There are smarter horror films. There are scarier horror films. There are more “important” horror films. But nearly half a century after its 1980 debut, the Friday the 13th franchise remains one of the most recognizable brands in horror. Not because it evolved. Not because it reinvented itself. But because it never tried to be anything other than what it is.
Created by Victor Miller and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, the original film was a scrappy, low-budget slasher designed to ride the wave of John Carpenter’s Halloween. It was exploitation, plain and simple. But in its simplicity, it stumbled onto something primal.
And audiences fell for it.
The original Friday the 13th (1980) was a runaway financial hit, pulling in nearly $60 million worldwide on a shoestring budget of roughly $550,000. In the U.S. alone, it earned about $39.7 million, ranking among the top-grossing films of 1980 and cementing its status as a horror landmark. Adjusted for inflation, its domestic total would exceed $167 million in today’s dollars, underscoring just how massive the film’s impact really was.
But why is that? Halloween had more style. In 1984, A Nightmare on Elm Street became generally more disturbing. But audiences still flocked to Jason.
Friday the 13th endures because it understands rhythm. Setup. Isolation. Release. Camp counselors sneak off. A twig snaps. The camera lingers. The kill lands. It is horror stripped to its most basic mechanics, and those mechanics never really go out of style.
In an era where so much horror is layered in metaphor and psychological excavation, Jason Voorhees represents something almost mythic. He does not monologue. He does not negotiate. He does not evolve emotionally. He arrives. He punishes. He disappears. He is less character than force, a campfire story that refuses to die.
And then there’s the setting. Camp Crystal Lake is nostalgic Americana turned hostile. Summer camp is supposed to be awkward, hormonal, sunburned, and safe. Friday the 13th weaponized that familiarity. It made the woods feel infinite. It made the lake feel deep. It made isolation feel absolute. Every generation understands that fear.
The franchise also embraced absurdity long before irony became fashionable. Jason fought telekinetic teens. He went to Manhattan. He went to space. He crossed over with Freddy Krueger. Instead of collapsing under its own excess, the series survived because it never pretended to be prestige. It delivered what audiences expected: atmosphere, body count and iconography.
That iconography may be the real reason it endures. The hockey mask. The machete. The slow, unstoppable walk. Like Michael Myers, Jason became less a role and more a silhouette. You do not need context to recognize him. You just need a shadow and a shape.
Franchises survive when they become symbols. Friday the 13th did that decades ago. And now, with a new prequel series on the horizon, the question is not whether Jason still matters.
It’s why he never stopped.
Ranking the Friday the 13th Films
Here’s the definitive ranking. You can pick a machete fight with me later.
1. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
The burlap sack era. Meaner, tighter, and arguably scarier than the original.
2. Friday the 13th (1980)
The one that started it all. The Pamela Voorhees reveal remains iconic.
3. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
Self-aware without being parody. Lean, fun, and wildly rewatchable.
4. Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter (1984)
Tom Savini’s effects elevate this one. A true slasher high point.
5. Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
Freddy vs. Jason is ridiculous, but it delivers exactly what it promises.
6. Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
The hockey mask debuts. History alone earns its slot.
7. Friday the 13th (2009)
The reboot. Mean. Polished. Better than people remember.
8. Friday the 13th: The New Blood (1988)
Carrie vs. Jason. A wild swing.
9. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
The fake-out Jason twist still divides fans.
10. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
He barely takes Manhattan. Still fun.
11. Jason X (2001)
Space Jason. Honestly? It knows what it is.
12. Jason Goes to Hell (1993)
Bold ideas. Messy execution.
And Now… Crystal Lake
After years of legal battles between Miller and Cunningham that froze the franchise, Jason is finally heading back to the screens.
Peacock is developing a prequel series titled Crystal Lake, produced in partnership with A24. The series is expected to explore the mythology of Camp Crystal Lake and the early origins of the Voorhees story, with Linda Cardellini set to portray Pamela Voorhees.
It’s a fascinating pivot. Instead of rebooting Jason yet again, the franchise is digging into the foundation, the grief, the isolation, the roots of the legend.
Whether the series leans prestige or pulpy remains to be seen. But the fact that Jason is returning at all proves something important.
Friday the 13th never needed awards.
It never needed critical love.
It needed a mask, a lake, and time.
And like its silent killer, it just keeps coming back.
The Geek is a working screenwriter, director and screenwriting instructor.
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