Friday the 13th (franchise)

The Friday the 13th franchise is an American horror series that includes twelve slasher films, two TV shows, novels, comics, video games, and related merchandise. Its central figure is Jason Voorhees, a boy believed to have drowned at Camp Crystal Lake because camp staff failed to watch him. Years later, the lake is said to be cursed and becomes the site of repeated mass killings. While Jason is the iconic killer in most entries, he does not appear as a living character in the original 1980 film; instead, his mother Pamela Voorhees is the murderer. Victor Miller wrote the original movie, Sean S. Cunningham produced and directed it, and Paramount Pictures released it. The films earned more than $468 million at the box office. One of the twelve films crossed over with Freddy Krueger from the *A Nightmare on Elm Street* series. Critics generally disliked the movies, but the franchise is regarded as one of America’s most successful media properties—not just because of the films’ financial success, but also due to extensive merchandising and frequent references in popular culture. Jason’s hockey mask has become a highly recognizable symbol in horror and mainstream culture.

The first film, *Friday the 13th* (1980), follows Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer), who stalks and kills teenagers preparing to reopen Camp Crystal Lake. She wants to prevent the camp from reopening because her son Jason (Ari Lehman) drowned there due to two staff members’ negligence. The last counselor, Alice Hardy (Adrienne King), fights back and decapitates Mrs. Voorhees with a machete. In *Friday the 13th Part 2* (1981), Jason (Steve Daskewisz/Warrington Gillette) is revealed to be alive and fully grown. He kills Alice Hardy and then returns to Crystal Lake to guard it from intruders. Five years later, a group of teenagers arrive for counselor training, and Jason murders them. The final counselor, Ginny Field (Amy Steel), discovers a cabin with a shrine around Mrs. Voorhees’ severed head. Ginny fights back, driving a machete through Jason’s shoulder, and is taken away in an ambulance while Jason is left for dead.

In *Friday the 13th Part III* (1982), Jason (Richard Brooker) removes the machete and goes to Chris Higgins’ (Dana Kimmell) homestead. Chris returns with some teens, and Jason kills anyone who enters the barn where he hides.