Halloween may have opened the door to the slasher films of the ’80s, but it was Friday the 13th that set the table upon which these ripoff films would feast. It took some time for the franchise to find its voice, and when it did it devolved into self parody over the span of only a few movies. There is a sweet spot in the series, and it is noticeable.
Here, now, is the definitive ranking of the Friday the 13th franchise, scrutinized and analyzed and… who am I kidding, I just watched these things and ranked them based on what I liked. And along the way, I added a few tidbits of information where it was warranted. Enjoy… or get mad. It’s up to you.
5Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
New Line obtained the rights to Jason way back in 1993, but it took another decade to give eager horror fans what they had been clamoring for ever since Jason and Freddy Krueger dominated the horror zeitgeist. The end result, met with great anticipation and hype, was quite a mixed bag.
Some things are fun here, especially a flaming Jason marching through a corn field leaving a trail of fire on his way to slay teens at a party, but overall the whole thing feels like a stunt to join to IPs that had run well past their expiration date. Freddy and Jason were relics in 2003, and their brand of horror had grown stale. It takes some of the punch out of the entire story, but it’s still fun to see these two icons try and kill each other in the end.
