“Ki, ki, ki, ma, ma, ma…..”
Could I really pass on the opportunity to post about Jason Voorhees, arguably the most famous slasher of all time, on Friday, October 13th????? Absolutely not. There’s really not much to say about the big guy that most horror fans don’t already know, but I’ll do my best. Instead of giving you a general description of Jason, I figured that bullet points would work best for him. I hope that you enjoy this look at everybody’s favorite hockey masked slasher.
- There have been twelve Friday The 13th films, but Jason was only the antagonist in ten of them. His mom, Pamela Voorhees, was the killer in the first film and Roy Burns portrayed a copycat killer in Friday The 13th: A New Beginning (Part V).
- Jason’s signature weapon is considered to be a machete, but he has used everything from spears to lawn equipment and even a sleeping bag to kill his victims.
- According to this article from Digital Trends, Jason ranks third on the Kill Counts list with 163 confirmed kills. He only trails Michael Myers by two kills. Topping the list is Pinhead with over two hundred kills. In my book, Pinhead isn’t a slasher, so Jason moves to #2 on my list.
- Jason is one of the only slashers to make it to outer space. He did so in Jason X (2002).
- Jason didn’t wear his iconic mask until Friday The 13th Part III (1982).
- Jason battled another horror heavyweight, Freddy Krueger, in the 2003 crossover film Freddy Vs. Jason.
- Jason was created by Victor Miller. Young Jason was designed by Miller, Ron Kurz, and Tom Savini. Sean S. Cunningham is considered the co-creator of the Friday The 13th franchise and has been heavily involved on many of the films.
- Ari Lehman was the first person to portray Jason. He appears in the first film during a dream sequence and is shown to be a deformed child.
- The first person to portray Jason as an adult was Warrington Gillette. However, Gillette was not able to perform the stunts in Friday The 13th Part 2 (1981), so stuntman Steve Daskawisz appears as Jason for nearly all of the film.
- Numerous actors and stuntmen have portrayed Jason over the years. Many, like makeup and effects guru Tom Savini, only portrayed Voorhees for one scene. Some of the notable actors behind the mask include C.J. Graham, Derek Mears, Richard Brooker, and Ken Kirzinger.
- Kane Hodder has appeared as Jason more than any other performer with four appearances. He is also considered by many to be the best actor in the role.
- Jason has appeared in video games, comics, and novels. There have also been model kits, action figures, and tons of other types of merchandise created featuring his image.
- A prequel series entitled Crystal Lake is set for release on Peacock at some point in 2024. Little is known about the series, but Adrienne King, who played Alice in the first two films, will have a role in the series.
- Michael Myers is noted as one of the biggest inspirations for Jason. The duo have never squared off on film but often battle for the top position on multiple Favorite Slasher lists.
Well, that does it for my look at Jason Voorhees. This post is a little different from the rest, but I felt that it was probably the way to go considering how popular Jason has been over the years. I will most likely use this format for a couple of other big bads that will arrive later this month!
Thanks for checking out my post!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 