"Friday The 13th" is one of those series that not only sticks with you but also becomes a part of who you are for those who transfer from realm of casual horror fan to hardcore dedicated horror obsessed borderline weirdo. Once this change takes place you'll notice hockey masks becoming common choice for decor and each time the 13th lands on a Friday you can be sure the date will be marked with a red x insuring you don't let this beautiful holiday get pass you unnoticed often leading to a major marathon of teenagers getting maimed and butchered by the one, the only, the king of the high body counts, Jason Voorhees also known as the man behind the mask.
On a personal level Jason Voorhees is a very important part of my own horror education and after being exposed to the maestro of blood splatters and severed limbs quickly I would find myself hooked and craving more. Unlike the other big named killers (Michael & Freddy) Jason was always a bit of an anti hero targeting only the irresponsible those who dare to do drugs or have sex out of wedlock after all such behavior is what lead to his untimely death as a child. He does not kill out of pure joy, although I'm sure there's a deformed smile underneath that infamous mask each time he slices through a topless teen with zero effort painting the environment around him in crimson.
I remember the scene where he enters a cabin full of children and for a moment you say to yourself "Oh man those kids are fucked" only to realize that Jason has zero interest in them, a moment that really causes him to stand out from the crowd, the madman who still houses a glimmer of mercy, a very intriguing concept and one of my favorite things about Voorhees.
Lets face it when it comes to kills no one and I repeat no one does it better or with more style than Jason he will kill screaming teens with anything he can get his hands on and make it into such an elaborate and gory ordeal you will be left with your jaw on the ground and a repeating "Holy shit" echoing through your mind until the next kill takes place and you can bet it will be even more mind blowing than the last.
Sequel after Sequel "Friday the 13th" is a rare franchise that delivers each time never straying from the comfortable slasher zone we all have grown to love and expect when we see a movie poster featuring a hockey mask. And this is the big reason that when it came to start getting iconic horror symbols forever inked into my skin I started with Jason's unforgettable hockey mask forever making his legacy apart of my own.
It really doesn't matter if you're a casual fan or a hardcore fan you know the mask you know the name and I don't see that changing anytime soon now that the series has been given a reboot I just hope that it inspires the next generation of fans to go back and watch the original series and that it captivates them as much as it did my generation. "Friday the 13th" will always be a big part of who I am and will remain on my top 10 most important horror franchises for as long as I exist.
- Ted "Ritualistic" Brown
As I've mentioned before, Friday the 13th is single-handedly responsible for my life-long obsession with the horror genre. The sense of excitement that filled my body as the “teenagers” in the film were stalked and killed one by one was unexplainable at such a young age, but I knew it made me feel good enough to want to experience it again, and again. I would develop obsessions with various horror franchises , included Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, Halloween, etc. etc., but Friday the 13th will always be credited as my first real exposure to the horror genre, and for that I will always hold a special place in my heart for the series.
As the sequels poured in, they became sillier and sillier, but that never bothered me, I enjoyed seeing Jason on screen regardless of how terrible the film actually was in the eyes of others. Some of the series' weakest films are some of my favorites. Jason X, and Jason Goes To Hell have taken the most amount of shit, as has the “reboot” but I personally feel like these films at least delivered what they promised. And that is actually saying something, because a lot of movies these days can't even accomplish that simple task.
I watch Friday the 13th films to see gratuitous violence and nudity, so the day that an F13 film doesn't deliver that, is the day that I will be disappointed in that particular entry into the series. I'll grant you that the reboot was definitely not void of issues, but I question what people were actually expecting when they went to the theater. It was basically one big homage to the entire franchise, in some cases borrowing both the set-up, and pay-off of specific kills. People were angry that Jason seemed to be running, though he can be seen in several of the sequels running. They were also upset that he was using a crossbow, which is also lifted directly from one of the sequels. I went to the theater to see this film expecting to see titties and gore, and that is what it delivered.
The same can be said of both Jason X, and Jason Goes To Hell, which also catch a lot of undeserved shit. Are these films silly? Of course they are, point out to me, with the exception of maybe the first two films in the series, an entry that isn't silly. Another favorite of mine is Jason Takes Manhattan. A completely ridiculous concept, but such a blast to watch. Who doesn't love seeing the iconic Jason Voorhees murdering cliché 80s punk rockers in the middle of Time Square?
The series has had its ups and downs, but for me, it's never disappointed, and it's most definitely never been boring. A lot of the set pieces created by Friday the 13th are still used in slasher films today. Whether you love it or hate it, it's impossible to deny it's influence on our culture. Jason's mother would get the ball rolling, but the last scene of the movie would create an international icon, and a heaping pile of beautiful dead teenagers.
-Shawn “napalmfuzz” Savage
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