The Friday the 13th franchise is staple of the horror genre with its primary villain, the machete wielding, hockey mask wearing Jason Voorhees being an iconic slasher figure in popular culture. While none of the films are particularly beloved by critics, there is no denying the series' impact on the horror genre. Below lists the films from worst to best based on the combined critic scores from Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
12) Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan - Average Score 11
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan is the lowest rated installment of the franchise. Considering the title, Jason actually spends relatively little time in the city, primarily slaughtering the students on a cruise ship. Critics were disappointed with the misleading title and ad campaign, which implied Jason would spend much more time in New York. Audiences also had very little positive feedback on the film overall, but critics truly dealt the film a low blow with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 8 percent and a Metacritic score of 14.
11) Friday the 13th: A New Beginning - Average Score 15.5
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning picks up several years after Part IV, with Tommy returning as the main character. After murdering Jason as a child, Tommy grows up a troubled young man. He must face his past when Jason seemingly reappears and begins killing Tommy's friends. Many critics noted the increased nudity that counterbalanced the comparative lack of blood in this installment of the franchise, for better and worse. While the intention was to give the franchise a new start, critics bestowed a Rotten Tomatoes score of 15 percent and a Metacritic score of 16.
10) Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday - Average Score 19.5
Jason's body is obliterated by the FBI early in the film, but his soul returns and possesses the body of the local coroner. It is revealed that only a direct relative of Jason can kill him for good, and the film ends with Jason being dragged to Hell; meanwhile Freddy Krueger's glove reaches through the Earth to take Jason's mask. Critics praised the inclusion of a new plot line that featured a bounty hunter hot on the trail of the iconic serial killer. However, the refreshing plot does not sustain the film overall, and it returns to the familiar pattern of gore and young victims. Critics were als0 not won over by the inclusion of a mythology to explain the unstoppable nature of Jason.
9) Friday the 13th Part III - Average Score 20.5
The third installment of the franchise is presented in 3D and features the return of Jason. This time, he dons his iconic white hockey mask, cementing Jason as a horror icon as he pursues a new group of young adults. Critics said that the novelty of the series' formula had worn off by the third installment. The spectacle of the 3D technology was, according to critic Janet Maslin for The New York Times, impressive, at least in comparison to other 3D films of the time. However, the gimmicks stick out in contrast to the rest of the film.
8) Jason X - Average Score 22.5
After being considered unkillable by the United States government, Jason is cryogenically frozen for hundreds of years before being awoken by a group of students in space, who he goes on to stalk and kill. The critics somewhat approved of the intergalactic setting, considering it a welcome change to the franchise. Unfortunately, the new setting did not stop the film from falling into familiar and predictable patterns. Ultimately, some critics appreciated the camp comedy of the film, while others remained unimpressed with the space slasher.
7) Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood - Average Score 24
Tina, the telekinetic teenager, accidentally releases Jason, who was chained to the bottom of Crystal Lake. Given Tina's abilities, some affectionately refer to the seventh installment as Carrie vs. Jason. Critics found the film to be surprisingly lacking in originality. However, the film has taken on greater appreciation over the years. Critic Sezin Koehler even called the film, "ahead of its time." She expanded on the idea that Tina fought Jason as well as the patriarchy in her review, so the film seemingly can be read as a feminist horror movie by some.
6) Friday the 13th Part 2 - Average Score 26.5
The second film in the franchise again follows a group of counselors as they are murdered one by one. This time, the killer is Jason, who's continuing what his mother started at Crystal Lake. Critics credited director Steve Miner with being less bloodthirsty than the first film and doing a successful job in setting a realistic tone. However, they were critical of the lack of original vision and heavily compare the sequel to its predecessor in terms of plot and structure.
5) Friday the 13th : The Final Chapter - Average Score 28
Jason once again returns and goes on a killing spree as he makes he way back to Camp Crystal Lake. He squares off against young adults, but this time he meets his match in a young boy named Tommy. Critics felt the film served as a worthy ending to a series; although, that did not end up being the case. They also said that unlike the previous installments, there seemed to be some attempt at character development; however, the film is still not considered a success with a Rotten Tomatoes critic score of 23 percent and a Metacritic score of 33.
4) Friday the 13th (2009) - Average Score 30
In 2009, Friday the 13th was reimagined. A young man named Clay searches the woods near abandoned Camp Crystal Lake for his missing sister. Alongside a group of college students, he finds more than he bargained for when they stumble upon Jason's hunting ground. The film was part of a trend of horror remakes in the 2000s, and some critics considered this one of the better of the trend. The critics credited the film as technically well made, and it had some well done scares. In the end though, the critics considered the faults of this installment just an extension of the franchise's fault as a whole.
3) Freddy vs. Jason - Average Score 39
The premise is simple, with Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees facing off in the dream world and the real world. Critics generally found the film entertaining in an indulgent way. In terms of the merits of the actual filmmaking, they were less complimentary. Many found that it was lacking both the surreal dream world aspect of the Nightmare series and the real world chills of the Friday series. However, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 41 percent and a Metacritic score of 37, it is one of the higher rated installments of Jason's franchise.
2) Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives - Average Score 40
After the disappointing performance of Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, Jason returns in the franchise's sixth film. Tommy returns as well, and in his attempt to destroy Jason's body, he accidentally brings the serial killer back to life. The critics were happy to find a more comedic, self aware aspect present in this film. However, they also found the horror, as well as originality, lacking in the scary movie. There is a bit of a gap between the Rotten Tomatoes' 50 percent and the Metacritic's score of 30, likely due to the film's campy tone.
1) Friday the 13th (1980) - Average Score 43
The original Friday the 13th is about a group of camp counselors who are stalked and murdered by an unknown killer as they attempt to reopen a summer camp, which was the scene of a young boy's drowning. The original killer was not the iconic Jason, but his mother, Pamela Voorhees, who's mostly unseen in the film until the climax. Piggybacking off the success of 1978's Halloween, critics were unimpressed with Friday the 13th's crude execution. Though the film was credited with a creepy atmosphere, its schlock led to an unsuccessful attempt at the still young slasher sub-genre. With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 64 percent and a Metacritic score of 22, it's clear this slasher film was divisive amongst critics; however, its average score makes it the highest ranked installment.