Friday the 13th: That Awkward Moment When Jason Talked

Jason Voorhees has always been a silent killer throughout the Friday the 13th film series, but there was an awkward point in time when he actually spoke.

That definitely might seem strange for horror fans that never picked up on it. After all, Jason being mute is one of his most defining characteristics. Making him talk suddenly is probably the worst thing you could do with the pop culture icon, other than, say, turning him into an evil slug.

Jason Goes to Hell managed to do both of those very things.

Alright, I’m sure the whole “Jason talking” thing is already starting to make more sense, as it happened in one of the goofier entries in the series. In the film, Jason’s body is blown to pieces by the feds in the beginning, but when a mortician literally eats his heart, Jason is able to continue his killing using the guy’s possessed body.

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Throughout Jason Goes to Hell, Jason is able to go from one host body to another, by way of entering through their mouths as a giant, bloody slug. Suddenly, Jason talking now seems like small potatoes. But it was still very awkward.

Jason’s actual speaking scene, the first and only time he’s ever done so in the Friday the 13th movies, comes closer to the end. Knowing about Jason’s ability to control a human host body (ala The Thing), the heroine, Jessica, is confronted by two police officers. She knows that one is possessed, and she has the magical dagger that will finally kill the real Jason, but which one is Jason?

That’s when Mrs. Voorhees’ baby boy actually talks, albeit in another body, to trick Jessica. Playing the role of cop, Jason cocks his gun, aims, and yells, “Freeze! Get the hell away from her, Ed!” Superb acting skills from Jason, but how does he know how to act exactly like a cop? And if he was Jason, and he was pointing a gun, why wouldn’t he just shoot both of them rather than bother with the charade?

Watch the series’ most awkward moment below, thanks to a fan on YouTube:

On the DVD commentary, director Adam Marcus and writer Dean Lorey admitted that they knew full well they were breaking the rules of the character, and had debated this scene for a long time. Ultimately, they chose to have Jason speak, as they “didn’t know how to do it otherwise.”

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What that gave us was one of the Friday the 13th franchise’s silliest moments, but considering that he’d be going to outer space in the next movie, maybe it’s not so nonsensical after all.