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Throughout the Friday the 13th franchise, Jason Voorhees has taken on multiple appearances. While he is most known for his legendary hockey mask, it seems like his look changed in some way with each film, giving each one a unique feeling killer. Not only does his face vary widely, but so does his main look. He has been hit with axes, decomposed, and slashed by Freddy Krueger. Today, we will be taking a look at all of Jason’s appearances throughout the series.
12. Part 8
The eighth film in the series, Jason Takes Manhattan, is widely regarded as one of the worst in the series. This is due to a number of reasons, one of which is the lackluster appearance of Jason himself. Prior to part 8, Jason Voorhees had a number of things happen to him that carried to each sequel. From his trademark ax mark to his exposed spine, Jason had developed quite a look for himself outside of just his mask. This was all done away with in this movie. All of Jason’s battle wounds are gone.
He even gets a new hockey mask, meaning the ax mark is not as prominent. Jason’s uniform is just a slimy black jumpsuit with a handful of tears which isn’t exactly scary. In fact, Jason is slimy and wet throughout the entire film giving him a gross look, and not in a good way. This all comes to a head with Jason’s unmasked face, which many fans have compared to a slug.
11. Part 1
As any horror fan knows, Jason wasn’t the killer in the original Friday the 13th. He technically wasn’t in the film either, but he does appear in some flashbacks and a famous dream scene. In the flashbacks, he is just a normal, albeit deformed, boy. In the dream scene, he is highly decomposed and covered in elements from the lake where he drowned. This scene is one of the most famous last-minute jumpscares of all time, and it is worth mentioning for that alone. While far from the traditional look of Jason, this is the first time he was ever seen on screen in any form. He was a long way from the killer fans would come to love, but this is a decent enough introduction. Seeing this helpless, unassuming boy in Pamela’s flashbacks, it is hard to imagine the monster he would later become.
10. Part 5
Like the original movie, Jason is not the killer in the fifth movie in the series. Instead, there is a copycat killer in a similar get-up. Jason does technically appear, however, as he is seen via hallucinations, thanks to the disturbed Tommy Jarvis. In these visions, Jason Voorhees is pretty basic looking. He essentially retains the same look he did in part 4, just a bit bloodier. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with his part four appearance, it is a shame he couldn’t look a bit different. The obvious reason he looks more or less the same is that he appears as Tommy remembered seeing him in part 4. The reason this entry is so low is that this look has already been seen before, and it didn’t really add anything new.
9. Freddy Vs. Jason
For Jason’s highly anticipated showdown with A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger, he takes on a pretty basic look. He wears some decomposed clothes that completely cover his body. He has a jacket that seems to have become a trademark, as he has it in every film, starting with Jason X. His mask is the classic hockey mask sans ax mark. It gets some severe damage late in the movie, however, when Freddy slashes at it with his gloves.
His exposed face doesn’t have a great shot, but what is shown is a standard deformed face. His skin tone is gray, making it truly seem like he is a walking corpse. To ensure he towers over Freddy, Jason is huge in this movie. This is a standard Jason Voorhees look. There is nothing wrong with it, but it does away with some of the stylistic choices of Friday the 13th films past.
8. Jason Goes To Hell
Of all the Friday movies, the ninth entry, Jason Goes to Hell, is arguably the most unique. Instead of seeing Jason lurk on the grounds of Crystal Lake once again, he is instead shown hopping between bodies throughout most of the film. While Jason takes the form of other people throughout, he does appear in a more traditional way in the beginning and end. When Jason appears as fans know him, it is a doozy. He wears a faded blue jumpsuit that seems to be decomposing off his body. His body is filled with bullet holes and wounds, showing he has been through the wringer more than once.
His head is more hideously deformed than ever. It is lumpy and warped so that it barely even has the shape of a head. He has worn his hockey mask for so long at this point that his skin has actually begun to grow over the mask, meaning the only thing not exposed is his face. Thanks to Friday the 13th: The Game, fans can see that his face is nothing more than a skull with some dead skin hanging off it.
7. Jason X
Jason X is unique in that Jason actually has two distinct looks. For the first portion of the movie, he looks like typical Jason. He wears some raggedy clothes, dons a hockey mask, and has a chain wrapped around his neck. When people think of this movie, however, they think of his second look. At one point in the movie, Jason Voorhees gets completely destroyed, leaving little of the killer left. That is until nanobots rebuild him, that is.
Dubbed “Uber Jason,” this cybernetic monster has become more famous than the movie he hails from. Jason’s body has silver robotics exposed over a slick black uniform. He trades his hockey mask for a metal mask that highlights his new bright red eyes. Jason Voorhees in space was a hard sell, so the filmmakers knew they had to come up with some fun ideas to bring fans on board. A cyborg Jason seemed to do the trick, as fans still love this look.
6. Part 2
Jason’s first proper appearance in the Friday the 13th series has a much different look than he would become known for. Jason is more realistic, for lack of a better word. He wears coveralls over a blue plaid shirt. Instead of his hockey mask, he wears a burlap sack with one eye hole cut out, a reference to the killer in an early slasher movie, The Town That Dreaded Sundown. This Jason is supposed to be a deformed man who has been living off the land.
He isn’t an undead zombie or a demon looking for his next vessel. He is a scary, hulking man who will not hesitate to kill anyone who steps onto his land. Even without his mask, he looks more human than he ever has. He is still deformed, but he has long hair and even a beard. This disheveled Jason may not be his most iconic look, but it has become more regarded in recent years. It isn’t too bad for a horror icon’s first outing.
5. Part 6
After dying for the first time in the fourth movie, Jason Voorhees has been buried for years. That is until Tommy Jarvis unwillingly resurrects him. For the first time ever, Jason was a zombie. He truly looks the part, too. His body still has the wounds he had received over the course of the series, and his face is decomposed and unrecognizable as human. Jason has the same green shirt and brown pants he had in parts 3 and 4, but a bit more raggedy. Jason also has a belt and gloves, giving him the appearance of an undead blue-collar worker. Fans were anxious for Jason to return after his absence in part 5, and this look gave them everything they could have ever wanted.
4. Part 7
Years after the events of Friday the 13th, Part 6, Jason has been chained to the bottom of Crystal Lake. He has been further decomposing, and when he finally returns to the surface, he is more grotesque than ever. His clothes have begun to decompose off his body, as has his skin. His spine and other skeletal parts are fully exposed, making him look like a monster. The bottom corner of his mask is gone, exposing his skull-like face. Or what is left of it. This is debatably one of the scariest looks for Jason because he truly looks like a zombie. This Jason has become a fan favorite, but it isn’t quite his best look.
3. Part 3
The third Friday the 13th film is where Jason takes shape for the first time. An hour into the runtime, Jason appears with his iconic hockey mask for the first time. He looks pretty basic here, but it isn’t difficult to tell why this look was the basis for the rest of the franchise. Jason wears a green shirt and black pants, once again making him look more human than monster. This makes him scarier in the eyes of many. It is one thing to have a zombie chasing you; it is another to have a more or less normal-looking guy in a hockey mask stalking you. His face is still deformed, but also still human. The third film changed the game in more ways than one, but Jason’s look is chief among its accomplishments.
2. Part 4
Jason’s look in the fourth Friday the 13th is pretty similar to Part 3. The biggest difference is the ax mark he received at the end of the third movie. This slash in his mask has become a mainstay in most of the movies since and has become as iconic as the mask itself. Jason’s face in this film is what really makes this appearance stand out. The same man who did the effects in the original film, Tom Savini, returned to do this one. Because of this, Jason’s face looks like an adult version of the kid seen in part 1. Knowing that that poor child from the first movie is truly behind the mask here makes him all the scarier.
1. 2009 Remake
In recent years, the 2009 remake has gotten more and more love. It should be, as it really is a solid entry in the series. This Jason is hands down the scariest in the eyes of many. He begins the film in a burlap sack in an homage to Part 2. he wears basic clothes that anybody could wear. This Jason is very much human, which cements how terrifying he is. When he finally gets his hockey mask, he looks more menacing than ever before. He is big without being unrealistic and a force to be reckoned with. Of all the looks of Jason, this is the one you’d least want to see charging at you in the middle of the night.
