Friday the 13th

In the original Friday the 13th (1980), Mrs. Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) stalks and murders the teenagers who are preparing Camp Crystal Lake for re-opening. She is determined to make sure the camp does not reopen after her son Jason (Ari Lehman) drowned in the lake, because two staff members, who were supposed to be watching him, were having sex. The last counselor, Alice (Adrienne King), fends off Mrs. Voorhees long enough to grab a machete to decapitate her. In Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Jason (Steve Daskewisz/Warrington Gillette) is revealed to be alive and fully grown. After killing the counselor who decapitated his mother, Jason returns to Crystal Lake to guard it from all intruders. Five years later, a group of teenagers arrive at Crystal Lake to set up a new camp, only to have Jason murder them. Ginny Field (Amy Steel), the last counselor Jason attempts to kill, finds a cabin in the woods with a shrine built around the severed head of Mrs. Voorhees. Ginny fights back, and slams a machete through Jason's shoulder. Jason is left for dead as Ginny is taken away in an ambulance. During the events of Friday the 13th Part III (1982), Jason (Richard Brooker) removes the machete from his shoulder and finds his way to a local family homestead, owned by Chris Higgins (Dana Kimmell). Chris returns to the property with some friends, where Jason kills anyone who wanders into the barn where he is hiding. Taking a hockey mask from a victim to hide his face, Jason leaves the barn to kill the rest of the group. Chris seemingly kills Jason with an axe to his head, but the night's events drive her into hysteria as the police take her away.

Trivia:Tom Savini was one of the first crew members on board for the film because the producers idolized his special makeup effects in Dawn of the Dead (1978).

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) continues where Part III leaves off, with Jason (Ted White) found by the police and taken to the local morgue. Once delivered, Jason, who is still alive, kills the coroner and a nurse before he travels back to Crystal Lake. A group of friends rent a house on Crystal Lake and fall victim to Jason's rampage. After killing the teens, Jason seeks out Trish (Kimberly Beck) and Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman), who live next door. While distracted by Trish, Jason is attacked and killed by Tommy. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) follows Tommy Jarvis (John Shepherd), who was committed to a mental health institution after the events of The Final Chapter and has grown up constantly afraid that Jason (Tom Morga) will return. Roy Burns (Dick Wieand) uses Jason's persona to become a copycat killer at the halfway home to which Tommy has moved. Tommy, supervisor Pam (Melanie Kinnaman), and a young boy named Reggie (Shavar Ross) manage to defeat Roy. They eventually learn that Roy had a son at the institution that was murdered by one of the patients, which caused Roy to take on Jason's likeness and kill everyone at the institution. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) begins with Tommy (Thom Mathews) visiting Jason's grave after being released from another mental institution. Tommy inadvertently resurrects Jason (C. J. Graham) via a piece of the fence surrounding the cemetery, which acts as a lightning rod. Jason immediately heads back to Crystal Lake, and kills the people working at the new summer camp. Tommy eventually chains Jason to a boulder that he tosses into the lake, where he leaves Jason to die.

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) begins an indeterminate amount of time after Jason Lives. Jason (Kane Hodder) is resurrected again, this time by the telekinetic Tina Shepard (Lar Park Lincoln), who is trying to resurrect her father who drowned in the lake when Tina was a child. Jason once again begins killing those who occupy Crystal Lake, and after a battle with Tina is returned to the bottom of the lake. Jason is resurrected again in Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) by an underwater electrical cable. He follows a group of students on their senior class cruise to Manhattan, where he kills the ship's crew and the majority of the students. Upon reaching Manhattan, Jason chases Rennie (Jensen Daggett) and Sean (Scott Reeves), the two remaining students, into the sewers. Eventually, Jason is melted away by the toxic waste that is flooded throughout the sewer. In Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993), Jason, through unexplained resurrection, is hunted by the FBI at Crystal Lake. The FBI sets up a sting to kill Jason, which proves successful. Through possession, Jason manages to survive by passing his black heart from one being to the next. It is revealed that he has a sister and a niece, and that he needs them to get his body back. Jason resurrects himself, but his niece, Jessica Kimble (Kari Keegan), stabs him with a mystical dagger and he is dragged to Hell.

Jason X (2002) takes place in the future, where Jason has again been inexplicably resurrected. A scientist, Rowan (Lexa Doig), decides that cryonic suspension is the only solution for stopping him, but Jason breaks free from captivity and kills the army personnel guarding him before he can be imprisoned. Rowan manages to lure Jason into the cryo-chamber, but he ruptures the tank and freezes himself and Rowan in the process. Over 400 years later, Jason's body is discovered by a team of students studying Earth and taken into space. Upon being thawed by the team, he proceeds to murder everyone aboard the spacecraft; he is seemingly killed, but resurrected via nanotechnology as a cyborg version of himself before finally being ejected into space and landing on Earth 2. The next Friday the 13th film was a crossover with A Nightmare on Elm Street, titled Freddy vs. Jason (2003). Set in the contemporary period, Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) resurrects Jason (Ken Kirzinger) and sends him to Springwood, in the hopes that Jason will create fear among the residents so that Freddy will be strong enough to invade their dreams. Jason accomplishes this, but refuses to stop killing. A battle ensues in both the dream-world and at Crystal Lake. The outcome is left ambiguous, as Jason surfaces from the lake holding Freddy's severed head, which winks and laughs.

In 2009, a new Friday the 13th was released, which restarts the film series continuity. In this film, after witnessing his mother being beheaded, Jason (Derek Mears) follows in her footsteps and kills anyone who comes to Crystal Lake. Almost 30 years later, Jason kidnaps a young woman who reminds him of his mother. Six weeks after her disappearance, her brother Clay Miller (Jared Padalecki), comes to look for her. The pair reunite and work together to seemingly kill Jason.

The original Friday the 13th was produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, who had previously worked with filmmaker Wes Craven on The Last House on the Left (1972). Cunningham, inspired by the success of John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) wanted Friday the 13th to be shocking, visually stunning, and "[make] you jump out of your seat". Distancing himself from The Last House on the Left, Cunningham wanted Friday the 13th to be more of a "roller-coaster ride". The first film was meant to be "a real scary movie", and at the same time make audiences laugh. The concept for Friday the 13th began as nothing more than a title. "Long Night at Camp Blood" was the working title Victor Miller was using while he drafted a script, but Cunningham believed in his "Friday the 13th" moniker and rushed to place an advertisement in International Variety. Worried that someone else owned the rights to the title, and wanting to avoid potential lawsuits, Cunningham thought it would be best to find out immediately. Cunningham commissioned a New York advertising agency to develop his visual concept of the Friday the 13th logo, which consisted of big block letters bursting through a pane of glass. In the end, Cunningham believed there were "no problems" with the title, but distributor George Mansour contends that there was an issue: "There was a movie before ours called Friday the 13th: The Orphan. Moderately successful.

Trivia:Victor Miller's working title for the script was "Long Night at Camp Blood".

Following the success of Friday the 13th in 1980, Paramount Pictures began plans to make a sequel and immediately acquired the worldwide distribution rights. According to Paramount Picture's Chairman and CEO Frank Mancuso, Sr., "We wanted it to be an event, where teenagers would flock to the theaters on that Friday night to see the latest episode." Initial ideas for a sequel involved the Friday the 13th title being used for a series of films, released once a year, which would not have direct continuity with each other, but would be a separate "scary movie" of their own right. Phil Scuderi-one of three owners of Esquire Theaters, along with Steve Minasian and Bob Barsamian, who produced the original film-insisted that the sequel have Jason Voorhees, Pamela's son, even though his appearance at the end of the original film was only meant to be a joke. Steve Miner, associate producer on the first film, believed in the idea, and he ultimately directed the first two sequels after Cunningham opted not to return to the director's chair.

The studio continued to generate sequels over the years, based on the financial success they produced compared to their relatively low budgets. With every film repeating the same basic premise, the filmmakers came up with subtle adjustments so the audience would return. Changes involved the addition of a subtitle-as opposed to just a number attached to the end-like "The Final Chapter" and "Jason Takes Manhattan", or filming the movie in 3-D, as Miner did for Friday the 13th Part III. The third film would also be the birthplace of one of the most recognizable images in popular culture, that of Jason's hockey mask. Producer Frank Mancuso, Jr. eventually decided to kill Jason for good, after he experienced problems finding new films to produce that were more than just horror movies, because his name brought constant association to the Friday the 13th film series.

Part 1: Friday the 13th (1980) -Director:Sean S. Cunningham-Writer: Victor Miller-Producer: Sean S. Cunningham-Release date (US): May 9, 1980

Part 2: Friday the 13th Part 2 -Director:Steve Miner-Writer: Ron Kurz-Producer: Steve Miner-Release date (US): April 30, 1981

Part 3: Friday the 13th Part III -Director:Steve Miner-Writers: Martin Kitrosser & Carol Watson-Producer: Frank Mancuso Jr.-Release date (US): August 13, 1982

Part 4: Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter -Director:Joseph Zito-Writer: Barney Cohen-Producer: Frank Mancuso Jr.-Release date (US): April 13, 1984

Part 5: Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning -Director:Danny Steinmann-Writers: Martin Kitrosser, David Cohen & Danny Steinmann-Producer: Timothy Silver Jr.-Release date (US): March 22, 1985

Part 6: Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives -Director:Tom McLoughlin-Writer: Tom McLoughlin-Producer: Don Behrns-Release date (US): August 1, 1986

Part 7: Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood -Director:John Carl Buechler-Writers: Manuel Fidello & Daryl Haney-Producer: Iain Paterson-Release date (US): August 1, 1986

Part 8: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan -Director:Rob Hedden-Writer: Rob Hedden-Producer: Randy Cheveldave-Release date (US): July 28, 1989

Part 9: Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday -Director:Adam Marcus-Writers: Jay Huguely, Adam Marcus & Dean Lorey-Producer: Sean S. Cunningham-Release date (US): August 13, 1993

Part 10: Jason X -Director:James Isaac-Writer: Todd Farmer-Producer: Noel Cunningham-Release date (US): April 26, 2002

Part 11: Freddy vs. Jason -Director:Ronny Yu-Writers: Damian Shannon & Mark Swift-Producer: Sean S. Cunningham-Release date (US): August 15, 2003

Part 12: Friday the 13th (2009) -Director:Marcus Nispel-Writers: Damian Shannon & Mark Swift-Producers: Michael Bay, Andrew Form & Brad Fuller-Release date (US): February 13, 2009

On September 28, 1987, Paramount began airing Friday the 13th: The Series, a television series that focuses on two cousins' attempts to recover cursed antiques that were sold from a shop they inherited from their uncle. The show starred John D. LeMay as Ryan Dallion and Louise Robey as Michelle Foster. It was created by Frank Mancuso, Jr. and Larry B. Williams originally under the title of The 13th Hour; the series ran for 72 episodes. Mancuso, Jr. never intended to link the television show directly to the film series, but utilize "the idea of Friday the 13th, which is that it symbolizes bad luck and curses". The creators wanted to tie-in Jason's trademark hockey mask to the series, but the idea was discarded so that the show could have a chance to exist on its own. Mancuso, Jr. was afraid that mentioning any events from the films would take the audience away from "the new world that we were trying to create". The decision to name the show Friday the 13th, over the original title, was made because Mancuso, Jr. believed a "Friday the 13th" moniker would better help to sell the show to networks. Filming took place in Toronto, Canada. Friday the 13th: The Series aired in first-run syndication, initially in a late-night spot; the success of the series as a late-night show prompted some broadcasting stations to move it to primetime.

In September 2003, during a panel session at the Maniafest convention, Sean S. Cunningham spoke about the possibility of bringing Friday the 13th to television, with the series focusing on a group of teenagers living in the Crystal Lake area. On October 22, 2005, Cunningham discussed the potential series further. He explained that the idea was to call the series Crystal Lake Chronicles, and "set [it] in a town with all this Jason history". The series would focus more on "coming-of-age issues", in a similar style to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek, and Smallville, with Jason as more of a recurring "background" character.

Novels

Six of the 11 films have been adapted into novels-Friday the 13th 1 - 3, Jason Lives, Jason X and Freddy vs. Jason-with Friday the 13th Part 3 having been adapted twice. The first novel was Michael Avallone's 1982 adaptation of Friday the 13th Part 3; Avallone had previously adapted Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Shock Treatment The author chose to use an alternate ending, one that was filmed for Part 3 but never used, as the conclusion for his adaptation. In the alternate ending, Chris, who is in a canoe, hears her boyfriend Rick's voice and immediately runs back to the house. When she opens the door, Jason is standing there with a machete and proceeds to decapitate her. The next book was not published until 1986, when Simon Hawke adapted Jason Lives; Hawke would also adapt the first three films into novels. His adaptation of the original Friday the 13th was published in 1987, with novelizations of Part 2 & 3 both being published in 1988. Hawke's first adaptation, Jason Lives, introduced the character of Elias Voorhees, Jason's father, who was supposed to appear in the film before being cut by the studio. The book explains how Elias has Jason's body buried, instead of the planned cremation, after his death in The Final Chapter.

In 1994, four young adult novels were released under the title of Friday the 13th. These stories focused on different people finding Jason's mask and becoming possessed by his spirit, but the actual character did not appear in the novels. In 2003 and 2005, Black Flame published novelizations of Freddy vs. Jason and Jason X, respectively. After the release of the Jason X novel, Black Flame began publishing two series of novels; one set was published under the Jason X title, while the second set used the Friday the 13th moniker. The Jason X series consisted of four sequels to the 2005 adaptation. The first to be published was Jason X: The Experiment, which saw the government attempt to exploit Jason's indestructibility to create an army of "super soldiers". The second novel, Planet of the Beast, follows the efforts of Dr. Bardox and his crew as they try to clone a comatose Jason, as well as their efforts to stay alive when Jason awakens.



The Friday the 13th series of novels are not connected to the Jason X series, and do not continue any story set forth previously by the films. Instead, each novel developed the character of Jason in its own way. Friday the 13th: Church of the Divine Psychopath has Jason resurrected by a religious cult. In Friday the 13th: Hell Lake, a recently executed serial killer, Wayne Sanchez, persuades Jason to help him escape back to the real world. In Hate-Kill-Repeat, two religious serial killers attempt to find Jason at Crystal Lake, believing that the three of them share the same contempt for those that break the moral code. The Jason Strain places Jason on an island with a group of death row convicts-placed there by television executives running a reality game show-while a scientist attempts to create an age-retarding "super drug" from Jason's DNA. Instead, she creates a virus that reanimates the dead into zombies. The character of Pamela Voorhees returns from the grave in Carnival of Maniacs. Pamela searches for Jason, who is now part of a traveling sideshow and about to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Comic books

Since New Line Cinema's acquisition of the franchise, several Friday the 13th comic books have been published by Topps Comics, Avatar Press, and DC Comics imprint Wildstorm. The first comic book release for the franchise was the 1993 Topps Comics adaptation of Jason Goes to Hell, which was written by Andy Mangels. The three-issue series was a condensed version of the film, with a few added scenes that were not originally part of Jason Goes to Hell. Topps Comics published another series in 1995, with Nancy A. Collins writing a three-issue, non-canonical miniseries involving a crossover between Jason and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Leatherface. The story involves Jason stowing away aboard a train and eventually meeting Leatherface. The two initially become friends, with Leatherface adopting Jason into the former's family. After a series of misunderstandings, Jason and Leatherface turn on each other.



On May 13, 2005, New Line exercised their rights to use the Friday the 13th moniker for the first time when they, along with Avatar comics, released a special issue of Friday the 13th. Written by Brian Pulido and illustrated by Mike Wolfer and Greg Waller, the story takes place after the events of Freddy vs. Jason, where siblings Miles and Laura Upland inherit Camp Crystal Lake. Knowing that Jason caused the recent destruction, Laura, unknown to her brother, sets out to kill Jason with a paramilitary group, so that she and her brother can sell the property. The issue pre-sold more than 17,500 copies. Avatar released a three-issue miniseries titled Friday the 13th: Bloodbath in September 2005. The series was written by Brian Pulido and illustrated by Mike Wolfer and Andrew Dalhouse, and revolves around a group of teenagers who come to Camp Tomorrow, a camp that sits on Crystal Lake, for work and a "party-filled weekend". The teenagers begin to discover they share common family backgrounds and soon awaken Jason who proceeds to kill them.

Wildstorm released a six-issue sequel to Freddy vs. Jason, titled Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, starring the two aforementioned killers and Ash from the Evil Dead film series. The story focuses on Freddy using the Necronomicon, which is in the basement of the Voorhees home, to escape from Jason's subconscious and "gain powers unlike anything he's had before". Freddy attempts to use Jason to retrieve the book, but Ash, who is working at the local S-Mart in Crystal Lake, learns of the book's existence and sets out to destroy it once and for all

Documentary

There have been two documentary books released chronicling the making of the Friday the 13th films. In February 2005, FAB Press published their book containing interviews with the cast and crew of the Friday the 13th series of films. Making Friday the 13th: The Legend of Camp Blood is a comprehensive book detailing the creation of the Friday the 13th films.

Eight months after the release of Grove's book, Titan Books, in association with Sparkplug Press, released a detailed history on the Friday the 13th series of its own. Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th by Peter M. Bracke was released on October 24, 2005.

A documentary film, titled His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th, was released in February 2009. The film was directed by Daniel Farrands, who wrote the film Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, as well as a documentary on The Amityville Horror. The film was broadcast on the Starz television channel the first week of February; afterward, it was released on DVD on February 3, 2009. The documentary is hosted by special make-up effects artist Tom Savini, who interviews the cast and crew members of each of the Friday the 13th films, asking them questions on how and why they made the choices they did during filming. It also features interviews with journalists and other filmmakers who offer their opinion of the series.

In May 1986, Domark released a Friday the 13th game for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. The plot involved the player picking a "sanctuary" on a map, and then trying to persuade other teenagers to go hide there; Jason is "disguised as a friend" in the game, until he decides to attack the player. Three years later, LJN developed a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. In the 2000s, Xendex developed their own Friday the 13th game, this time for mobile phones. In the game, the player takes the role of one of the staff members at Camp Crystal Lake; while the staff is preparing the camp for its first summer weekend an "unknown stalker" begins murdering each of them. The player must discover the truth and escape the camp alive. There was also a Friday the 13th board game released in the United Kingdom, which contained "blood capsules that you crunch in your mouth to create home-made special effects".

Trivia:The filmmakers never intended to make this the launching pad for the series that followed. According to Victor Miller, Jason was only meant as a plot device and not intended to continue on his mother's grisly work.