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Fansided

Ranking every Friday the 13th film from worst to best

By Wesley Lara

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 09: Actor Derek Mears arrives at the premiere of Warner Bros.' "Friday the 13th" at the Chinese Theater on February 9, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 09: Actor Derek Mears arrives at the premiere of Warner Bros.' "Friday the 13th" at the Chinese Theater on February 9, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) /
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11. Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning  (1985)

Directed by Danny Steinmann

Ah, the film that rendered The Final Chapter‘s title to be ultimately useless. While there was still a lot of money left on the table, many believed that the fourth installment would indeed be the Final Friday and judging by how it ended, it seemed like it would be going in a new direction if it would continue. A New Beginning even hinted at the idea of a new direction with its title and continuing the legend after Voorhees’ death seemed like it would satisfy many a people.

But then A New Beginning actually happened.

Rather than bringing back Voorhees, A New Beginning TEASED the idea of Voorhees coming back, effectively making a Friday the 13th film without the real Jason Voorhees. Instead, the culprit is a Jason copycat hellbent on terrorizing a halfway house, where the film’s previous protagonist, Tommy Jarvis, is staying after experiencing trauma brought to him from the last movie’s events. But this Jason seems pretty similar to the real one: he moves like him, kills like him, and is seemingly unstoppable like him, for whatever reason.

Instead of going in a new direction, A New Beginning was anything but new. The killer may have changed, but the film still employed the same tired formula from the previous four films instead of trying something a little bit different. Director Danny Steinmann’s background in adult and exploitation films did the film no favors, with scenes dedicated to graphic sex that often took precedence over anything in the film itself. Nudity was about as casual as a yawn  and while some films benefit from this, it just felt out of place in a Friday the 13th film.

By no means is this film terrible and I’d certainly be keen on watching it again, but don’t let this be your intro into the series if you want to get started.