Current Events > Friday the 13th films.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Currently up to Friday the 13th part V

So far I'd say 4 > 2 > 3 > 1

All extremely fun and entertaining movies. I'd say 4 has the best kills, effects and the characters I feel are likeable.
2 is also great.
3 has some really cheesy 3D shots and bad acting but it's still alot of fun and the kills are good.
The first one is a pretty competent horror film. The kills are also great here.

From what I hear in Friday part 5, Jason isn't the killer but it's where the downhill-ness of the franchise starts.
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TV series > movies
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1 is cripplingly boring but the cinematography is fun. It kind of reminds me of the original Evil Dead; jack shit happens for forever, and then the last bit of the movie is crammed with the actual good stuff

2 is pretty overrated but not terrible. A good introduction to the series if you can't bear to sit through the first one. Worth watching for the last 30 minutes or so of the movie alone.

3 gets a bad rap because of the goofy 3d but is honestly the best of the original 3 movies. The kills are kind of repetitive and all revolve around stabbing and thrusting to make things pop out of the screen at you but there's an adorable charm to it, and Higgin's Hideaway is easily the creepiest area the series took place in.

4 is probably the best Friday the 13th movie. It has the best kills by far and manages to stay incredibly engaging. Also it has a scene where Jason is killing a guy while he actively screams "HES KILLING ME!!!!" which is worth watching the movie for all on its own. The director of this movie makes a lot of campy fun stuff worth checking out.

5 in comparison is probably either the worst or second worst movie in the franchise. This movie is all over the place with random scenes of people getting introduced for the sake of killing them immediately making up 80% of it, the plot is stupid as shit even by Ft13th standards, and the ending is really weak. Avoid like the plague.

6 is really good fun and up there as one of the best movies in the series. It doesn't take itself seriously at all and comes off way better for it because it lets the movie poke fun at itself and the concepts of the earlier movies a lot easier. But at the same time, it's not a full comedy, and doesn't lose the heart of what made movies like 3 and 4 good. If you can only see a few of them, this is one to watch.

7 is a weird movie, and a divisive one at that. I like the concept of someone who can fight Jason on near-equal terms personally but it isn't for everyone. That and the script is kind of... Lackluster. Reading Crystal Lake Memories and learning about how the movie was directed was really eye-opening and explained a lot about how odd this movie feels compared to the other ones.

8 is pure camp. It gets a bad rap for being a stupid movie, but it knows it's really stupid at the same time and was hampered by some nasty budgetary limitations, so I have a soft spot for it. It feels closer to 6 than any of the other movies so I have to give it a thumbs up, but less so than its predecessor.

9 is the worst movie in the series if 5 isn't. These two are neck and neck. Honestly if I had to choose between them though, putting myself on the spot, I'd pick 5, because I have no idea what the fuck anyone was thinking when they made this thing. There are some impressively gory kills in this movie, but that's pretty much all it has; it is in no way like a Friday movie otherwise and whatever it ends up being isn't very good in comparison. This one isn't even worth it in a campy so-bad-it's-good sort of way. Avoid avoid avoid

Jason X gets a bad rap like 8, but it's a little more deserving of it. It's a dumb movie that tries to play its dumb concept in a more straight manner, but actually ends up coming full circle and being funnier for it. There's actually a lot I like about the space concept and the characters are surprisingly likable for what they are. Definitely worth watching, despite what some people say.
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The first three are the best. The fourth movie loses me in a couple areas.

When people talk about sexism in 80s horror movies, they're talking about Pam. She twice runs up the stairs instead of out the front door and gets trapped both times. Worse yet, she stands helplessly screaming while a child kills the monster for her.

Speaking of which, Tommy killing Jason is the low point of the series for me. My girl Chris battles Jason for 20 minutes and puts an axe through his head in the third movie, he survives. A little boy grabs a machete and goes crazy with it, Jason dies and comes back as a zombie. And he wasn't even planned to come back. That was meant to be his departure from the series so that that little boy could grow up and become the new villain. So stupid.

skye you got the name wrong
pam is the final girl of part 5 and she was actually an ok one
trish was the final girl you are talking about

my personal favorite is 7
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yusiko posted...

pam is the final girl of part 5 and she was actually an ok one
trish was the final girl you are talking about

Thanks. I got their names mixed up.

Yeah, Pam was alright.

if i were to rank the final girls of each film it would have to be

tina > chris > ginny > megan > jessica > pam > rowen > trish > alice > whitney (remake one) > rennie
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Sphyx posted...

TV series > movies

I'll never forget the sadness I felt after watching a bunch of episodes and realizing it's not about Jason.
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DoctorVader posted...

Sphyx posted...

TV series > movies

I'll never forget the sadness I felt after watching a bunch of episodes and realizing it's not about Jason.

i know the feeling
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part 3 is my second favorite
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Everything after 3 doesn't exist
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2
6
4
3
Remake
X
1
7
5
8
9

There's just something about 2. My favorite final girl by far, and like another poster said, the entire ending is fantastic
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Jason X is the greatest movie of all time.
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Gamer99z posted...

Jason X is the greatest movie of all time.

Agreed, unironically so even, even though I realise that qualitatively it's not that great by what qualifies as movie standards. I just really like the combination of sci-fi/horror/action. I can pretty much live with stuff like low quality in that mix, mostly because aside from Pitch Black, sci-fi/horror/action movies are almost always considered to be qualitatively bad.
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SoIidLegacy posted...

Gamer99z posted...

Jason X is the greatest movie of all time.

Agreed, unironically so even, even though I realise that qualitatively it's not that great by what qualifies as movie standards. I just really like the combination of sci-fi/horror/action. I can pretty much live with stuff like low quality in that mix, mostly because aside from Pitch Black, sci-fi/horror/action movies are almost always considered to be qualitatively bad.

The first resident evil is a terrific combo of those I'd say. I really like that first movie.
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I generally enjoy the RE movies as well, especially 1 & 3. 4 is alright, but I mostly enjoy it because of Wentworth Miller (who plays Chris Redfield). After that it goes pretty much downhill. The RE movies had never been much for story consistency, but after 4 they didn't even try anymore.
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Well after rewatching Part 5 I've warmed up a little bit on it.

Some kills were far too unnecessary though. Like they introduce characters and two minutes later they get killed. It's too much. And alot of kills happen offscreen and you only see the aftermath. There's alot of creative kills here but it's all very censored. I imagine the MPAA cut most of it. I'd love to see an uncut version if they still have the footage.

I really like just how crazy and batshit insane the characters. The movie flows along at a fast pace and there's always interesting happening onscreen even if the introduction of certain characters is completely pointless.

Also I couldn't see the ending because somehow my blu ray disc (which has a few very, very minor scratches) completely freezes the movie during the scene with Tommy, Pam, Reggie and imposter Jason in the barn....

Anyone know a fix for light scratches?
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Ser_Jaker posted...

Some kills were far too unnecessary though. Like they introduce characters and two minutes later they get killed.

Agreed. Half of them are just basic stabs too.

It's like they wanted to kill off every character who appeared on screen. If a woman was pushing a shopping cart in the background, a disembodied hand would come from off-screen to cut her down with a machete.

The series as a whole is awful, plagued with bad acting, dialogue and pacing. It did not age as well as the Nightmare On Elm Street series or the Hellraiser series (Hellraiser 2 is brilliant, with one of the best depictions of hell in any horror movie). Almost nothing interesting ever happens in these movies until the final 30 minutes. Before that you just get lame acting and boring kill scenes (whose bodies are not discovered by the protagonists until the very end, in a series of cheap jump scares).

The best movie in the series IMO is Jason X (Jason in space). Better acting, better story, likable characters (like the female android), and the first hour is not utterly boring like the others in the series, even if it followed a similar formula. The sci-fi element really helps out here. Runner up is Jason vs Carrie (girl with telekinetic powers takes on Jason). Actually had a good subplot with the girl and her abusive psychiatrist. Reminded me of Firestarter. Third would be Jason Takes Manhattan, but mainly for the third act which finally takes place in Manhattan. Best lines in the movie, "Hey, there's some maniac trying to kill us!!!!", to which the bartender responds, "Welcome to New York". This was back when NYC had a very high crime rate.

I like how the Friday the 13th game recognizes that one of Jason's powers is teleportation. He teleports all over the place in Jason Takes Manhattan. Also, that scene in Manhattan where he knocks that boxer's head off, giving you a few seconds of what his still conscious severed head sees as it tumbles down the building, is creepy as fuck.

Ammonitida posted...

The series as a whole is awful, plagued with bad acting, dialogue and pacing. It did not age as well as the Nightmare On Elm Street series or the Hellraiser series (Hellraiser 2 is brilliant, with one of the best depictions of hell in any horror movie). Almost nothing interesting ever happens in these movies until the final 30 minutes. Before that you just get lame acting and boring kill scenes (whose bodies are not discovered by the protagonists until the very end, in a series of cheap jump scares).

The best movie in the series IMO is Jason X (Jason in space). Better acting, better story, likable characters (like the female android), and the first hour is not utterly boring like the others in the series, even if it followed a similar formula. The sci-fi element really helps out here. Runner up is Jason vs Carrie (girl with telekinetic powers takes on Jason). Actually had a good subplot with the girl and her abusive psychiatrist. Reminded me of Firestarter. Third would be Jason Takes Manhattan, but mainly for the third act which finally takes place in Manhattan. Best lines in the movie, "Hey, there's some maniac trying to kill us!!!!", to which the bartender responds, "Welcome to New York". This was back when NYC had a very high crime rate.

Completely disagree. Friday is trashy cinema but most of the movies are really easily watchable and honestly keep up the pace more often than not throughout the movie, especially from 4 onward. Meanwhile, Elm Street and Hellraiser start with good movies and then progressively get insanely bad over time. The scariest part of Hellraiser is imagining actually watching any Hellraiser movie past the second one
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Ammonitida posted...

It did not age as well as the Nightmare On Elm Street series

While it doesn't ruin the movies, the special effects in the Nightmare on Elm Street films have aged terribly.

3, 5, and 7 are my favorites. Part 7 (the ending at least) was my introduction to horror films, and I've been a fan since then.
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ultimate reaver posted...

The scariest part of Hellraiser is imagining actually watching any Hellraiser movie past the second one

Hellseeker does a fun little variant of An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge, tho. Although, I'll never forget how hilarious Dean Winters' reaction is to finding out he was the one who died in the car crash.
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ultimate reaver posted...

Ammonitida posted...

The series as a whole is awful, plagued with bad acting, dialogue and pacing. It did not age as well as the Nightmare On Elm Street series or the Hellraiser series (Hellraiser 2 is brilliant, with one of the best depictions of hell in any horror movie). Almost nothing interesting ever happens in these movies until the final 30 minutes. Before that you just get lame acting and boring kill scenes (whose bodies are not discovered by the protagonists until the very end, in a series of cheap jump scares).

The best movie in the series IMO is Jason X (Jason in space). Better acting, better story, likable characters (like the female android), and the first hour is not utterly boring like the others in the series, even if it followed a similar formula. The sci-fi element really helps out here. Runner up is Jason vs Carrie (girl with telekinetic powers takes on Jason). Actually had a good subplot with the girl and her abusive psychiatrist. Reminded me of Firestarter. Third would be Jason Takes Manhattan, but mainly for the third act which finally takes place in Manhattan. Best lines in the movie, "Hey, there's some maniac trying to kill us!!!!", to which the bartender responds, "Welcome to New York". This was back when NYC had a very high crime rate.

Completely disagree. Friday is trashy cinema but most of the movies are really easily watchable and honestly keep up the pace more often than not throughout the movie, especially from 4 onward. Meanwhile, Elm Street and Hellraiser start with good movies and then progressively get insanely bad over time. The scariest part of Hellraiser is imagining actually watching any Hellraiser movie past the second one

Wow. Hellraiser Bloodline was also brilliant IMO. Probably the best origin story of any 80s/90s horror franchise I've seen, with Halloween 6 Director's cut coming in second. As for Hellraiser III, well the scene inside the nightclub was pretty good, but it went downhill from there when ghost father started speaking to the protagonist from beyond the grave. I did enjoy all of the Hellraiser movies that were made in the 2000s.

Elm Street is mixed but with more good than bad. The Dream Warriors is the best, followed by Dream Master, New Nightmare, and the original. You really didn't like New Nightmare? That was quite an original take on the franchise and was executed nicely, even featuring a cameo from Wes Craven himself as himself to sell the idea behind the movie.

For Friday The 13th 4&6 are my favorites. 5 is the worst.

For Nightmare on Elmstreet 1 and 3 are the best and 4 is alright and New Nightmare is ok. 2 and 6 are the worst.

For Hellraiser 1 and 2 are the best but I like Inferno and Hellseeker even though they felt like generic horror movies with Pinhead in them, their premises were interesting enough. Bloodline is alright and is the best in terms of horror icon in space. Hellworld is the most trash movie I've ever seen.
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ultimate reaver posted...

The scariest part of Hellraiser is imagining actually watching any Hellraiser movie past the second one

While I know it's not the general consensus, I actually liked the third one better than the second one.

The second movie is just a rehash with the uncle's lover taking his place as the skinless ghoul. While the third movie can be a bit slow at times, it at least remembers to treat Pinhead with respect. And that's the main reason I choose it over the second film.

Too bad the MPAA butchered the series to bits with censorship.
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Also, the second movie's depiction of Hell is more silly than frightening. Horny chicks who won't put out, the horror!

I also recommend watching the documentary Crystal Lake Memories. Its really great and gives great insight into all the movies.
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Basically, in any horror movie, my enjoyment depends on how much respect you treat the villain with.

the director told the writers a death had to happen every 8 minutes in the movie so there was no time to set up the characters. people were introduced and killed off immediately
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my enjoyment of a horror movie is based on how much i like the final girl

i rarely enjoy horror movies with final guys because the producers seem scared to make the guys act scared and vulnerable so they act like they are in an action movie instead

hell look at part 9. that movie had a male lead and he spends most of his screentime spouting one liners and at one point doing a leap to get the handcuffed hands from his back to his front
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Jason Goes to Hell would've been so much better if it had been a standalone horror film and not a Friday the 13th movie.

I see your point though. With horror movies, it's really more about the vulnerability of the protagonist than it is the strength of the antagonist. That's kind of the issue when it comes to people getting upset about frightened female protagonists and how they portray women. If you take the fight to the monster, it's not scary. Alien is a horror movie. Aliens is an action movie. They're both good, but in different ways.

Some of the older movies did a good job of having male protagonists who came across as vulnerable. At least if you go back to stuff like Dracula or the Wolf Man. But yeah, a lot of the male protagonists in the 80s and 90s horror movies do more or less behave like lesser action heroes.

honestly horror movies had better female characters than action movies did at the time so it always bothered me that so many people accused slashers of sexism when they created smart clever female characters outwitting the bad guy while ignoring that the female characters in action movies at the time tended to be nothing but a damsel in distress

as far as final guys go ash williams is my favorite
but he started out as vulnerable and clearly terrified. true the sequels turn him into an action star but thats not in full force until the third one and the second one shows him growing into a stronger character so its tolerable there
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yusiko posted...

it always bothered me that so many people accused slashers of sexism when they were created smart clever female characters outwitting the bad guy while ignoring that the female characters in action movies at the time tended to be nothing but a damsel in distress

It really is unfair to complain about a female lead being depicted as vulnerable when horror movies are about vulnerability. I can understand complaints when you get characters like Trish who are dimwitted to a point of plot convenience. But simply to be offended that a woman is afraid, it's like what do these people expect?

A 16 to 18 year old girl who gets attacked by an unstoppable masked killer while out on a camping trip is not going to react like Batgirl or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She's not a highly trained warrior. She's just a teen who has been attacked out of the blue for no apparent reason. And that would take anyone off their game.