How do you watch the Friday the 13th movies in order? There are few sights more iconic in the horror movie world than Jason Voorhees and his grubby hockey mask. The slasher movie franchise has spawned a whopping 12 films now.
It all began in 1980 when a group of teenagers were slaughtered at Camp Crystal Lake by the masked mass murderer Jason Voorhees, who really didn’t want the camp to be used. The Friday the 13th series went full steam ahead after the success of the original ‘80s movie, with a further seven instalments in that decade alone.
Over the years, Jason has visited New York City, crossed paths with Nightmare on Elm Street villain Freddy Krueger, and has come back from the dead more times than Jesus Christ himself. But with so many horror movies, you’re going to need to know how to watch the Friday the 13th movies in order. Well, we tried to make sense of the madness for you here.
How to watch the Friday the 13th movies in order:
- Friday the 13th (1980)
- Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
- Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)
- Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
- Friday the 13th (2009)
- Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
- Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
- Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
- Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
- Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
- Freddy vs Jason (2003)
- Jason X (2001)
Friday the 13th (1980)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, and Paramount Plus
Ah, the original. It was a simpler time. A nice, straightforward slasher movie story about a group of teens looking to repair an abandoned summer camp so that kids can have fun there once again – how sweet of them.
That all goes to shit, though, when a mysterious killer shows up and starts slicing and dicing. We won’t spoil the fun of the plot twist, but let’s just say the killer isn’t who you expect it to be here.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, and Paramount Plus
After the shocking events of the first horror movie, Jason Voorhees does indeed become the killer we know and love today in this sequel. He does not, however, have his staple hockey mask and machete. A bag over his head and a pick-axe will have to suffice.
Camp Crystal Lake may have bore witness to horrific murders, but that doesn’t stop Jason. Luckily a new Camp Counselor Training program opens up right by his home – how convenient!
Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
Picking up just one day after the second film, and the hockey mask is here in all its glory! This time, Jason decides to terrorise a group of teens who are visiting a friend at Crystal Lake.
I don’t know about you, but I’d politely decline if anyone invited me to the area. A sweet coming-of-age teen movie, this is not, as Jason once again pulls out all the stops to fulfil his bloodlust.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
This movie again takes place just one day after the end of the previous instalment in the monster movie saga, and sees Jason rise from the dead to slaughter another group of teens who were foolish enough to visit Crystal Lake (just close it down at this point, surely).
Despite being called ‘The Final Chapter’, that is indeed a lie, and there’s lots more to come.
Friday the 13th (2009)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
This is where it gets a bit confusing. This 2000s movie was supposed to be an origin story for Jason but turned into a weird kind of remake/reboot of the first four movies.
It doesn’t add much, if anything at all, to the overall timeline, and probably just makes things messier if anything.
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
The plot thickens! Here, we see a lad called Tommy Jarvis, who witnessed first-hand the atrocities carried out by Jason years before. Now institutionalised in a psychiatric facility, Tommy is deeply disturbed by his past trauma.
New victims soon start to appear, and like any good detective movie, we ponder who’s responsible. Is it Jason, back from the dead once more? Or has Tommy adopted the ways of his nightmarish attacker?
Friday the 13th: Jason Lives (1986)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
You’ll never guess, but Jason Voorhees is alive again! Okay, the title kinda gives that away, but you’ll never guess how it happens.
Poor old Tommy Jarvis has been released from the institution and heads back to Crystal Lake to destroy Jason’s remains. But, when he sticks a metal fence post into the corpse and lightning strikes, Jason is resurrected. Don’t question the science, okay?
Friday the 13th: The New Blood (1988)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
By this point, Jason is pretty much immortal, and we just have to deal with that fact. Picking up a few years after the events of Jason Lives, this time, we see Jason chained to the bottom of Crystal Lake, only to be freed by the troubled Tina Shepherd.
Once he’s free, it’s party time once more for Jason, who finds there is another group of teens messing around on his patch. This movie is the first of four appearances for Kane Hodder, perhaps the actor most synonymous with the killer role.
Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
This is one of the worst-reviewed movies in the whole franchise, and that maybe has something to do with the fact that the title is misleading. Jason on a Boat might have been a more fitting description. Still, Jason Takes Manhattan is one of the best comedy movies you can enjoy come Halloween night, and has some pretty gnarly kills too.
In this movie, Jason is resurrected when a boat anchor hits a power line running across the bed of Crystal Lake, and he decides to board a luxury cruise liner filled with, wait for it… teenagers! Jason’s favourite.
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
This ‘90s movie takes things to bizarre extremes when it comes to logic. A deceased Jason is taken to a coroner, but when the man performing the autopsy sees Jason’s black heart, he decides to eat it, as you do.
What ensues is a body-switching merry-go-round as Jason inhabits various different bodies and kills as much as he can along the way. Probably shouldn’t have eaten that heart, dude.
Freddy vs Jason (2003)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, HBO Max, and Apple TV+
It had to happen at some point. Horror movie fans had longed to see two of the most iconic baddies of all time take each other on, and they finally got their wish as Freddy Krueger battled Jason Voorhees in this twisted ghost movie.
When Freddy is forgotten, he can no longer haunt the nightmares of the people of Springdale. He decides to visit Jason instead and get him to start killing and spreading fear again so that people remember his own exploits. Unfortunately, there’s only room for one iconic movie villain in this town, so they turn on each other.
Jason X (2001)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+
More of a science fiction movie than anything, Jason X sees the titular killer become a government experiment. Jason is frozen and wakes up 450 years into the future on an Earth full of pollution and destruction.
He is then transported to Earth 2, where he can wreak havoc on a whole new generation.
That’s all the Friday the 13th movies in order for you to fill your slasher horror movie needs. If you do want more, though, check out how to watch the Halloween movies in order.
You can also take a look at our picks for the best movies of all time, and keep up with all the new movies in 2023.
