10 Fridays to Remember
Friday the 13th
Release date: 1980
Who plays Jason? Ari Lehman, although it’s worth pointing out that Jason’s not the villain of Part one; his mother is. Mrs. Voorhees is played by Betsy Palmer.
The plot in 10 words or less: The horror movie card in Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon
The review: Originally, Jason wasn’t even in the script, but make-up artist Tom Savini made the recommendation after seeing Carrie and believing that the movie needed one, last, scary jolt in the end. Rising star Kevin Bacon played one of the camp councillors, who’s dispatched with a slit throat before the film’s climax. And despite being a blatant rip-off of Halloween, Friday the 13th helped solidify the morality clause of horror movies: No sex? No drugs? No booze? No problem. You’ll live
Friday the 13th Part 2
Release date: 1981
Who plays Jason? – Steve Daskawisz (masked) and Warrington Gillette (unmasked)
The plot in 10 words or less: The first one with Jason
The review: In his first appearance, Jason slaughters the teen councillors at a new camp on Crystal Lake, all while wearing a burlap sack on his head. Clearly a plain, brown sack wasn’t quite the fashion statement the filmmakers hoped it would be, but it would take Jason one more movie to find his true face. Part two was an even greater success than part one, thanks in no small part to the burgeoning infamy of the guy disguised as a bag. Making 18 times more money at the box office than was spent on its budget, a major movie monster, and a seemingly limitless cash machine, was born.
Friday the 13th Part 3
Release date: 1982
Who plays Jason? – Stuntman Richard Brooker
The plot in 10 words or less: Everything part 2 had, but in 3-D
The review: The original sequel plan to do stand alone films is officially out the window, although the producers are still on their yearly timetable. (An obvious precursor to the way the Saw films have been made.) In this one, Jason switches from sack to hockey mask for what seems like really no reason at all. And despite only being three movies in, the formula is already getting repetitive. How many teenagers and crazy old coots have to die before they burn that camp down and salt the Earth?
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Release date: 1984
Who plays Jason? – Ted White, considered by many to be the best of the Jasons
The plot in 10 words or less: The one where Corey Feldman kills Jason – maybe for good
The review: Yes, that’s right, Corey Feldman. In what became known as the first part of the Tommy Jarvis trilogy, the then 12-year-old actor becomes the device of the killer’s ultimate doom by… hacking him up over and over again with Jason’s own machete? Well, the audience followed the filmmakers this far. Budgeted at nearly $3 million, but making well over $32 million, the finality of the series suddenly became a matter to be reconsidered. So…
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning
Release date: 1985
Who plays Jason? – Well, no one really. This is only one of two movies that don’t feature Jason as the killer. Tom Morga, who went on to be a part of the award-winning stunt team in the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie, plays the “fake” Jason.
The plot in 10 words or less: Jason is back. Psyche!
The review: Feldman was unavailable because of Goonies, so flash-forward several years to an older Tommy Jarvis (played by John Shepherd), who’s now recovering in a halfway house following Part 4’s trauma. But soon Jason comes back and starts killing peeps. Except it’s not Jason. It could be Tommy, but it’s not Tommy, except we see in the end that it might be. Is it any wonder that they brought the real Jason back in the next episode? One thing’s for sure, Shepherd didn’t come back, because after Part V he became a born again Christian. Now that’s scary.
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
Release date: 1986
Who plays Jason? – Former soldier and nightclub owner C.J. Graham
The plot in 10 words or less: Jason’s back from the dead. (No, this time we’re serious.)
The review: It’s the end of the Tommy Jarvis trilogy as the kid that beat Jason goes looking for the killer’s cadaver, but inadvertently resurrects him Dr. Frankenstein style. The interesting side note to this film is that Crystal Lake is trying to re-brand after all machete-related killings gave the town a bad name. (People can be so judgmental.) Otherwise, this is the “crazy old man” entry in the Friday series, with Tommy running around trying to warn everyone of the dangers of Jason, and everyone thinking he’s nuts in turn. Actually, one of the better entries in the series.
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
Release date: 1988
Who plays Jason? Stuntman Kane Hodder begins his streak
The plot in 10 words or less: Jason versus the Psychic Girl
The review: A perfectly bland entry that began Jason’s slow, unwavering trek through the bowels of mediocrity. And because hapless teens can’t be deluded machete fodder forever, this Friday features a girl with powers of her own. Tina Shepard (Lar Park-Lincoln, fresh off her big break in House II: The Second Story) has telekinesis, and she’s going to fix Jason’s red wagon… Just as soon he’s done slaughtering more promiscuous teens. The only thing worse than the horrible acting is the terrible “special effects.”
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan 
Release date: 1989
Who plays Jason? – Kane Hodder
The plot in 10 words or less: Jason slowly gets to Manhattan and kills, like, two guys.
The review: Yes, for a film entitled “Jason Takes Manhattan,” there isn’t a whole lot of Manhattan taking by the hockey-masked one. The first hour takes places on a graduation cruise from Crystal Lake to New York and when an overly elaborate kill sinks the ship in a fiery mess, the survivors reach Manhattan in a lifeboat. Adding to the complete erroneousness of the film is the fact that a total of two scenes were filmed in actual New York, the rest was shot in Vancouver.
Jason Goes to Hell – The Final Friday
Release date: 1993
Who plays Jason? – Kane Hodder
The plot in 10 words or less: Jason as Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The review: It’s Jason’s last stand. The FBI kills him and explodes him into a million pieces, but he survives intact. The coroner becomes so fixated on Jason’s intact heart that he eats it right there, in the ME’s office. Apparently, if you eat Jason’s heart, you become him and surprisingly, the film manages to get even more ludicrous from there. The only notable portion of the film comes in the end when Freddy Krueger’s glove snatches Jason’s hockey mask in the dirt. Eleven years later, the fight is on.
Jason X
Release date: 2002
Who plays Jason? – Kane Hodder, playing Jason for the fourth and final time
The plot in 10 words or less: Jason in Space. ‘Nuff said.
The review: Unapologetically silly and exploitative, Jason X relishes in a campy tone that borders on parody more than outright horror, especially when a group of Marines hunt Jason Aliens-style with similar results. It’s also notable for a brief David Cronenberg cameo as an oily government hack, and for turning Jason into a literal, cybernetic, killing machine during the film’s climax.
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