gives the movie a playful personality without removing the brutality audiences expect from Jason. The introduction of young campers also creates an interesting contrast between the killer’s murderous reputation and the innocence of the children he encounters.
Jason Lives is particularly memorable for its visual style, energetic pacing and Alice Cooper’s contribution to the soundtrack. It may not have the highest critical score in the franchise, but its reputation among longtime fans makes it one of the essential Jason Voorhees movies.
1. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
For us, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter represents the franchise at its most effective. Released in 1984 and directed by Joseph Zito, the fourth instalment brings Jason back after the events of Part III, with the killer escaping from a hospital morgue and returning to Crystal Lake. This time, however, he encounters the Jarvis family, including a young Tommy Jarvis, played by Corey Feldman.
The casting is one of the film’s biggest strengths. Feldman’s Tommy is fascinated by horror films, masks and special-effects makeup, making him an unusually resourceful character when the killer arrives. His sister Trish, played by Kimberly Beck, also becomes central to the struggle for survival. Crispin Glover adds another memorable performance as Jimmy, a teenager whose awkward personality provides some lighter moments before the violence escalates.
Ted White’s portrayal of Jason is another major reason the film works so well. His physical performance makes the killer feel threatening without relying on supernatural abilities or elaborate mythology. The attacks are brutal, the suspense builds effectively, and the final confrontation between Jason and Tommy provides one of the franchise’s most memorable sequences.
The Final Chapter also carries considerable importance because it introduces Tommy Jarvis, who would become one of Jason’s most significant recurring opponents. Its title suggested that the franchise might finally be ending, but Jason’s eventual return proved otherwise. Decades later, the film remains a particularly satisfying combination of slasher horror, memorable characters and an unforgettable final battle.
With Jason Voorhees preparing for another theatrical return in 2027, these 10 movies offer a reminder of how much the franchise has changed since its first visit to Camp Crystal Lake. Which film deserves the number-one position in your ranking: The Final Chapter, Jason Lives or the original Friday the 13th?
