Jason Voorhees — with his traditional hockey mask, an array of sharp weapons, and overprotective mother — is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of the horror genre. With his agenda of pure revenge and signature “ki ki ki, ma ma ma” theme, his presence is an overpowering reminder to stay away from summer camps.
The intimidating character first appeared in Friday the 13th (1980), with the film then spawning a successful, campy franchise of 12 films in total, each with its unique spin on the original premise. The timeline generally runs in one main order, except for a remake and a spin-off timeline with A Nightmare on Elm Street‘s Freddy Krueger.
The franchise has remained extremely popular and a staple of the horror genre. Viewers revisit the films year after year, no matter the season, to be thoroughly entertained and frightened by the films.
What is the Friday the 13th franchise about?
The Friday the 13th films generally follow the ruthless (and sometimes misunderstood) serial killer known as Jason Voorhees. The character of Jason has been portrayed by several different actors over the years, with Kane Hodder being the most well-known and iconic.
Jason is a villainous monster who, after drowning at Camp Crystal Lake as a young child, seeks revenge on the counselors who continue to return to the camp. Jason is the killer in each film except for the original, in which the killer is his mother Pamela Voorhees, and in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, where a copycat killer poses as Jason.
Throughout the franchise, Jason has died and been resurrected several times and transformed into variations of the original character, including a zombie-esque Jason in Friday the 13th VI: Jason Lives and a science fiction cyborg in Jason X. Each film attempts to reimagine Jason’s complicated origin with brutal kills and infectious storytelling, though most of the movies mainly adhere to one timeline.
The films in the franchise
Here is the full list of movies in the Friday the 13th franchise:
- Friday the 13th (1980)
- Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
- Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
- Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
- Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
- Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
- Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
- Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
- Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
- Jason X (2002)
- Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
- Friday the 13th (2009)
The original franchise watch order
Even though many of these films include different actors portraying Jason Voorhees ⏤ and while Jason undergoes significant changes in appearance, plot, origin, and setting ⏤ the films all fit together in one major timeline. Interestingly, the two movies both include the word “final” in their titles, and both were intended to be the last installment in the franchise, but the studio kept bringing Jason back to the cinema for an easy cash grab.
The original franchise watch order is as follows:
- Friday the 13th (1980)
- Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
- Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
- Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
- Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
- Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
- Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
- Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
- Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
- Jason X (2002)
The reboot watch order
After a long-standing franchise that produced plenty of continuous films, the decision was made to reboot the iconic franchise and aim toward a more modern generation. The release of an updated Friday the 13th in 2009 was likely meant to produce a sequel, and possibly more, but a lawsuit between Sean S. Cunningham and Victor Miller put a hold on any new content relating to Friday the 13th being made.
Therefore, this serves as the only film in the reboot watch order, though with the lawsuit being settled not too long ago, perhaps a continuation is in the works.
The Freddy vs. Jason spin-off
The film collaboration between two of horror’s most iconic and recognizable villains made for a surprisingly good movie. While the reviews at the time were less than favorable, the film has obtained a cult following over the years. Even though it doesn’t exactly fit in with the rest of the Friday the 13th timeline, or A Nightmare on Elm Street, it remains a fun adventure jam-packed with campy humor and over-the-top kills as the horror duo tries to outdo each other.
All of the Friday the 13th films, except for the original, are currently available to stream on Max. The original, along will all of the others can be rented or bought on Prime Video, YouTube, and Apple TV.
