If you wonder which “Jason” I am referring to in the title, chances are you are not a big Friday the 13th fan. Friday the 13th was one of the original slasher films that helped define the genre.
If you have never seen a movie from the franchise, the story centers (mostly) around Jason Voorhees, the deceased son of Pamela Sue Voorhees. Pamela Sue was the cook at Camp Crystal Lake in 1957. Her son Jason, who had been made fun of by the others at camp, decided to go swimming one night to show the kids he could and drown because the camp counselors were partying instead of watching the kids. To avenge her son’s death, Pamela Sue goes on a murdering rampage, killing camp counselors and closing the cursed camp. The camp stayed closed until 1980 until guess who came back? Yes, it was Pamela. So, if you have watched the original Scream, you will know that the killers are correct when they ask Drew Barrymore who the original killer in the Friday the 13th series and she incorrectly says it was Jason Voorhees. Mrs. Voorhees was the one that started it all. Jason only comes back to avenge the death of his mother, which occurs at the end of the first film.
Now, if all this sounds like dribble to you, know this – the Friday the 13th franchise has produced twelve films, including the recently released remake of the first one. Critics hate the film, but fans love it – it is estimated that the franchise has brought in approximately $591.5 million dollars. That makes it one of the most successful franchises in horror movie history.
The remake of the original is no exception. It was released this past weekend (on Friday the 13th of course!) and offered the biggest box office opening of the year, bringing in $42.2 million on its opening weekend. That makes it the top earning film in the franchise, even beating out the previous film in the series Freddy vs. Jason which promised the ultimate battle of senseless, mindless killers. Oddly enough, the first Friday the 13th, which featured a young Kevin Bacon as a counselor, only brought in $39.7 during its entire run, but then again, that was back in 1980.
The next film (come on, you know there has to be at least one more!) will be the thirteen in the series. You have to wonder if the producers will call it quits after that one.