Friday the 13th Movies Tier List: All 12 Ranked
Twelve movies, one guy in a hockey mask (eventually), and more counselors meeting grisly ends at Camp Crystal Lake than any insurance company would allow. We went through the whole run, the cheap sequels, the weird detours, the crossover, the remake, and sorted them by what actually holds up: kills, atmosphere, Jason himself, and whether you'd actually sit through it twice.
This is the internet's rough consensus more than one person's hot take, pulled from decades of horror forums arguing about which sequel "ruined it" and which one is secretly the best. Where fans are split, and they are split plenty on this franchise, we picked a side. Disagree? That's half the fun of a slasher marathon. Rank them yourself and see where you land.
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SS Tier: The essentials
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
The one that gets Jason right: a hulking, unstoppable zombie instead of just a guy in the woods. Tom McLoughlin's script is genuinely funny without tipping into parody, and the lightning-reanimation opening is one of the series' best scenes.
About Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
Directed by Tom McLoughlin, this entry reanimates Jason as a supernatural zombie-like killer rather than a human stalker, a change that stuck for the rest of the series.
- Released
- 1986
Friday the 13th Part III
Jason gets the hockey mask here, which alone earns it a top spot. The 3D gimmick is goofy in 2D but the barn finale and the sheer number of inventive kills make this the platonic ideal of a Friday sequel.
About Friday the 13th Part III
The entry that gave Jason his signature hockey mask, originally released in 3D. It's often cited as one of the goriest and most purely entertaining sequels.
- Released
- 1982
AA Tier: Camp Crystal Lake classics
Friday the 13th (1980)
No Jason in the mask yet, just Pamela Voorhees and a slow-burn stalk-and-slash that still works because it doesn't know it's starting a franchise. Betsy Palmer's performance is the real reason this one holds up over 40 years later.
About Friday the 13th (1980)
The film that started the franchise, directed by Sean S. Cunningham, following counselors at Camp Crystal Lake stalked by an unseen killer. Its twist ending made Pamela Voorhees, not Jason, the original slasher.
- Director
- Sean S. Cunningham
- Released
- 1980
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Billed as the last one, obviously it wasn't, but it's one of the tightest entries: Tom Savini's practical effects are at their nastiest and Corey Feldman's Tommy gives the finale real stakes.
About Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Marketed as the series' conclusion, this installment features effects by Tom Savini, who also worked on the original film. Corey Feldman plays Tommy Jarvis, a character central to the next two sequels.
- Released
- 1984
Friday the 13th Part 2
The sack-mask era. Less polished than what came after but there's a genuine creepiness to early, mama's-boy Jason that the later sequels trade away for spectacle.
About Friday the 13th Part 2
The first film to feature Jason Voorhees as the killer, introducing his burlap sack mask. It picks up with a new group of counselors years after the original murders.
- Released
- 1981
BB Tier: Flawed but fun
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
Jason barely makes it to Manhattan (most of the runtime is still on a cruise ship), but the Times Square stretch and the toxic-waste-kid ending are memorable enough to earn its cult following.
About Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
Sends Jason from Crystal Lake to New York City via cruise ship, with much of the film taking place at sea before a brief Manhattan climax.
- Released
- 1989
Jason X
Jason in space sounds like a disaster on paper and somehow becomes a gleefully dumb, self-aware good time. Uber-Jason and the cryo-freeze kill alone make this worth the detour from the formula.
About Jason X
A sci-fi take that sends Jason into outer space in the future, aboard a spaceship with students and an android crew. Known for leaning into self-aware camp.
- Released
- 2001
Freddy vs. Jason
Not really a Friday the 13th movie so much as a victory lap, but the fan-service brawl between two icons is exactly as fun as the premise promises. Jason gets the better of most of the fight, which feels right.
About Freddy vs. Jason
A crossover film pitting Jason Voorhees against Freddy Krueger of the Nightmare on Elm Street series, long in development before finally being released.
- Released
- 2003
CC Tier: Divisive for a reason
Friday the 13th (2009)
A competent, meaner reboot that folds the first three movies into one story. It looks great and Jason feels genuinely dangerous, but it's missing the scrappy personality that made the originals endearing.
About Friday the 13th (2009)
A reboot produced by Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes, combining story elements from the first few original films into a new, standalone continuity.
- Released
- 2009
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
The infamous fake-out sequel where Jason isn't even really Jason. Fans still argue about this one, and we land on the side that it's a mess, even if a few kills are memorable.
About Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
A controversial sequel in which the killer is revealed to not actually be Jason Voorhees. It follows a now-adult Tommy Jarvis in a halfway house setting.
- Released
- 1985
DD Tier: Missed potential
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
Telekinetic final girl versus Jason should be a classic matchup, but the MPAA gutted most of the gore, leaving a premise with no payoff. A frustrating what-could-have-been.
About Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
Pits Jason against a telekinetic young woman named Tina, though heavy MPAA cuts reduced much of the intended gore before release.
- Released
- 1988
FF Tier: Skip it
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
Body-hopping demon slugs replace the actual Jason for most of the runtime, and it feels like a different franchise wearing Friday the 13th's name. Even diehard fans tend to call this the low point.
About Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
A major departure in which Jason's spirit possesses other bodies for most of the runtime, tying into a larger mythology involving bounty hunters and demonic forces.
- Released
- 1993
How we ranked them
We weighed kill creativity and gore, pacing, how memorable the setting and victims are, and how much Jason himself (or whoever's under the mask that movie) actually brings to the table. Camp factor and rewatchability counted too, since nobody watches these for Oscar-caliber acting. We leaned on broad fan and critic consensus from reviews and horror forums, then used our own judgment to break ties where the fandom couldn't agree.
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Rank these yourselfFAQ
What is the best Friday the 13th movie?
Most fans and critics point to Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives or Part III as the high points, with the original 1980 film close behind for setting the template.
What is the worst Friday the 13th movie?
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday is the one fans most often call the low point, since Jason barely appears as himself for most of the runtime.
Is Freddy vs. Jason canon to the Friday the 13th series?
It's treated as a crossover sequel following the original timeline, continuing from Jason Goes to Hell rather than the 2009 reboot.
Does the 2009 Friday the 13th remake replace the original movies?
No, it's a reboot that combines elements of the first three films into a new continuity, separate from the original series.
What order should I watch the Friday the 13th movies in?
Release order works best for the original 1980 through Jason X, then Freddy vs. Jason, with the 2009 film as a separate standalone reboot.
More rankings
Image credits
- Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason LivesCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Friday the 13th Part IIICover: Wikipedia · Source
- Friday the 13th (1980)Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Friday the 13th: The Final ChapterCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Friday the 13th Part 2Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes ManhattanCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Jason XCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Freddy vs. JasonCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Friday the 13th (2009)Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Friday the 13th: A New BeginningCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Friday the 13th Part VII: The New BloodCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Jason Goes to Hell: The Final FridayCover: Wikipedia · Source