Friday the 13th Movies: Ranked Worst to Best

by Tim Rich

1. Friday the 13th: Part 2 (1981)

Paramount Pictures

As I stated in #2 on the previous page, I think the original Friday the 13th is a better movie, but Friday the 13th Part II makes the top of my list simply because it is our first introduction to Jason the killer. We saw Jason as a boy in Part I, but now he is grown and he is a little peeved.

The main thrust of this film is Jason seeking revenge for the death of his mother. It turns out he wasn't dead as his mother thought in Part I, but somehow stayed away from her for years and years while she grieved over his drowning. I tend to think he really did drown and we're being introduced to a little bit of Jason's future immortality here, but maybe not.

Anyway, Jason goes on a rampage when once again campers are returning to Crystal Lake despite the warnings of the town drunk. This is the second time someone has decided to open a camp in or near Camp Blood after strings of horrendous murders. People in New Jersey must not be very smart about things like serial killers.

This film is a key stage in the F13 franchise. For the first time, we get to see Jason as the killer - and what an imaginative killer he is. While Mother Voorhees' only truly exciting murder was the arrow through Kevin Bacon's throat, Jason treats us to a garroting around a tree trunk, a nice hammer to the head, an upside-down throat slitting, a machete to the face of a wheelchair-bound guy, a spear driven through two lovers lying in bed, and an attempted murder with a pitchfork.

We also get to see Jason covering his deformed face, but not yet with a hockey mask. Instead, he wears a burlap sack with a hole cut out for his one good eye.

And finally, we get to learn Jason's motive for slaughter and the mental imbalance that allows such merciless killing - he witnessed his mother's beheading at the end of Part I and has built a shrine to her memory with her head as the centerpiece.

OK, those are my rankings of the greatness that is the Friday the 13th movie franchise. Tell me where you disagree (but be nice, this is all subjective anyway).

Contributor

Tim is a varied character. He's lived on three continents. He hates ice cream. He has been a highly-paid computer programmer. He invents collectible card games. He is a coffee shop owner. He has had fantasy stories published in magazines. Eventually he wishes to retire from life and become a professional 10-pin bowler who writes articles while living in his RV and traveling from bowling tournament to bowling tournament with his faithful wife in tow. And of course, Tim is a major horror and science fiction fan.