Jason Voorhees is among the most iconic villains in horror. With an astounding twelve films in the franchise and an upcoming television series, it’s not likely that he’ll fade from the forefront of horror any time soon. However, one thing that makes Jason stand out from crowd, is how drastically his appearance has changed and evolved over the decades. While he’s most commonly recognized as a hulking figure with a dirty coat and hockey mask, that hasn’t always bee the case. Just in time for Halloween we’re taking a look through the long-running series to rank the top seven looks and costumes from the franchise.
Also Read: Top 7 Horror Remakes Better Than The Original
7. Friday the 13th (2009)
The only film to take place outside of the main timeline, 2009’s remake of Friday the 13th made a smart choice to place Jason in the mask and with a machete right from the start. While the classic original featured Mrs. Voorhees as the killer, the reboot skipped the build up and dove right in, giving viewers a Jason that looked iconic, but featured a new set of skills. Most notably, the ability to run, think and plan.
6. Friday the 13th: Jason X
Is it a great movie? Of course not, but few in the franchise are. And admittedly, the costume isn’t anything great; however, it was fun and refreshing to see the franchise lean into its absurdity by launching the iconic killer into outer space in a distant future and give him a new look to match the new setting.
5. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
This is about as iconic as you can get when looking at Jason Voorhees appearance. With a blood-stained cut in the top-half of his mask (a result of an axe to the head in the previous film), the movie carries the continuity over Part 3. This was a new step for the franchise which, until this point, had given Jason a massive make-over with each new entry in the series.
4. Friday the 13th Part 2
Jason looked very different during his first stint as a serial killing madman. Without his iconic hockey mask (which didn’t come into the series until Part 3) Jason dons a cloth sack with a single eye hole. Another notable difference was his smaller stature and difficulty he had in dispatching of his victims. This would be the only film to feature this version of the killer, and although it feels out of place now, there’s something simple and terrifying about a dude with a sack on his head and a pick axe in his hands.
3. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
Jason becomes a zombie in the sixth entry in the Friday the 13th series. Until this point, he’d been depicted as a living, human and vulnerable man. Sure he was massive and deadly in Part 3 and 4, but now he’s literally the undead. The skin on his head is visibly rotten, his clothes are dirtier and he wields a massive metal fence post. What’s not cool about that?
2. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
This is, and always will be, the worst Friday the 13th movie in my opinion. Still, despite it being an absolute chore to watch, there’s no denying that the costume looks slick. There’s something about the shined, wet look that adds a creepier and more appealing visual aesthetic to the character. Can we try this look again, but in a better movie?
1. Friday the 13th Part 3
The very first time we saw Jason wear the mask he’s best known for is arguably the best and most iconic. Going directly from the scrawny, sack wearing Jason of the previous film, Jason is now a massive beast of a killer with strength and an urge for teenage blood. This is also the film in which we see Jason find the hockey mask, giving us an origin of how the iconic look came to be.
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