How to watch Friday The 13th movies in order?(Photo Credit –YouTube)
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Despite starting off as a mere low budget attempt, eventually Friday the 13th evolved to become one of the longest-running horror franchises in history. Friday the 13th endured massive popularity globally, however since 2009, no other movies have been made due to a legal dispute between the original screenwriter and director.
Thankfully, Peacock has announced a new chapter in the franchise with the prequel, Crystal Lake, which is expected to premiere in 2024. As we await the new chapter, here’s how you can watch all the Friday the 13th movies in chronological order.
Friday the 13th (1980)
The film that was the beginning of all the other chapters also comes first in chronological order. In this movie, viewers won’t see Jason until the very end. According to the legend, he was a bullied kid at summer camp who drowned in 1957 after his counselors neglected him while having sex. But in the present day, 1979, Camp Crystal Lake is reopened, however, when the new counselors arrive, they’re killed by Jason’s mother. In the end, a young Jason comes out of the water and grabs the sole survivor and drags her underwater.
In the next chapter, Jason is seen wearing a burlap sack instead of an iconic mask. On Friday the 13th Part 2, Alice, who survives in the first film returns and attends a training school which was built right near the abandoned Camp Crystal Lake. At present, Jason, who is an adult now, is seen seeking revenge after his mother’s death and kills the counselors.
(Photo Credit –YouTube)
Friday the 13th: Part III (1982)
The following year, the third chapter was released which showcased Jason continuing his murder spree. Meanwhile, a new character, Chris, who is traumatized because of an assault years ago decides to visit her old family near Crystal Lake to confront her past. When she arrives, she learns the man who assaulted her was Jason and he still stalks the woods near the lake. This movie also features Jason’s now-iconic hockey mask.
(Photo Credit –YouTube)
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
The final chapter in the Friday the 13th franchise revealed the idea that Jason isn’t merely mortal and possesses some supernatural power. The movie picks up from where it left off in Part III, as police take Jason’s corpse to the morgue and his body suddenly reanimates and resumes his killing spree. Meanwhile, a group of teens heads to a cabin on Crystal Lake for a weekend getaway, only to face Jason’s wrath.
(Photo Credit –YouTube)
Although this chapter was supposed to be the final one for the franchise, due to the slasher genre’s decline in the mid-80s, The Final Chapter became a financial success. Later that year, A Nightmare on Elm Street premiered, bringing back the slasher genre and prompting both franchises to release more sequels.
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
After the franchise was greenlighted for more films, A New Beginning was set years after The Final Chapter. Tommy, who was 12 in the previous movies, is now in his late teens and resides in a halfway house following a mental breakdown. Soon enough, people start dying one by one. The new addition in A New Beginning is Jason isn’t actually in the movie, instead, the murders are committed by a copycat killer. In the end, Tommy puts an end to the infamous hockey mask, revealing that he might become the killer in future chapters.
(Photo Credit –YouTube)
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
As A New Beginning brought a fresh story, fans still craved for Jason and this movie, as the title says, Jason Lives, brings back the killer from the dead. Tommy returns, and the film shifts away from his previous descent into madness, casting him as the protagonist. Determined to end Jason’s reign of terror, Tommy visits a cemetery near Crystal Lake to destroy Jason’s body once and for all. However, a timid lightning bolt strikes Jason’s corpse, resurrecting the original killer and reigniting his killing spree. In the finale, Tommy manages to wrap a chain around Jason, sinking him to the bottom of Crystal Lake. But before the credits roll, Jason’s eyes move, indicating he’s not dead.
(Photo Credit –YouTube)
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
The New Blood brings a new protagonist, Tina Shepard, a young girl with telekinetic powers. In the beginning, she accidentally kills her abusive father in Crystal Lake using her powers. Years later when she’s a teenager, she returns to the location to try and resurrect him, but ends up bringing Jason back to life. But this time, Jason isn’t the only one with powers and he’s forced to battle with Tina, whose telekinesis builds stronger with each scene. This chapter was the first time it showed Kane Hodder playing Jason.
(Photo Credit –YouTube)
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
After the events of Part VII, Jason is again revived after two teens accidentally revive him from his watery grave. He boards a cruise ship bound for New York City and begins picking off passengers during the voyage. The very title reveals that the movie takes place in the Big Apple, but only the final act is set in the city. Due to its misleading title, this chapter became the lowest-grossing Friday the 13th movie of all time.
(Photo Credit –YouTube)
Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
After a brief hiatus, Jason returns in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. This installment presents Jason as a supernatural entity capable of possessing others and turning them evil. Although this concept was unconventional, the film’s ending played a crucial role in Jason’s rebirth. After he is sent to hell, his hockey mask is left on the sand, only for Freddy Krueger’s hand to emerge, grabbing the mask and dragging it underground.
(Photo Credit –YouTube)
Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
A decade after The Final Friday was released, Jason is revived by Freddy Krueger, who disguises himself as Jason’s mother to manipulate him into killing the children of Elm Street. Freddy can only terrorize people in their dreams and finds himself forgotten after 20 years of peace. To regain his power, he needs Jason to create chaos, however, once Jason begins his killing spree, he becomes uncontrollable, forcing Freedy to intervene.
(Photo Credit –YouTube)
Friday the 13th (2009)
Friday the 13th is part reboot and part sequel and reimagines the franchise by depicting a world where Jason never died. Instead, he witnesses his mother’s murder in the original film which drives him to become a vengeful killer. 30 years later, a group of teens arrives at a summer cabin on the shores of Crystal Lake, only to find themselves targeted by Jason. This movie became the highest-grossing Friday the 13th movie.
(Photo Credit –YouTube)
Jason X (2001)
This movie is set 450 years in the future when Jason’s frozen body is transported to space to be researched by the government. But again, he lives and runs around the spaceship killing everyone in sight. The movie gets wilder when it is completed with androids, holograms, and the infamous Cyber-Jason. It ends with Jason’s body being burnt to a crisp as he enters the orbit of Earth II, a new utopian planet inhabited by humans. Despite this being his final fate, the film suggests that even in the future, Jason’s legacy to haunt teens in the woods may continue.
