Movies
45 Years of Fear: The Most Killer Moments from Friday the 13th
May 2025 marks the 45th anniversary of the release of the 1980 slasher Friday the 13th. In honor of this momentous occasion, I thought I’d break down the most important 45 minutes of footage from across the entire franchise that was spawned on that day nearly half a century ago. Some of these clips are historic, helping to shape the franchise. Some are shining examples of the franchise at its best and worst. And some are just a hell of a lot of fun. Because if you’re not having fun during a Friday the 13th movie marathon, something has gone terribly wrong.
May 2025 marks the 45th anniversary of the release of the 1980 slasher Friday the 13th. In honor of this momentous occasion, I thought I’d break down the most important 45 minutes of footage from across the entire franchise that was spawned on that day nearly half a century ago. Some of these clips are historic, helping to shape the franchise. Some are shining examples of the franchise at its best and worst. And some are just a hell of a lot of fun. Because if you’re not having fun during a Friday the 13th movie marathon, something has gone terribly wrong.
Note: If the video I share is longer than the clip I’m pointing to, specific timecodes will be included in a parenthetical at the beginning of the paragraph.
Ch-Ch-Ch Ha-Ha-Ha Begins (6 seconds, Friday the 13th 1980)
(1:12 to 1:18) Less than two minutes into the movie, you get to hear composer Harry Manfredini’s magnum opus for the first time. The atonal “ch-ch-ch ha-ha-ha” would come to define the soundscape of the franchise, more than any other individual piece of music.
Also, purists will tell you that it’s “ki-ki-ki ma-ma-ma,” because Manfredini put reverb on those syllables from “kill her, mommy” in order to create the sound. But when you’re mimicking it or writing it out, you gotta go with how it sounds, people, not where it started!
Annie’s Death (19 seconds, Friday the 13th 1980)
(1:18 to 1:37) Although two random counselors were killed in the opening sequence of the movie, their deaths are relatively bloodless. Annie is the first main character to be killed during the movie proper, and Tom Savini’s gross slit-throat prosthetic gets center stage here, pulling the rug out from under the first-time viewer who might have assumed we were getting a classy slasher like Halloween in addition to hinting at the carnage that is to come.
Crazy Ralph Rides His Bike (8 seconds, Friday the 13th 1980)
(0:31 to 0:39)
I mean, look at that posture. Impeccable!
Jack’s Death (44 seconds, Friday the 13th 1980)
While Annie’s death raises the curtain of Friday the 13th, Jack’s is the showstopper. From its unique weapon choice and (frankly, impossible) geography, to the geyser of blood that ensues, it is a sequence that drew up the template for the creative, jaw-dropping kills to come in future installments.
Mrs. Voorhees’ Monologue (1 minute & 59 seconds, Friday the 13th 1980)
(0:20 to 2:19) In addition to being impeccably delivered by a deliciously over-the-top Betsy Palmer, Mrs. Voorhees’ killer reveal moment introduces the character of Jason, who is – spoiler alert – going to turn out to be pretty important.
Mrs. Voorhees’ Death (38 seconds, Friday the 13th 1980)
(1:02 to 1:40) This decapitation is another important element of Jason’s backstory, but it’s also just a hella cool Tom Savini moment.
Jason’s Debut (22 seconds, Friday the 13th 1980)
(1:25 to 1:47) Jason arriving on the scene as a zombie child threw a wrench in continuity from square one, but it is important for multiple reasons. First, it provided the movie with an iconic last-minute jump scare that sent audiences out into the streets, singing the movie’s praises and building word of mouth. Second, it’s the first proper appearance of Jason, and that kind of history simply can’t be ignored.
Jason’s Adult Debut (21 seconds, Friday the 13th Part 2)
(0:00 to 0:21) Jason making his first appearance as a grown man (played in this moment by costume designer Ellen Lutter) might be a bit ignominious. He steps in a puddle, and that’s pretty much it. But that step in a puddle marks the glorious debut of a character who was about to become synonymous with the slasher genre.
Alice’s Death (31 seconds, Friday the 13th Part 2)
(6:15 to 6:46) Not only does Alice’s death promise that nobody is safe in this new installment, it marks the first and only time that a final girl from a Friday the 13th installment would appear in its sequel.
Paul Gives It To Us Straight About Jason (2 minutes & 12 seconds, Friday the 13th Part 2)
In addition to being an eerie scene-setting moment, Paul’s campfire story about Jason Voorhees provides audiences with the only real attempt at an explanation that they’re going to get about why the dead zombie kid from the last movie is now a very much alive, homicidal adult.
Mark’s Death (55 seconds, Friday the 13th Part 2)
How do you one-up a kill like the one that put an arrow through Kevin Bacon’s neck? Here’s one way.
Ginny’s Dress-Up Act (1 minute & 3 seconds, Friday the 13th Part 2)
(0:00 to 1:03) In addition to showcasing the cleverness of one of the franchise’s best final girls (and cementing the fact that the franchise will consistently embrace the final girl trope), the moment where Ginny dresses up as Jason’s mother had a huge ripple effect on the slasher genre at large and would be ripped off time and again, including in the finale of the Canadian slasher Humongous, which debuted just 13 months later.
The Disco Theme (1 minute & 52 seconds, Friday the 13th Part III)
Is this the second most important piece of music that Harry Manfredini contributed to the franchise? I think there are other contenders, but I’m not gonna come right out and say no.
Jason Gets His Hockey Mask (19 seconds, Friday the 13th Part III)
(3:00 to 3:19) Here it is, the moment that changed Friday the 13th forever. It didn’t seem like it at the time, really. It was just a cool look that he stole from that loser, Shelly. But the hockey mask became synonymous with Jason so instantaneously that it was featured on the poster for this movie’s immediate sequel. Mind you, the poster doesn’t even feature Jason. Just the mask.
Rick’s Death (40 seconds, Friday the 13th Part III)
Just like the disco theme, this moment highlights the fact that Friday the 13th wasn’t afraid to go a little wacky, even in the early installments that didn’t feature overt supernatural elements.
Crispin Glover Dances (31 seconds, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter)
I mean, this would be one of the most important moments of any franchise. If this happened in The Godfather Part III, more people would rank it higher. Just saying.
Jason Meets His (First) End (2 minutes & 32 seconds, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter)
(1:33 to 4:05) Ah what a sweet and innocent time it was in 1984. Jason was dead. It was the final chapter. The nightmare was finally over, right? Right?! In addition to beginning the trend of the franchise ending with Jason’s death and then starting back up again more or less immediately, this sequence is Tom Savin’s victory lap before departing the franchise. What better moment could have represented this than Jason’s face sliding down a machete, am I right?
Damn Enchiladas (1 minute & 45 seconds, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning)
(0:00 to 1:45) The Friday the 13th movies have always been reflective of the culture and trends of the time in which they were made, and this is perhaps the most beautifully bizarre interlude from the most coked-up era of cinema history.
It Was Roy? (42 seconds, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning)
(4:35 to 5:17) And now for the “huh?” heard ‘round the world. When Jason falls onto a bed of spikes (a pretty cool death, honestly), his mask splits open like a melon to reveal… who is that again? Oh yeah, Roy, the weird paramedic from like two earlier scenes in the movie. That’s right, we have a copycat killer on our hands! The resoundingly negative response to this is a major reason why the upcoming movies took on a supernatural twist with a zombie Jason (the popularity of Elm Street also helped).
Jason’s Return (3 minutes & 36 seconds, Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI)
(4:53 to 8:29) Jason’s back, y’all. And who should bring him back but Tommy Jarvis, the guy who is perhaps the most important recurring character in the franchise whose last name doesn’t begin with a V.
Cort Has Sex (26 seconds, Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI)
(1:25 to 1:51) Even for Jason’s most overtly comic outing, this sequence perfectly highlights how out of touch these filmmakers could sometimes be from even the most basic of human experiences.
Tina Fights Jason (2 minutes & 13 seconds, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood)
We already have a supernatural Jason, so why not throw in a telekinetic final girl? In an installment that was butchered by the MPAA and thus does not have much gore to speak of, the silly but compelling battle at the end of the movie likely went a long way toward ensuring that the franchise would live to slay another day.
Jason Goes On Arsenio Hall (5 minutes & 43 seconds)
Jason’s appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show was the beginning of the end for the big lug. This flop-sweaty talk show moment is as embarrassing for Jason as it is for Arsenio, and it highlights both what a massive phenomenon the franchise was and how little Paramount could figure out what to do with it in the tail end of the 1980s. It makes sense that they sold it off to New Line right after Jason Takes Manhattan (which Jason is promoting here) took in the most diminished of returns at the box office.
Julius’ Death (1 minute & 56 seconds, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan)
It may not have made the money that Paramount was hoping for, but Jason Takes Manhattan still knew how to have fun when it wanted to.
Jason (Finally) Takes Manhattan (32 seconds, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan)
(0:36 to 1:08) In one of the scant few moments of the movie that both 1) takes place in Manhattan and 2) was shot in Manhattan, the movie ever-so-briefly lives up to the glory promised by the title and poster. Alas, this wasn’t long enough to win anybody over.
Jason Meets His (Second) End (3 minutes, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan)
Jason’s second death in the franchise is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. It is thus a fitting end for his original run at Paramount, who fumbled this project in every possible way.
Game Over (5 seconds, Friday the 13th NES Game)
(0:10 to 0:15) I’m sorry to report that you and your friends are dead, but what an honor for your demise to have come at the hands of Jason Voorhees.
Jason Meets His (Third) End (1 minute & 20 seconds, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday)
(1:40 to 3:00) Jason’s third demise came a lot quicker than anybody thought, in the opening sequence of the next movie. Frankly, the surprise SWAT sting is pretty fun, too.
Jason’s Autopsy (1 minute & 41 seconds, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday)
(0:45 to 2:26) Here is the moment where New Line announced exactly what they were going to be up to as the new stewards of the Friday the 13th franchise. Even though I secretly enjoy this movie, it perhaps makes sense why things went off the rails more or less immediately.
Creighton Duke Makes His American Casefile Debut (20 seconds, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday)
Say what you will about the new direction for the franchise, but the world is better off with Creighton Duke in it.
Jason (Finally) Goes to Hell (1 minute & 19 seconds, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday)
(1:15 to 2:34) Never say these movies don’t live up to the promises made by their titles. Eventually.
Adrienne’s Death (27 seconds, Jason X)
(0:25 to 0:52) This kill in Jason’s bizarre spacefaring adventure proves that New Line still had some tricks up their sleeves when it came to having filmmakers craft exciting kills.
The Camp Simulation (30 seconds, Jason X)
Here’s another fun kill (with the nudity cut out for YouTube censorship reasons, because violence is fine but god forbid you see a rogue nipple), but the VR Crystal Lake sequence also brings the franchise full circle in the last of its proper installments.
Jason Raves (2 minutes & 9 seconds, Freddy vs. Jason)
This sequence is proof that you can’t keep Jason Voorhees down. You can send him to hell, send him to space, kill him a half-dozen times, it doesn’t matter. This crossover with the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise proved that this murdering machine just ain’t gonna break.
Nolan & Chelsea’s Deaths (1 minute & 54 seconds, Friday the 13th 2009)
(1:10 to 3:04) In what unfortunately remains the most recent installment, this pair of deaths is probably the best at evoking what the reboot does best. It has a solid shock gag followed by a thrilling cat-and-mouse moment, ending with a sublimely tasteless kill that combines nudity and gore in a single shot. It’s the entire Friday the 13th franchise in a nutshell.
Trent Has Sex (10 seconds, Friday the 13th 2009)
This is the amount of time it takes for Trent to speak the most iconic lines of dialogue in the history of western drama, namely “Your tits are stupendous,” “You got perfect nipple placement, baby,” “These would win in a fucking titty contest,” and “Your tits are fucking just… so juicy, dude.” Shakespeare could never.
Brooklyn Horror Film Fest kicked off its 10th year with a screening of the highly anticipated Queens of the Dead. This sparkly and zombie-fied night was presented by Horror Press and set the tone for at least two after parties. As a good queen does.
Before the movie began, director and co-writer, Tina Romero, took the stage to share that she is “very proud to be my dad’s kid, and proud to carry his torch, and super super proud to do it in a way that shows queer joy and queer resilience.” After watching the film, it’s clear Romero meant business as she expanded on the zombie world built by her dad, the genre icon George A. Romero.
A Scrumptious Evening
The opening night film was also unforgettable because it was followed by a Q&A afterward moderated by New York’s baddest emcee, Xero Gravity. Tina Thee Romero took the stage with cast members Samora la Perdida, Julie J., Tomas Matos, and Nina West. They kept the vibe fun but also addressed why this movie is especially important in dire times like these.
Nina West said, “I’m really proud that this movie is coming out specifically right now.” West explained, “We talked about how important this film is right now. How queer people, I think, are going to have the opportunity to grab onto it and hopefully feel a sense of community, a sense of self, and a reminder of how vital it is to have chosen family and the ability to have space. Watching it tonight with an audience, that’s what I’m reminded of.”
The Romero Legacy is Very Much Alive and Well
Gravity opened the talk by addressing Romero’s dad’s work, “So, Tina, your father’s legacy is invaluable to the horror community, especially the horror community of marginalized people. When I look into the audience, I see a bunch of queer people, a bunch of different skin tones, I see people with disabilities, and for that, I know we all appreciate George A. Romero’s legacy in terms of allyship.”
When the applause died down, she asked Romero what Queens of the Dead has to say about our current state in society. Romero said she felt incredibly grateful that Shudder and IFC Films are putting this movie out in 2025.
Romero elaborated, “It’s not easy to get a little indie movie out into the world. It’s so important that it’s coming out this year because what a year we have had. Holy shit.”
Romero continued, “It feels so good to have a big queer movie coming out in a time when our community is feeling really under the threat of erasure and under attack. I feel like what our movie says is we are here and we are wonderful, come along for the ride. I really hope that this movie brings a little bit of empathy. A little bit of ‘I can’t help but laugh at and love these characters.”
Romero concluded, “I really love my father. I love the films he made. It was very important to me to make sure his legacy continued in a way that said some shit and with queerness on screen.”
A Night of Glitter and Gore
During the talk back, Romero shared a lot of cool facts. One being that her and co-writer Erin Judge worked on this film for ten years. She also shared that Dawn of the Dead is her favorite movie in her dad’s franchise when Gravity pointed out a couple of nods to the movie in Queens of the Dead.
The Q&A went by entirely too quickly as the audience fell in love with this amazing crew. However, the love and community spilled into the bar area afterward. People were given the opportunity to thank everyone for their work and tell them they loved the film. People were offered penis-shaped cakes, which is a fun gag from the film. Attendees were also given a chance to get a little bloody at the hands of local makeup artist Dime. They applied bite marks and blood to everyone who wanted to feel like they were a part of the hottest zombie movie of the year.
It was another scrumptious evening in Brooklyn. It also left many of the audience with an axe wound right in the heart. I’m excited to see how Brooklyn Film Fest follows this movie, and I will be in the bar area this weekend, waiting to see.
Queens of the Dead will slay in theaters on October 24.
I feel like I’m always taking swings at Blumhouse Productions and would like to explain why I’m usually frustratedly screaming into a mic, “For whomst?!” My relationship as a horror fan with most of the movies this company produces cannot be summed up in quick, snide comments and eyerolls. It’s bigger than that because when Blumhouse gets it right, they get it right. Get Out, Us, Creep, Creep 2, Happy Death Day, Freaky, M3GAN, and Drop are some of my favorite movies from the last 10 years. The Paranormal Activity franchise is the reason I show up for found footage films today.
However, while the mission to seemingly greenlight anything is good on paper, it does lead to some questionable films. Some projects feel irresponsible to fund, and some that are just bad make up the majority of their library. For every diamond, we get a bunch of movies that leave us scratching our heads and wondering if the obvious conversations were not being had. Which is why I picked four Blumhouse movies I have legitimate beef with. I think these are prime examples of why I have a hard time getting excited when the company’s PR starts up for a new project. I’m also respectfully asking if there are things in place to avoid these issues and concerns in the future.
The Exorcist: Believer
Two girls disappear in the woods and return to their families, who soon learn they are possessed by an evil entity. My surface problem with this Blumhouse movie is that they learned nothing from greenlighting the Halloween trilogy and put the cart before the horse again. However, my main grievance is that I was led to believe this would be a Black-led Exorcist movie. That would have been groundbreaking in this almost exclusively white franchise. More importantly, Leslie Odom Jr. and Lidya Jewett were more than capable of leading this movie. So, why were they shoved into the margins? We had a double exorcism and gave the non-Black child most of the cool things to do. The film also made Odom Jr.’s character the chauffeur for Chris MacNeil, who was shoehorned in for fan service and given nothing important to do. The Exorcist: Believer was unbelievably bad to boot.
Dashcam (2021)
Two friends livestream the most terrifying night of their lives while on a road trip. This movie would have done fine because it was from the team that brought us Host. As we were still in pandemic mode, many of us were curious to see what they would do next. So, there was a lot of face cracks when it came out that problematic Twitter personality Annie Hardy would be basically playing herself in the film. From her political stances, COVID denial, racist rants, and that time she turned a pride flag into a swastika on Twitter, she’s very blatantly a person who does not need a bigger platform.
It’s irresponsible to allow a movie to use her as stunt casting in a Blumhouse production. Again, this movie would have been better off without her because it would have ridden the steam of Host. Instead, it turned people off, and some refused to see it or review it.
They/Them (2022)
A group of teens at an LGBTQ+ conversion camp suffer psychological torture at the hands of the staff while being murdered by a masked killer. I feel there were too many cis people weighing in on this movie. I personally watched an awful person who masquerades as a journalist leap into Twitter conversations where Trans and non-binary people were discussing why this movie wasn’t it. So, I chose to keep my thoughts to myself and listen to the community, who should get a say.
I encourage you to do the same. Here is the Horror Press review by Bash Ortega. I also encourage you to read Kay Lynch’s essay at Bloody Disgusting. Consequence of Sound also had a review that is worth reading. While this was one of the movies under the Blumhouse banner that had its heart seemingly in the right place, we know intention and impact are not the same thing.
Soft & Quiet (2022)
An elementary teacher meets with other white supremacists and then commits a hate crime. This movie felt like a bunch of shocking events strewn together, and I wanted my money back for this rental. I have no idea how this film came to be what it is. Personally, I hope there is a version that doesn’t feel like racial trauma porn somewhere, but this is not it. I kept wondering who this movie is for, and the internet confirmed it wasn’t for POC. With all the ways to capture white supremacy on film, this is what they did? I feel this is the most irresponsible movie Blumhouse has subjected me to. It’s the reason I no longer get excited when I hear a filmmaker I am rooting for is working with the company.
In Closing…
I know I come across as flippant when I drag most of Blumhouse’s films. However, it stems from a place of concern and frustration. Bad movies like Firestarter, Unhuman, Night Swim, and Imaginary are one thing. These movies that clumsily handle important topics that are the reason I’m usually waiting for their titles to hit streaming. Whether they’re putting Black leads in the backseat, greenlighting movies where internet trolls are being given roles, or adding to the canon of racial trauma porn, I’m tired. I don’t know how to fix it because I don’t know if it’s a lack of support or interference regarding the writers and directors.
I don’t know if it’s just quantity over quality leading to some messy and unnecessary movies making it through the cracks. However, if Jason Blum can unpack why M3GAN 2.0 flopped, then it would be cool for him to unpack what he’s learned from the movies that should actually be cause for concern. As a film girl, I would love to see these Blumhouse choices laid out like case studies. Whatever lessons learned and actionable items taken to not make these mistakes again, could be beneficial to other production companies that are also struggling. All I know is an honest investigation is needed if they’re going to keep yeeting films out at this rate. We want to root for all horror. However, it’s hard to do that if we’re wondering who is (or is not) in the room for so many important conversations that need to happen.
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