The slasher franchise has showcased every facet of killers, from traditional humans killing for a thrill or fame to supernatural entities trapped in the body of a doll or able to invade dreams. But what was always constant was that the murderers would kill in brutal and creative ways. Rarely if ever, did the genre evolve into something more, whether it be sci-fi or action, but that didn't mean that it never happened. A great example of this could be seen in the Friday the 13th franchise.
Friday the 13th began as a murder mystery where Jason Voorhees' mother would secretly kill camp counselors as justice for her son's death. However, upon her death, Jason returned and carried on her legacy, killing any teens that tried to set up shop at Camp Crystal Lake. But as the franchise progressed, Jason changed, and the constant deaths and resurrections turned him into an undead revenant rather than a relentless killer. As a result, his story was allowed to evolve into something that would be completely unique, as explained in a breakdown of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.
Jason Voorhees Wasn't Always an Undead Slasher
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday was a supernatural exploration into what was meant to be the slasher's final outing. In the film, Jason was seemingly killed in a police raid, but his spirit would transform between different bodies in the form of a demonic worm. Stalked by a bounty hunter named Creighton Duke, he learned that Jason was trying to live on in the body of a relative. But it would take his and his ancestor's efforts to send the killer to Hell, but not before he was exposed to his worm form.
In a filmed but ultimately cut version of Jason Goes to Hell, the worm form made way for a monstrous demon that was anything but human. As it roared and screamed, the protagonists would try and fight off the creature before it transformed back into the form of Jason. It signified that while he was human in appearance, Jason was instead a full-fledged demon. Had the scene stayed, it would've added to his new status as a supernatural monster but also tied the series entirely to another hit franchise.
Jason Voorhees' Demon Form Could Have Changed Friday the 13th
The scene that was cut was initially meant to solidify the series' place in The Evil Dead franchise, with the Necronomicon making an appearance and the director's confirmation that Pamela Voorhees used the book. As a demon, it would mean Jason had become a Deadite completely and was no longer human. Had this remained, along with the ending that teased Freddy Krueger, it would've meant that Jason could've potentially met with Ash Williams. But as far as the larger lore of Friday the 13th, the change would've also shown Jason's change from human to demon over the years.
Had Jason embraced his fate as a demon, the slasher series had the potential to become more of a monster series. In future Friday the 13th films, he could've used his supernatural abilities to kill innocents both as a monster and a slasher. But, no matter the outcome, the one constant would be that nothing human could stop him, and it would take more magic to stop a killer that started as a man and grew into something stronger and scarier.