FTM Rewind: FRIDAY THE 13th Party!

by Patrick Bromley

With Crystal Lake taking over the horror conversation these days, here's everything you need to celebrate the life and death of a very special boy, as well as the occasional paramedic.

It's no secret that I love the Friday the 13th series. It's my series of choice as horror franchises go because it's the most consistent -- unlike the Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises, Friday the 13th wasn't very good to begin with and had nowhere to go but up. I could watch these movies any day, any time, so it's great to have a day like today that doesn't just allow for that -- it demands it. And because I enjoy talking about these movies, there's been a good deal of coverage about them here at F This Movie!. Here are some of the pieces we've published on the franchise. Enjoy!

So Why Friday the 13th?

A reader and journalist by the name of Dylan Scott once asked that I explain my love for the Friday the 13th franchise. This was my long-winded, rambling, incoherent answer. It's as close as I've ever gotten to codifying what these movies mean to me.

Podcast: The Friday the 13th Franchise

In 2013, Mike and I ended Scary Movie Month with our annual horror franchise podcast covering all of the Friday the 13th movies. This is one of my favorite shows we've ever recorded, mostly because I love talking about these movies with Mike, who loves and appreciates them as much as I do. I also love it because this is the show where you can pretty much hear me fall in love with A New Beginning, an affection that has only grown in the years since we recorded this episode. Most importantly, this is the episode in which Mike unequivocally states that Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood is his favorite entry in the franchise, a claim he has denied making ever since. Listen for yourself. He says that shit for sure.

Revisiting the Friday the 13th Franchise

Mike and I revisited the series for our annual franchise podcast during the COVID outbreak of 2020, shortly after it was released as one massive, all-encompassing Blu-ray set by Scream Factory. Our rankings changed but our general feelings toward the series had only grown warmer in the years between the two shows.

Podcast: Friday the 13th Part 3 Commentary (in 3D!)

Our second annual SMM commentary! We watched the movie in 3D, which is why you'll hear us regularly scream at something flying out of the screen. I love this movie and I loved doing this commentary. If this is the Friday you revisit this month, please enjoy it with us talking over everything. The dialogue's not that important anyway. It's worth listening alone for Doug's impression of Jason as Frankenstein's Monster.

13 Great Moments from the Friday the 13th Franchise

Mike gave me the idea for this list during #Junesploitation, and I'm glad he did. Some of these picks are legit highlights of the series; others are moments that I love on a personal level. RIP Joey.

Shitting on the Classics: Friday the 13th

Early in the days of F This Movie!, JB wrote a weekly column in which he took a respected or beloved movie and explained why it's actually bad. Few movies were treated with more distaste or venom than the original Friday, which JB continues to detest to this day. The column is scathing and very funny.

Take Two: Jason X

For a time, this was one of my least favorite entries in the series. I was wrong about that. Most Take Two columns have only served to reaffirm my positions on movies in the past, but this is one of the few in which I do a real turnaround, appreciating the movie for what it ends up being (goofy and fun) instead of what I thought it should have been when it opened in the post-Scream early 2000s. No, it's not the movie Todd Farmer wanted made, but I still can have a good time with it.

2K Replay: Jason X

Adam Riske says it better than I ever could. What was once one of his favorite entries in the franchise ceases to be upon later viewing.

My Favorite Friday the 13th Characters

Back in 2018, I put the spotlight on some of my favorite characters from the series. I know "characters" and Friday the 13th seems like a contradiction, but I swear there are people and performances from this franchise for which I have a lot of affection. It's a big part of what makes the movies so rewatchable.

Great Horror Performances: Kane Hodder as Jason Voorhees

We used to run a series highlighting some of our favorite performances in the horror genre. In 2014, Heath Holland picked Kane Hodder's run as masked slasher Jason Voorhees, pointing out not just that Hodder played Jason the most times but that his size and physicality came to define what we picture when we think of Jason. Kane Hodder is Jason.

Heath Holland On...My Heroes Have Always Been Slashers

Heath Holland wrote a great piece about his love of the slasher genre back in 2013. It's good to remember why the genre matters.

How I Learned to Love the Slasher

Heath's article obviously made such an impact on me that I unwittingly wrote pretty much the same piece a year later. After you read why he loves slasher movies, you can read why I do. Or you can read his twice.

My Favorite Final Girls

Yes, Friday the 13th Part 2's Ginny makes an appearance. I'm not a monster.

Growing Up Nerdy: Mike and Adam Go to Camp

Back when Mike and Adam Thas were writing their weekly Growing Up Nerdy advice column (RIP), they wrote this in-depth description of what it would be like attending Camp F This Movie! to celebrate Friday the 13th during #Junesploitation 2014. I like it because they make fun of me constantly. I can take a joke. You'll notice the column no longer runs.

Tommy Jarvis and Great Monster Kids in Movies

Only a monster kid can kill Jason.

Break out the strip Monopoly, magic underwear, and chocolate bars and celebrate #ScaryMovieMonth in style.