Items12The creator’s order
  1. 1Friday the 13th (1980)Friday the 13th (1980) 6.3/10 on IMDbReleased May 9, 1980Start with the 1980 original, a camp mystery that takes its time making the counselors feel at home. Its long stretches of quiet make the changes in the next two films easier to hear and see.0
  2. 2Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) 6.1/10 on IMDbReleased May 1, 1981Part 2 gives Jason a larger role and keeps the woods close around the characters. Pair it with the original if you want to see how quickly a mystery about the camp became a series built around a single figure.0
  3. 3Friday the 13th Part III (1982)Friday the 13th Part III (1982) 5.6/10 on IMDbReleased Aug 13, 1982This is where Jason gets the hockey mask. The film was shot in 3D, and its habit of pushing things straight toward the camera makes it an especially playful relic of that format.0
  4. 4Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) 6.0/10 on IMDbReleased Apr 13, 1984Tommy Jarvis enters the series here. The film makes a family home feel as exposed as the summer camps, giving the first stretch of the franchise a particularly tense stopping point.0
  5. 5Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) 4.8/10 on IMDbReleased Mar 22, 1985The fifth film follows Tommy to a home for troubled teenagers. Give it a place if you're following his story or want to see how the series plays with its own setup. Its whodunit structure is best approached cold.0
  6. 6Jason Lives - Friday the 13th Part VI (1986)Jason Lives - Friday the 13th Part VI (1986) 6.0/10 on IMDbReleased Aug 1, 1986Tommy's attempt to make sure Jason stays dead has the opposite effect. This is an easy pick for a one-film detour, thanks to its dry jokes and willingness to go all in on supernatural horror.0
  7. 7Friday the 13th Part VII - The New Blood (1988)Friday the 13th Part VII - The New Blood (1988) 5.2/10 on IMDbReleased May 13, 1988Tina has telekinetic powers, which changes the rhythm of a series built around people trying to get away from Jason. Watch for the novelty of a survivor who can make the space around her fight back.0
  8. 8Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) 4.5/10 on IMDbReleased Jul 28, 1989The trip to New York is largely a boat movie first. Treat the cruise as the main event and the city as the change of scenery at the end, and the title sets up fewer wrong expectations.0
  9. 9Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) 4.1/10 on IMDbReleased Aug 13, 1993This entry plays with the idea that Jason can move between bodies. Choose it if you're curious how far the series can get from a camp slasher while keeping the same villain at its center.0
  10. 10Jason X (2001)Jason X (2001) 4.5/10 on IMDbReleased Nov 9, 2001Jason winds up on a spaceship. The science-fiction setting is the draw, and the movie works as a detour if you want a variation on the premise without needing to untangle the camp's history.0