If you’re reading this article, you probably love the entire Friday the 13th series of movies – or maybe you’re just curious about the title. Either way, I’m hoping you’ll find a few fun Friday the 13th facts in this article that were previously unknown to you.
To help those of you who might get confused later, here’s the list of the Friday the 13th movies. They’re referenced endlessly in this article, so take a moment to familiarize yourself with them.
- Friday the 13th (1980)
- Friday the 13th Part II (1981) – Jason wore a sack on his head instead of the hockey mask
- Friday the 13th Part III (1982) – the awful 3D chapter in the series, but we finally get Jason in a hockey mask
- Friday the 13th Part IV (1984) – The Final Chapter – Tommy Jarvis kills Jason at the end
- Friday the 13th Part V (1985) – A New Beginning – this is the one where Jason is not the killer
- Friday the 13th Part VI (1986) – Jason Lives – Tommy Jarvis brings Jason back to life
- Friday the 13th Part VII (1988) – The New Blood – the psychic girl
- Friday the 13th Part VIII (1989) – Jason Takes Manhattan
- Friday the 13th Part IX (1993) – Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
- Friday the 13th Part X (2002) – Jason X – Jason in space
- Friday the 13th Part XI (2003) – Freddy vs. Jason
- Friday the 13th Part XII (2009) – The reboot
Ok, ready? Then let’s be off.
13. Jason’s Name Was Josh
The original script for Friday the 13th called for Jason’s name to be Josh. If things had worked out the way director Sean Cunningham originally expected, the name Josh Voorhees would have quickly been forgotten. You see, Cunningham did not plan on sequels to Friday the 13th, so who really cared what the name of the kid who drowned was?
Besides, Josh Voorhees wasn’t the killer, so it didn’t matter that his name failed to conjure images of a serial murderer. Thankfully, someone decided the name sounded better as Jason Voorhees. Can you imagine movies named Freddy vs. Josh, Josh X, or Josh Takes Manhattan? Neither can I.
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7 Comments
Fun list! Love the movies, and I am a huge fan of the TV series!
Great list. Jason is my favorite slasher. I have seen those movies dozens of times each. I think I am one of the few that actually likes Jason Goes To Hell non ironically.
“A movie named Tommy Takes Manhattan would have been just as disastrous a title as Josh Takes Manhattan.”
But not nearly as disastrous as Jason Takes Manhattan
15-16 actors have played Jason Voorhees through-out the 12 movies. Not 13.
Come on, man. You can’t leave a comment like that and not tell me who I missed!
Also, the hockey mask from Part III & IV does show up in Part V. When Tommy sees Jason in the last scenes, that is the original mask.
Good point. Thanks.