Happy Friday the 13th, Grimmlins!
Earlier this year, I marked the day by listing some of the best deaths in the series so now I thought I’d take a gander at Jason’s changing appearance over the course of 11 (!) films!
Our boy’s been through some cosmetic changes over the years, no denying it.
No other place to start than FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980), with little deformed Jason (Ari Lehman) showing up right at the end and dragging sole survivor Alice into the murky depths on Crystal Lake. Or did he? They didn’t find any boy…
Adult Jason appears for the first time in FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 (1981), played by Warrington Gillette and rocking some dungarees completed with a sack on his head! I absolutely love this look.
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III (1982) brings the 3D, the disco music and the hockey mask! Richard Brooker is the main behind the mask, ditching the dungarees for a shirt and trousers combo – Human Jason opts for this pairing right up until his death. Before he gets the mask off Shelley, he just walks around with his beautiful face on show… what happened to the sack Jason?
Corey Feldman takes the big man down in FRIDAY THE 13TH THE FINAL CHAPTER (1984), with Ted White taking up the mantle and doesn’t he look at home in that hockey mask. PART 2, III and FINAL CHAPTER take place over a few days but Jason’s facial appearance changes massively…. ah this is why we love them though.
No room for you Roy, sorry.
Human Jason is dead! Long live Zombie Jason! CJ Graham rises from the grave in FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES (1986), sporting a new shirt and utility belt! I guess it’s more of a toolman’s belt but my reference point is Batman so there you go.
Oh mama, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD (1988) features hands down my favourite version of Zombie Jason, and possibly my favourite version of Jason full stop. Kane Hodder plays Jason for the first of 4 movies, and he’s a hulk of a man – now wearing a boiler suit! Maybe he went to the same tailor as Michael Myers? With an exposed spine and rotting flesh all over him, this is an incredible look for our boy Jason.
Coming just a year later, in FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN/VANCOUVER (1989) Jason is just very wet for the whole movie. His boiler suit is drenched. He squelches when he walks. For an undead creature, his skin doesn’t look too bad – look for Kane’s undamaged pinky finger at the start when he grabs onto the railings of that boat.
Cameo time as Jason has 10/15 minutes of screentime in JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY (1993), but he’s a got a good look going for him! The hockey mask looks too small for his head, as if skin has swelled around it and parts of flesh are visible through holes in his boiler suit. Wish we’d seen more of this in the film.
Two Jason’s for the price of one in JASON X (2001), as our boy is frozen and goes to space (just roll with it). He has a broken chain around his neck, moth-eaten boiler suit and classic mask before he’s blown to bits and rebuilt as Uber Jason!
Coming back as a metallic vision from hell, complete with metal mask…. you know, it’s when you write this all out you really realise how gloriously insane this franchise is. Uber Jason was a bold choice and I wouldn’t wanna cross him.
Director Ronny Yu decided he didn’t want Kane Hodder for FREDDY VS JASON (2003), so after 4 movies Kane was out and Ken Kirzinger was in. Jason rocks a dirty jacket thing with an undershirt (?) in this, with a beaten mask for his showdown with Mr Krueger. I like this look too, and I’m a big fan of the film – imagine how this coulda turned out after so many years and so many scripts! Though Jason being afraid of water is a new one on me..
Last but by no means least (until we get a new film!), Jason jumped on the remake train for 2009’s FRIDAY THE 13TH with Derek Mears playing both Sackhead Jason and Hockey Mask Jason. Going for the jacket/shirt look, this is a strong Jason and so brutal – that prologue makes for a fantastic short film, roasting in a sleeping bag anyone?
And there we go!
He’s been through some looks, has our Jason!
Happy Friday the 13th big guy, give my regards to your mother too.
