In 1980, Sean S. Cunningham and Victor Miller released what would become one of the most recognized horror films of all time: Friday the 13th. That film introduced us to Pamela Voorhees, a mother whose son was at a camp and drowned because the counselors were off doing other things (read: they were boinking). Ultimately, what came from this movie was the continuation of Jason, the son who supposedly drowned but apparently lived and grew up to be big, strong, and apparently unkillable. Oh and let’s not forget that he’s a glutton for murdering pretty much everyone he comes into contact with.
With recent news about the future of the Friday the 13th coming out, I found myself thinking about the franchise and all that it offered, which essentially boiled down to an astronomical body count, some inventive kills, and…not much else.
“Why the love for Jason?“, I found myself wondering. What makes him appealing? What makes him stand out as a character that captivates so many people? I decided that I would share my line of thinking with all of you in the hopes that maybe someone here can help me change my mind. Because as of right now, Jason Voorhees is, in my opinion, a boring character.
Let’s start by thinking of some other iconic horror villains and what makes them fascinating, okay? I want to create a baseline so that you all can understand where I’m coming from as I realize my position is rather unpopular.
Starting with Freddy, we know why he’s interesting. He talks, he quips, he likes toying with his prey, and he’s got the ability to do some really interesting and innovative kills. Phillip’s death from Dream Warriors is my personal favorite and it shows just how malicious, cruel, and imaginative Freddy and the A Nightmare on Elm Street series can get.
Pinhead from the Hellraiser series has a rich and deep mythology backing him up. He’s a lieutenant of Hell and commands Cenobite forces in their quest to find and torture anyone who plays with the Lament Configuration. Furthermore, he’s a gentleman, in his own weird way. He adds a sense of class and style to the genre, almost like he’s a demonic version of Hannibal Lecter.
Speaking of Hannibal the Cannibal, what makes him so fascinating is that he also plays with his victims. However, he does it in far more of a cat-and-mouse fashion. He delights in the chase, meaning he’ll manipulate and tease his victims to earn their trust and then sever those ties (and their arteries) at his own sociopathic will.
Coming to the Halloween series, Michael Myers piques my interest because of his patience and commitment. He is, according to Dr. Loomis, a force of pure evil. However, he likes to create a sense of dread. He has no problem standing next to a hedge and then walking away, even though his ultimate prey is right in front of him. He has no issues with acting like the “Boogeyman”. His appeal comes from the fact that he doesn’t seem to have any sense of urgency when executing his executions*.
There are countless other villains I could focus on and extol their virtues but I think I’ve brought enough examples to say that Jason exhibits none of these characteristics. More often than not, he’s a force of pure rage and anger that uses whatever is available to him to kill those that are in his path. While it’s fun to see a high body count, Jason himself isn’t all that exciting. He’s the tool to kill these victims and that’s it.
While I love several kills from the Friday the 13th series, I have to admit that writing a new entry shouldn’t be hard as it falls into a certain formula: people trespass into Jason’s territory, they cavort and sin upon his land, they get killed, close curtains. The other characters I mentioned need more to make their story make sense. The Halloween films had a deeper purpose behind Michael and his murder sprees. Hannibal’s films (and the TV series) are psychological horror/thrillers that need interesting characters with their own backstories that move the story forward. Even the A Nightmare on Elm Street films try to progress and build upon Freddy’s history and powers.
But Jason? Apart from being the son of Pamela and Elias Voorhees and nearly drowning as a child, what else does he have? Okay, so he’s a Frankenstein-esque monster (he was resurrected by lightning, for god’s sake) that can’t die but that also is never explained, at least not in a satisfying manner. His entire foundation is just lazy and basic.
What’s interesting is that the 2009 reboot brought a Jason that was actually very interesting to the screen! He built tunnels so that he could move quickly throughout Camp Crystal Lake. He showed restraint by not killing Whitney, as she resembles a young version of his mother. When he picks up Bree in the bathroom and covers her mouth to stifle her screams, there is this fantastic and tense hesitation as he seemingly tries to figure out what to do next. The camera focuses on his wide eye, which narrows sinisterly before he slams her body against a pair of antlers. He created a system of floodlights throughout Camp Crystal Lake so as to find potential victims more easily.
I know that Jason has done similar things in other movies but this is the first time that I can remember where everything was done within the same film. By combining all these traits into one film, it felt like a more complete and thought-out Jason Voorhees was brought to the screen. The other films never offered that.
Look, I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy the Friday the 13th films because I certainly do! Sometimes watching a bunch of teenagers get hacked to pieces is all I need in life. But I am saying that Jason, at his core, is boring and uninteresting.
*I’m rather proud of that.
