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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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Friday the 13th
BURBANK, CA – FEBRUARY 03: (L-R) Actors C.J. Graham, Kane Hodder and Warrington Gillette attend Anchor Bay Entertainment’s Jason Voorhees reunion at Dark Delicacies Bookstore on February 3, 2009 in Burbank, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images) /

9. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)

Directed by Adam Marcus

The ninth Friday the 13th film is certainly not my personal favorite of the series and I do believe it is outclassed by a good chunk of the other films. That being said, I would strongly argue that Jason Goes to Hell is the one of the most creative entries in the franchise, taking the series in an interesting and admirably different direction.

The riskiest part of this new direction is the lack of Jason himself, who surprisingly dies in the opening scene of the film. This leads to a surprise possession story told in the vein of a Friday the 13th slasher flick and becoming a unique hybrid of ideas.

Here, the mythology of Jason Voorhees takes a spiritual turn as Jason’s demonic spirit lives on after his physical death. Now in demon soul form, Jason takes over the coroner looking over his remains and the kills continue, this time with a different body in place of the ghoulish giant.

From there, we get a nice mixture of slasher tropes and demonic possession that resulted in a film much more memorable than I feel most fans give it credit for. The brutality is strong and the story, while convoluted, aims to tell a different story than we’re used to hearing.

The most controversial aspect of this Friday is the lack of Jason himself in body form and that’s honestly my biggest complaint as well. You don’t just NOT use Kane Hodder’s incredible talents for only a few scenes (memorable, but scarce). For me, the final fight at the end is easily the most memorable, simply for Hodder’s intensity in the role and the entertaining dynamic at play.

Possession stories can wield loads of creativity for Jason, but it still feels like the filmmakers were too afraid to actively change the formula, as the film is just a simple slasher film at the end of the day, just like all the others. I do give it points for creativity and it stands as one of the most interesting Friday the 13th films, in spite of the waste potential.