The Friday the 13th Movies were some of the most notable slasher films ever produced, but when rewatching them, some harsh realities must be faced. With 12 movies that included a crossover and a remake, there’s no shortage of content featuring hockey mask-wearing deformed killer Jason Voorhees. However, even the most passionate supporters of the franchise will have to admit that the films are of varying quality. From repetitive plotlines to huge narrative inconsistencies, the iconic series has had many issues over the years.
As one of the longest-running horror franchises ever, Friday the 13th And the Voorhees family have been giving viewers nightmares since 1980. With the introduction of supernatural elements, more comedic aspects, and even sending Jason to space in a sci-fi story, Friday the 13th was a vast and varied franchise that always seemed to suffer from an identity crisis. While there were many brutal kills by the Friday the 13th series, the harsh reality is that it has its fair share of problems throughout.
10
Pamela Voorhees was underutilized
Friday the 13th’s original villain was cast aside
While the casual moviegoer could see Friday the 13th As with all of Jason Voorhees’ murderous rampages, it was actually his mother, Pamela, who was on the original killing spree in Crystal Lake. Intended to avenge his son’s death, which camp counselors allowed to drown in the lake after being distracted by sleeping with each other, Pamela was a vengeful mother who sought revenge for her young son’s untimely death. This was a great backstory that could be carried forward into the rest of the series.
However, Pamela was only the antagonist for only one film, and despite a few small appearances as visions encouraging Jason to kill, she was mostly left behind by the Friday the 13th Franchise. This was a shame because Pamela represented one of the few terrifying female killers in the slasher genre and was a more notable way of differentiation. Friday the 13th From other similar movies viz Halloween Or Slipaway camp. Although Jason has become a horror icon, it’s hard to shake the feeling that Pamela was killed before her character was fully realized.
9
Alice Hardy was killed too soon
Friday the 13th’s first protagonist is killed off in the second movie
Although Friday the 13th Gained a reputation as a definitive horror franchise, the series lacked a consistent protagonist and often featured Jason hunting groups of otherwise unconnected victims. While Halloween said Laurie Strode and scream Sidney Prescott said, Friday the 13th Populated his films with disposable characters who failed to add effectively to the franchise’s lore. This could have been much different if the original protagonist, Alice Hardy, had stuck around for more than two films.
Alice was the original final girl in Friday the 13th which appeared in the opening sequence of Part 2 Only to be quickly killed off in an act of revenge by Jason Voorhees. While this was an excellent introduction that helped reinforce the false protagonist trope in slasher movies, it also killed a world of sequel potential after Alice’s trauma and life after witnessing Pamela’s killing spree in Crystal Lake. however, Alice’s actress Adrienne King has been cast in the upcoming prequel series Crystal Lake (via Bloody disgusting), so there’s a chance her character could somehow return to the franchise.
8
Jason’s motivation is weak
Friday the 13th’s silent antagonist has already been underdeveloped.
The original Friday the 13th Movie has a killer with a clear motivation, as Pamela Voorhees sought to avenge her son’s simple death and kill promiscuous teenagers who she deemed responsible for it. However, Jason’s motivation became less certain once he emerged deformed from Crystal Lake. After killing Alice Hardy and avenging his mother’s death, he continued on his murderous spree, but his exact wishes and desires remained shrouded in mystery.
While part of the appeal of the Friday the 13th franchise was that Jason was a mindless killer who could not be stopped or reasoned with in any way, this also meant that his character had very little room for growth. Without some sort of motivation, it’s impossible for audiences to really understand Jason. While this may have worked for one or two movies, after 12 films, It’s disappointing that Jason was still so one-dimensional.
7
It is full of unresolved storylines
Friday the 13th disregards and ignores previously established narratives
Slasher movies often end with a clue that the violence isn’t over yet, leaving the door open for a sequel. This was a trap Friday the 13th Used throughout the franchise, but the sequels often ignore the loose ends that its predecessor left behind. The most jarring example of this was the end of A new beginning. It was the only entry in the series that did not show Voorhees as the antagonist and told the story of an adult Tommy Jarvis who was left traumatized by his encounter with Jason, whom he killed. The last chapter.
The end of A new beginning established Tommy (John Shepherd) as the new villain of the series when he wore Jason’s signature hockey mask and approached Pam Roberts (Melanie Kinnaman) while wielding a knife. However, this development was unpopular with viewers, and rather than address and overcome the issue in the sequel, it was simply ignored altogether. Rather than Tommy taking over as the villain, Friday the 13th resurrected Jason from the grave And turned it into a Supernatural franchise.
6
The inconsistent supernatural lore
Friday the 13th introduced supernatural elements without rules
The unstoppable force of evil, Jason Voorhees, always found a way to return in the Friday the 13th series. While in later installments Jason was confirmed to be a supernatural figure, the early films were grounded in a sense of reality as Jason first emerged after a horrific childhood of fending for himself around Crystal Lake and even avoiding death when he escaped from the morgue in Friday the 13th: The Last Chapter. Although this may have stretched the limits of belief, It was only in Part VI: Jason Lives That he was brought back from the dead and became supernatural.
It was a natural development and the only logical way to bring Jason back for another movie, but the problem was that supernatural teaching was extremely inconsistent throughout the world. Friday the 13th Franchise. of surrendering his spirit to sacrifices in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday to his sci-fi regenerative powers in Jason XJason’s abilities vary greatly from one movie to the next. With no consistency throughout the franchise, it’s clear that writers and directors just made it up randomly as they went along.
5
Repetition, repetition, repetition
Friday the 13th made the same movie over and over again
While slasher movies, by their definition, follow a pre-established pattern of killers hunting down their victims, when rewatching the Friday the 13th The series back-to-back, it’s jarring how much the films repeat themselves. By constantly introducing a new set of victims to the area around Camp Crystal Lake, the first four Friday the 13th Movies are essentially the same movie repeated with slight alterations. With such a bare-bones antagonist as Jason, the only thing differentiating Part 2 of Part III was that Jason switched out his burlap sack for his signature hockey mask.
This may be acceptable for viewers during the theatrical releases, who waited years for the next entry, but for a modern viewer watching the entire series at once, many installments are painfully derivative. Friday the 13th has consistently relied on a stab-and-repeat formula Which failed to strongly add to his series lore in a way that feels meaningful. When a series has 12 separate installments and a whole lot of spin-off media, it would be nice if it actually had something new to say.
4
The genre changes cannot distract from weak narratives
Friday the 13th has constantly switched up its style
While the earliest entries in the Friday the 13th Franchise tells classic slasher stories of an unstoppable killer hunting groups of unsuspecting teens, later entries shook things up with genre changes. These included the supernatural events of a psychic teen in Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood Or even the sci-fi stylings of Jason XAn installment that moved the action to the year 2455 as Jason was cryogenically frozen for over 400 years. Although the willingness to play with the genre has shown the franchise, it is not enough to overcome weak stories.
The genre changes of Friday the 13th Can be a lot of fun, but it doesn’t change the fact that most movies devolve into a simple chase-and-kill story until the end. Although Friday the 13th Has utilized aspects of sci-fiSupernatural, and even meta-comedy styles serve as a way out of poor stories that often have very little to say. While Jason Going to Space might sound like a fun idea on paper, in reality, it played out like a franchise that didn’t know what to do next.
3
It is a franchise of diminishing returns
Friday the 13th does not get better with later instances
The morning Friday the 13th Movies are very influential on the slasher genre with nefarious scores and some truly terrifying kills. With Jason Voorhees only introduced properly in the second movie and not sporting his signature hockey mask until entry number three, there’s a lot to be said for the development from the beginning of the franchise. however, The Friday the 13th Movies lost their way over the yearsAnd even the franchise’s biggest supporters would admit that this series was one of diminishing returns.
It means even the people behind Friday the 13th They were acutely aware that it was a franchise that was best put out of its misery because both the fourth and ninth films were marketed as the series conclusion. despite this, The last chapter And The last Friday Could not keep Jason buried in Crystal Lake, and he always found a way to return. Although the last part of the series has its moments, 12 movies can be overkill.
2
Freddie beats Jason
Friday the 13th has been constantly compared to A Nightmare on Elm Street
Friday the 13th And A Nightmare on Elm Street were two of the biggest slasher franchises of the 1980s, so it makes sense that viewers often compare the two. The debate of who was better, Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees, has been raging for decades. This question grew even more urgent with the release of Freddy vs. JasonA 2003 crossover movie that brought the two murderous figures together as they faced off in an epic battle. While the winner of the fight was ambiguous in the film, the harsh reality was that Freddy beat Jason in terms of artistic merit.
Although A Nightmare on Elm Street Has had its fair share of low pointsThe truth was a more complex and deep series than Friday the 13th. Entries like cult classics Dream Warriors or the metacommentary on the series itself, The New Nightmare by Wes CravenMeant Freddy was a much more engaging villain on Rewatch. While this is a subjective issue, and everyone will have their own opinion on who is better, there is a lot of merit to the idea that Freddy beats Jason from a franchise quality standpoint.
1
The remake was just a huge hit
The Friday the 13th remake failed to bring anything new to the table
After a series filled with increasingly convoluted sequels that saw Jason Voorhees return from the dead countless times, Friday the 13th was finally remodeled in 2009. The reimagining of the original story switches the focus from Pamela to her son Jason. Rather than just a retelling of the events of the first movie, it picks up different aspects of the series and melds them into one film. This allowed Jason to start wearing his signature hockey mask and streamline the franchise into straight horror without all the supernatural baggage it had accrued.
While there was a lot of excitement about the remake of Friday the 13thIt also did not add anything new to the franchise and instead just rehashed the same gruesome style of killing audiences have grown to. This was an opportunity to right all the mistakes of the past, but instead, Friday the 13th Was content to just lean into slasher tropes and clichés. The remake did not receive any sequels, and the audience can only hope that they will do something new and exciting with Jason’s story next time they decide to revive him for the big screen.
Source: Bloody disgusting