Best Movies In The Series, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Friday the 13th series includes iconic and campy slasher films with varying Rotten Tomatoes scores.
• Some sequels, like “Jason Goes to Hell,” depart from traditional lore, exploring new aspects of Jason.
• “Jason X” takes the series to space with over-the-top kills, humor, and a unique setting, making for a fun watch.

The slasher genre has gone down in movie history as excessive, silly, and campy fun. For fans of the genre, the iconic slasher villains take on a larger-than-life persona, but their roots can be found in the long series that they come from. Jason Vorhees, the hockey mask-wearing muscle monster, emerged from the Friday The 13th series and became one of the most recognizable horror symbols of all time.

While some of the films have aged poorly — or border on the ridiculous — there are some quality slashers hidden in this ten-part series. Here are all of the films in the Friday the 13th series, ranked according to their Rotten Tomatoes scores.

10 Friday The 13th Part 3

1982 – 11% Rotten Tomatoes Score

• Released – August 13th, 1982
• Director – Steve Miner

One of the more bland films in the series, Friday The 13th Part 3 sees a gaggle of councilors arrive at Crystal Lake, where they share the story of Jason yet again. When a few of the councilors get into a spat with some bikers from the nearby town, the group decide to get revenge and are the first victims of Jason’s killing spree.

Some creative moments stand out that utilize the 3D aspect of the film that it was marketed with, but mostly this film is an underwhelming sequel. Jason acquires his signature hockey mask and uses every kind of farm implement in his killings, but otherwise, this is one to avoid.

9 Friday The 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan

1989 – 11% Rotten Tomatoes Score

• Released – July 28th, 1989
• Director – Rob Heddon

One of the strangest titles in the whole series, Jason Takes Manhattan sees the titular villain boarding a boat that leaves from Camp Crystal Lake to head to the Big Apple itself. Despite the title, the film only spends the final act in the big city, the rest of the film being focused on the interpersonal drama of the teen victims as they are picked off one by one on a large cruise ship.

The protagonist is one of the better characters in the film, seeing visions of a young Jason in the lake and leaving her with a lifelong fear of water. Her uncle, a grumpy teacher, serves as a lesser antagonist who gets in the way of the teens onboard. Although it is sometimes clumsy, Jason Takes Manhattan is still a campy romp for fans of the franchise.

8 Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday

1993 – 16% Rotten Tomatoes Score

• Released – August 13th, 1993
• Director – Adam Marcus

Jason Goes To Hell is a strange departure from the established Jason lore. While part of the charm of these campy horror flicks is the way that they play fast and loose with the rules, Jason Goes To Hell is an exploration of how Jason can revive himself.

Possessing humans, and seeking out another in the Vorhees bloodline that he can inhabit forever, Jason starts another killing spree. The cast of characters here is fun and fresh, with a separated couple reuniting and a baby being Jason’s intended target, alongside a cutthroat bounty hunter who will stop at nothing to take out Jason.

7 Friday The 13th: A New Beginning

1985 – 18% Rotten Tomatoes Score

• Released – March 22nd, 1985
• Director – Danny Steinmann

After Jason Vorhees was defeated by a young Corey Feldman playing Tommy Jarvis in Part 4, the franchise needed a fresh start. Picking up with Tommy Jarvis years later, still troubled by nightmares about the masked killer, A New Beginning sees Tommy in a psychiatric hospital alongside other troubled teens.

When locals start to be picked off one by one, it becomes clear that a killer is on the loose again, but the subversion of expectation here in Part 5 allows this movie to stand out as spectacularly different. With strange characters and some truly terrifying moments, this is a worthy film to introduce new fans to Tommy Jarvis, one of the heroes of Friday the 13th.

6 Jason X

2002 – 20% Rotten Tomatoes Score

• Released: April 26th, 2002
• Director: Jim Isaac

Definitively the campiest of the films, Jason X is a riot. It never really manages to become scary, but Jason in space is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds. After Vorhees is frozen in cryosleep, he is pulled aboard a ship hundreds of years in the future where he wreaks havoc in a sci-fi setting, facing off against newfangled weaponry and even a robot programmed to take him down.

The talking robot head after she is decapitated by Jason, the flashy sci-fi kills, and the hilarious ‘holo-deck’ distraction that is put in place for Jason all make this film really fun, even if it separates itself massively from the horror roots of the franchise.

5 Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter

1984 – 22% Rotten Tomatoes Score

• Released: April 13th, 1984
• Director: Joseph Zito

Following on directly from Part III, the fourth Friday The 13th film is confusingly titled ‘The Final Chapter‘ despite being anything but. The film is something of a return to form after the third instalment. Tom Savini, the incredible effects artist, returned to allow for some visceral gore and inventive kill scenes.

Jason finally takes his place as a sinister icon with super strength and seemingly unstoppable force, sporting his hockey mask. Tommy Jarvis, a regular in later films, is played here by the child star Corey Feldman, who delivers a charming performance as a young effects enthusiast, and Crispin Glover, the father from the Back To The Future series, has a truly memorable dance scene. All in all, this is a perfect slice of Friday fun.

4 Friday The 13th Part 2

1981 – 33% Rotten Tomatoes Score

• Released – May 1st, 1981
• Director – Steve Miner

Following a film where the surprise killer was defeated in the end, Friday The 13th Part 2 uses the child who drowned and who appeared to survive at the bottom of the lake as their villain, changing horror forever.

Jason appears as an immovable object, exploding through walls and taking out another cast of characters who have very little else to do in this movie. Jason wears a burlap sack over his head in this film, and the series has not quite found its footing, but Part 2 establishes Jason’s obsession with his mother — and the final girl uses this against him to lead to his defeat once again.

3 Friday The 13th Part 7 – The New Blood

1988 – 33% Rotten Tomatoes Score

• Released – May 13th, 1988
• Director – John Carl Buechler

Finally, owning the campy and predictable nature of the series, The New Blood feels like it wants to comment on all of the genre tropes while still adding something fresh. There is teen drama, with newfound romance and mean girl antics. There is a complicated parent-and-child relationship where a therapist gets in between a mother and her daughter. And the strangest introduction is the protagonist, Tina, discovering her telekinetic powers, which she then uses in her fight against Jason Vorhees.

Having victims that make the kills satisfying is important in a good slasher film, and here, the Jason mythos is strong with a whole host of brutal scenes. While including the psychic powers did not work for all viewers, it cemented The New Blood as a standout title in the franchise.

2 Friday The 13th Part 6: Jason Lives

1986 – 53% Rotten Tomatoes Score

• Released – August 1st, 1986
• Director – Tom McLoughlin

After the red herring in the previous film and a false Jason, Jason Lives starts with an explosive return. Tommy Jarvis, played by a new actor yet again, goes to finally burn Jason’s corpse, only to become part of his rebirth via lightning strike. Jason wakes as a crazed zombie killer, donning his mask and finding a machete as if by magic.

This film embraces the campy charm, with some over-the-top kills and plenty of editing jokes that elevate the material to levels of humor and dark comedy that had not yet been reached in the series. The visual effects, and the chemistry between Tommy Jarvis and Megan, makes this an exciting break from the formula that stands out as one of the best films in the series.

1 Friday The 13th

1980 – 66% Rotten Tomatoes Score

• Released – May 9th, 1980
• Director – Sean S Cunningham

Just like the Nightmare On Elm Street series, the very first film in the long-running canon takes the prize for the highest critical reception. It is easy to see why; although nowadays, Friday The 13th can appear a little basic, the film set the stage for the films to come and packed the runtime with some creative kills and a surprisingly effective plot twist!

After a child drowns at Camp Crystal Lake, the summer camp is shut down until, many years later, it is set up again. Some councilors arrive to set up the camp, but they start to be picked off one by one. Our final girl discovers that it is not series antagonist, Jason, but instead, his mother bent on vengeance. A great film for new fans that holds up to this day.