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Ranking the Friday the 13th films

Started by Rev+, May 21, 2022, 12:13:51 AM

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Rev+

Did a bit of a marathon last week, as the date was appropriate, and I am now able to inform you that this is the correct order of quality:

Friday the 13th Part II
Friday the 13th The Final Chapter
Friday the 13th Part V : A New Beginning
Friday the 13th Part III : 3D and that
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th VI: We've realised it's ridiculous but none of the gags actually land
Friday the 13th VIII:  At least it has the punching the head off bit
Friday the 13th VII:  Should never have attempted a plot at such a late stage.

Jason X is non-league.

Your opinions are welcome.

C_Larence

#1
You missed out the best one, which is Jason Goes To Hell.

Going by my letterboxd ratings:

Friday The 13th - 4/10
Friday The 13th Part II - 5/10
Friday The 13th Part III - 3/10
Friday The 13th Part IV The Final Chapter - 6/10 (this is the first good one)
Friday The 13th Part V A New Beginning - 2/10 (truly awful, would be the worst if the remake was never made)
Friday The 13th Part VI Jason Lives - 7/10 (the James Bond parody in the intro is enough to make this better than everything that came before it)
Friday The 13th Part VII The New Blood - 3/10
Friday The 13th Part VII Jason Takes Manhattan - 4/10
Friday The 13th Part IX Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday - 8/10 (I won't bother explaining)
Friday The 13th Part X Jason X - 4/10
Friday The 13th (2009) - 1/10

colacentral

Jason Lives isn't just about the jokes. It has great atmosphere, music, effects, costumes. It's the best looking Jason by a mile. I think the paint ball bit goes too far with the silliness, but other than that, it's a perfect sequel, only beaten by parts 2 and 4.

5 is dog shit but worth it for some great moments (mostly the "Hey baby" song).

I honestly think the remake is better than Jason Takes Manhattan, which I find almost unwatchable.

bgmnts

Does Freddy vs Jason count?

Jason X is awesomeballs by the way.

C_Larence

Quote from: bgmnts on May 21, 2022, 12:36:32 PMDoes Freddy vs Jason count?

Jason X is awesomeballs by the way.

Oooh I forgot Freddy Vs Jason in my list. 6/10, much better than I expected it to be.

Replies From View

QuoteFriday The 13th - 4/10
Friday The 13th Part II - 5/10
Friday The 13th Part III - 3/10

No wonder it spawned even more films with such critical approval from the get-go.

Famous Mortimer

Jason X is brilliant, it's loads better than, say...take part 2, for example, the earliest example of the "fuck it, will this do?" school of writing slasher sequels - Jason, who was a dead ten year-old in the first movie, is now a full-grown cosplayer for "The Town That Dreaded Sundown".

(not fun fact: they had to edit out one of the multiple topless scenes when they bothered to check that one of the actresses was underage)

The only other even half decent ones are 4 and 6 - the rest are the absolute pits, the very worst of the worst of slasher movies.

colacentral

Jason X has one good moment, and that's the face smashing scene. It's boring and naff, not living up to the promise of the premise, and the humour all falls flat. That robot with the sub-Data routines is especially annoying. I'm not a fan at all. I'd take Jason Goes to Hell over it. Same with Freddy Vs Jason.

Part 2 is genuinely creepy in parts, like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre esque shed at the end, or the hilariously drawn out opening sequence. I love how they repeat the final scene of the original and make it genuinely surprising, even on a rewatch. It also gets marks for containing the immortal line "I'm gonna give it to you straight about Jason." There's so much memorable stuff in that one that I'm shocked anyone could put it at the bottom of their ranking.

As far as the series as a whole comparing unfavourably against other slashers - which ones? It's such a toilet genre that it's slim pickings as it is. I think the Friday the 13th films on a whole do what they're supposed to do and fairly consistently. The Halloween films are on the other end of the spectrum, where the sequels are not just all bad, but also not fun to watch in any way.

Goldentony


Remake
Jason X
Manhattan/3D [JOINT THIRD PLACE]

then the rest i've always thought were utter dogshit, sorry. Massively overrated series of films in the scheme of things when you consider the iconography of Jason and all that shit. Just not fun at all with a few OK or funny kills scattered through tons and tons of boring shite. Manhattan I saw when I was young and it's premise is like a trial run for Jason X, 3D at least has the amazing theme to go along with it and my own personal fondness for the 3D gimmick carries it a bit higher. I remember buying that boxset that came out in about 2009 where all the films had a load of extras that werent on them listed on the back and was at the end of 4 before I wanted to CEX it.


Rev+

Jason Goes to Hell:  Disqualified for not really sharing the title or spirit of the series.

Freddy Vs Jason:  Came out at least a decade too late, and fell into the 'ok, it's a villain versus a villain - so which one's the good guy?' trap like Alien vs Predator, because some screenwriters can't think outside of templates.

Jason X:  Loads of fun, but almost like Troma making a Nightmare on Elm Street sequel.  I can't allow it to be counted in this, the most sacred of film franchises.

Quote from: Famous Mortimer on May 21, 2022, 01:34:41 PMpart 2, for example, the earliest example of the "fuck it, will this do?" school of writing slasher sequels - Jason, who was a dead ten year-old in the first movie, is now a full-grown cosplayer for "The Town That Dreaded Sundown".

This is what makes Part II the best film in the series.  It's the most atmospheric and weird, but beyond that, it makes absolutely no sense and doesn't attempt to.  Did Jason get the bus over to the survivor of the first film's flat?  If he did, did he take her corpse back on the bus to arrange it at the shrine?  When does the film start to be dishonest, because it's long before that final bit with Muffin turning back up and Jason crashing through the window.

Also, it's a film that clearly states that your life might be saved by just fucking off down the pub, and I can't disagree with that.

C_Larence

Quote from: Rev+ on May 22, 2022, 12:20:33 AMJason Goes to Hell:  Disqualified for not really sharing the title or spirit of the series.

It quite literally shares the spirit

Dex Sawash


willbo

I watched 10 min youtube recaps of them all during a time when I was friends with a lot of retro/80s horror people and wanted to share their joy. And I decided 4/final chapter looked the most fun and most in the spirit of why people like the series. Tommy Jarvis - the kid horror effects wiz with his ability to make Jim Henson/Savini quality effects in play-do or whatever, seemed like an almost "meta" audience stand in. I do like Manhatten which I've seen all the way through, i love the metal girl.

The Roofdog

2 & 4 are the only decent ones, then what's that one where he twats the sleeping bag against a tree? That can go third.

Mister Six

Quote from: The Roofdog on June 17, 2022, 12:16:24 AM2 & 4 are the only decent ones, then what's that one where he twats the sleeping bag against a tree? That can go third.

Jason X? That clip is the only bit of any of the Friday the 13th films I've ever seen. Sounds like it should stay that way?

Goldentony

Jason X is in space, no trees in space unless you're Silent Running in which case why are you in a sleeping bag at all

Egyptian Feast

#16
Quote from: The Roofdog on June 17, 2022, 12:16:24 AM2 & 4 are the only decent ones, then what's that one where he twats the sleeping bag against a tree? That can go third.

That was also a censored bit in part 7, the one where he leaves a nerd's head in a plant pot for a laugh and a telekinesis girl chucks it at him with the power of her mind. The pot, not the head, which IIRC just rolls off, though it would've been better if it had nutted him. If all the bits from that video had been left in and they added some more bits of telekinetic slapstick at the climax that one would be my favourite.

Jason Goes To Hell contains one of the most bizarre and unexpected lines of dialogue I've ever heard. Say WHAT?


C_Larence

Quote from: The Roofdog on June 17, 2022, 12:16:24 AM2 & 4 are the only decent ones, then what's that one where he twats the sleeping bag against a tree? That can go third.

Part 7 New Blood has the sleeping bag against a tree kill.

Quote from: Goldentony on June 17, 2022, 01:05:56 AMJason X is in space, no trees in space unless you're Silent Running in which case why are you in a sleeping bag at all

But there is also a sleeping bag themed kill in Jason X, although it takes place in a virtual reality Camp Crystal Lake.

Mister Six


gmoney

I watched them all last year for some reason and I thought they were all pretty shite but watchable, but I liked the one with Crispin Glover the best, which I believe is 4. I also thought Jason Takes Manhattan was pretty fun for what it was. The rest didn't stand out much. Jason Goes to Hell was particularly poor.

Rev+

Quote from: gmoney on June 17, 2022, 10:57:53 AMall pretty shite but watchable

This is the thing with Friday the 13th:  none of them are great, but none of them honk as much as the sequels in other horror franchises.  They are, at least, consistent.