History FranchiseOriginalSin / FridayThe13th

For all the hay made about the series more or less [[FranchiseKiller committing suicide]] in later installments, it's easy to overlook the fact that several of the wounds responsible were first inflicted in earlier installments.

* Another major problem that dogged the series during its original run was the fact that Creator/{{Paramount}} refused to spend all that much money on it, even as it became one of the biggest horror franchises of TheEighties. Even in earlier films, this problem was apparent with the generally low production values, but the filmmakers were generally able to cover for this by shooting in the woods and packing the films with [[{{gorn}} graphic violence]]. Two things happened, however, that brought this issue to a breaking point. First, the MPAA started [[{{Bowdlerise}} cutting later films to ribbons]], taking away the cheap gore effects. Second, the [[DuelingWorks/FilmHorror competing]] ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' franchise actually ''did'' get real money and talent put behind it by Creator/NewLineCinema, meaning that there was now a far more lavish SlasherMovie franchise to compare it to. The nadir came with the [[FranchiseKiller franchise-killing]] eighth film, ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIIIJasonTakesManhattan Jason Takes Manhattan]]'', where budget cuts meant the production had no money to shoot in New York for more than a week, leading to some very obvious cases of CaliforniaDoubling (UsefulNotes/{{Vancouver}} stood in for TheBigRottenApple) and NeverTrustATrailer (most of the film wound up set on a cruise ship).

* The fourth film, ''[[Film/FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter The Final Chapter]]'', produced a minor one of these. The ending hinted that Tommy Jarvis, the adolescent boy who defeats Jason at the end, had undergone a StartOfDarkness and would follow the same path as Jason into becoming a murderer. As a film meant to close out the series, this was a nice, ominous note to end it on, and ''The Final Chapter'' is still regarded as one of the better ''Friday'' films in no small part for it. However, [[FranchiseZombie the series did not end with its so-called final chapter]], and the following film, ''A New Beginning'', built on the ending of its predecessor by trying to make Jason a LegacyCharacter, the ending showing Tommy as having gone mad and taken up Jason's machete and hockey mask. This twist met such a negative reception that the producers [[AuthorsSavingThrow hastily abandoned it]] when they made the next film, ''Jason Lives'', which retconned the ending of ''A New Beginning'' as having been AllJustADream.

* There was also the series' overreliance on [[DancingBear gimmicks]] rather than characters or story, which first became a problem with the sixth film, ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives Jason Lives]]''. The fifth film, ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVANewBeginning A New Beginning]]'', greatly upended the franchise status quo by having a JackTheRipoff of Jason Voorhees as the killer and setting up Tommy Jarvis, the film's protagonist, to [[RogueProtagonist become the killer in the next one]], and met a very negative reception from series fans as a result. When ''Jason Lives'' brought Jason back as a RevenantZombie, it helped to WinBackTheCrowd, and is still seen nowadays as a return to form after ''A New Beginning'', especially given its self-aware humor that, among other things, mocked its FranchiseZombie nature. Unfortunately, it also set a precedent for the use of gimmicks to lure in audiences. ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIITheNewBlood The New Blood]]'' had Jason battling a CaptainErsatz of [[Literature/{{Carrie}} Carrie White]], ''Jason Takes Manhattan'' [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin had its gimmick right in the title]], ''Film/JasonGoesToHellTheFinalFriday'' turned Jason into a [[BodySurf body-surfing]] demon spirit, and ''Film/JasonX'' was ''Friday'' [[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]] -- and all met diminishing returns with critics, fans, and moviegoers alike, especially since they lacked the meta humor that allowed it to go down easier in ''Jason Lives''.

* Jason has always seemed to have powers of OffscreenTeleportation, to the point where fans sometimes jokingly call it the "Voorhees Unreality Engine". ''VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame'' even lampshaded it by making it a game mechanic, and ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' had to seriously discuss whether or not he had it when breaking down his abilities.[[note]]They did the same for his opponent, [[Characters/HalloweenMichaelMyers Michael Myers]], but to a lesser degree since Michael had fewer blatant instances. They ultimately played the battle under the assumption that neither could, even though Wiz was thoroughly stumped to explain some of Jason's movements.[[/note]] Earlier films, however, took place in campgrounds and forests that were fairly large and spread out, so it was easier for either the teens to get lost or for Jason to circle around his victims. Plus, before becoming as a zombie, he was shown to be fully capable of running. ''Jason Takes Manhattan'', however, is set well after his resurrection, (after which he was almost never shown moving faster than a walk on-screen, implying that, being a zombie, he couldn't) and mostly on a cruise ship or in tight alleyways, where those explanations don't work nearly as well. Jason is never shown climbing a ladder to grab Miles, nor is he shown entering the building he throws [=McColloch=] out of, but he does so anyways. Of course, actually confirming that he had the in-universe ability to teleport wouldn't be any less realistic than turning him into a super-strong zombie, but the films never did, and if he actually had that ability, [[StoryBreakerPower he could have averted almost all his defeats and easily killed the protagonists,]] confirming to many viewers that him always appearing in front of his victims was just bad editing/lazy writing, and possibly an attempt to make him like [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] in this film. Knowing that Jason will catch the victim regardless of speed or environment also makes it hard to get invested in any of the franchise's signature chase scenes.

* Jason's NewPowersAsThePlotDemands. It's easy to forget, but the series starring one of the toughest and bloodiest slasher villains ever [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness began]] with a middle-aged, single mother as the killer, who gets KilledOffForReal during the climax. Jason being a somewhat mystical entity, however, was foreshadowed both by Alice's ImagineSpot of him jumping out of the lake as a zombie, and the implication that he was still alive. The next film further mystified him by never actually explained how Jason was alive after his apparent drowning and [[FridgeLogic why, if he was, Pamela killed so many to avenge him]]. The sixth film ''Jason Lives'' made Jason explicitly superhuman by [[BackFromTheDead rising out of the grave]] after being [[LightningCanDoAnything stuck by lightning]], but as noted above, this was a deliberately [[RefugeInAudacity crazy move for a previously somewhat grounded horror series]], and done in a tongue-in-cheek manner. The seventh film ''The New Blood'', however, gave this supervillain a superhero in the telekinetic Tina and the eighth film ''Jason Takes Manhattan'' implied that he really could teleport. By the time of ''[[DemonicPossession Jason Goes to Hell]]'' and ''[[WeCanRebuildHim Jason X]]'', he'd practically become a walking parody of the slasher villain, but the films weren't always in on the joke, creating tonal issues.

* There was also the series' overreliance on [[DancingBear gimmicks]] rather than characters or story, which first became a problem with the sixth film, ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives Jason Lives]]''. The fifth film, ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVANewBeginning A New Beginning]]'', greatly upended the franchise status quo by [[spoiler:having a JackTheRipoff of Jason Voorhees as the killer and setting up Tommy Jarvis, the film's protagonist, to [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain become the killer in the next one]]]], and met a very negative reception from series fans as a result. When ''Jason Lives'' brought Jason back as a RevenantZombie, it helped WinBackTheCrowd and is still seen now as a return to form after ''A New Beginning'', especially given its self-aware humor that, among other things, mocked its FranchiseZombie nature. Unfortunately, it also set a precedent for the use of gimmicks to lure in audiences. ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIITheNewBlood The New Blood]]'' had Jason battling a CaptainErsatz of [[Literature/{{Carrie}} Carrie White]], ''Jason Takes Manhattan'' [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin had its gimmick right in the title]], ''Film/JasonGoesToHellTheFinalFriday'' turned Jason into a [[BodySurf body-surfing]] demon spirit, and ''Film/JasonX'' was ''Friday'' '''[-[[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!!!]]-]''' -- and all met diminishing returns with critics, fans, and moviegoers alike, especially since they lacked the meta humor that allowed it to go down easier in ''Jason Lives''.
* The [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels biker gang]] in ''Part III'' were the first characters in the series who felt like they were written as {{Hate Sink}}s, acting like jerks just so audiences [[RootingForTheEmpire wouldn't feel bad about watching Jason slaughter them]] -- a problem that would grow throughout the rest of the series. However, the films up through ''Jason Lives'' still made an effort to [[DevelopingDoomedCharacters give at least some of them enough development]] that their deaths still left an impact on the viewers, demonstrating that they were good friends and had people who cared about them even if they were dicks. Furthermore, the bikers were outsiders to the main group, harassing them at the convenience store and then planning to burn down their barn before getting killed off early in the film, before they [[TheScrappy overstayed their welcome]]. By ''The New Blood'', however, just about every character, even the one who we’re supposed to like (aside from Tina, Nick, Maddy, and Tina’s mom), was [[AssholeVictim stupid, snarky, and mean-spirited]] to the point where [[EightDeadlyWords it’s hard to care about anybody who dies]].

* The fourth film, ''[[Film/FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter The Final Chapter]]'', produced a minor one of these. The ending hinted that Tommy Jarvis, the adolescent boy who defeats Jason at the end, had undergone a StartOfDarkness and would follow the same path as Jason into becoming a murderer. As a film meant to close out the series, this was a nice, ominous note to end it on, and ''The Final Chapter'' is still regarded as one of the better ''Friday'' films in no small part for it. However, [[FranchiseZombie the series did not end with its so-called final chapter]], and the following film, ''A New Beginning'', built on the ending of its predecessor by [[spoiler:trying to make Jason a LegacyCharacter, the ending showing Tommy as having gone mad and taken up Jason's machete and hockey mask]]. This twist met such a negative reception that the producers [[AuthorsSavingThrow hastily abandoned it]] when they made the next film, ''Jason Lives'', which retconned the ending of ''A New Beginning'' as having been AllJustADream.

* Jason has always seemed to have powers of OffscreenTeleportation, to the point where fans sometimes jokingly call it the "Voorhees Unreality Engine". ''VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame'' even lampshaded it by making it a game mechanic, and ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' had to seriously discuss whether or not he had it when breaking down his abilities.[[note]]They did the same for his opponent, [[Characters/HalloweenMichaelMyers Michael Myers]], but to a lesser degree since Michael had fewer blatant instances. They ultimately played the battle under the assumption that neither could, even though Wiz was thoroughly stumped to explain some of Jason's movements.[[/note]] Earlier films, however, took place in campgrounds and forests that were fairly large and spread out, so it was easier for either the teens to get lost or for Jason to circle around his victims. ''Jason Takes Manhattan'', however, is set mostly on a cruise ship or in tight alleyways, where those explorations don't work nearly as well. Jason is never shown climbing a ladder to grab Miles, nor is he shown entering the building he throws [=McColloch=] out of, but he does so anyways. Jason was shown running numerous times prior to his first death, but after his resurrection he was almost never shown moving faster than a walk onscreen, even while chasing victims, implying that, like many zombies, he was limited in his movement speed. Seemingly giving him such a useful superpower in addition to his preexisting one's undermines the idea as Jason as a creature of brute force, and almost makes one wonder if the filmmakers were trying to make him like [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] in this film.

* Jason has always seemed to have powers of OffscreenTeleportation, to the point where fans sometimes jokingly call it the "Voorhees Unreality Engine". ''VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame'' even lampshaded it by making it a game mechanic, and ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' had to seriously discuss whether or not he had it when breaking down his abilities.[[note]]They did the same for his opponent, [[Characters/HalloweenMichaelMyers Michael Myers]], but to a lesser degree since Michael had fewer blatant instances. They ultimately played the battle under the assumption that neither could, even though Wiz was thoroughly stumped to explain some of Jason's movements.[[/note]] Earlier films, however, took place in campgrounds and forests that were fairly large and spread out, so it was easier for either the teens to get lost or for Jason to circle around his victims. ''Jason Takes Manhattan'', however, is set mostly on a cruise ship or in tight alleyways, where those explorations don't work nearly as well. Jason is never shown climbing a ladder to grab Miles, nor is he shown entering the building he throws [=McColloch=] out of, but he does so anyways. Seemingly giving him such a useful superpower in addition to his preexisting one's undermines the idea as Jason as a creature of brute force, and almost makes one wonder if the filmmakers were trying to make him like [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] in this film.

* Jason's NewPowersAsThePlotDemands. It's easy to forget, but the series starring one of the toughest and bloodiest slasher villains ever [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness began]] with a middle-aged, single mother as the killer, who gets KilledOffForReal during the climax. Jason being a somewhat mystical entity, however, was foreshadowed both by Alice's ImagineSpot of him jumping out of the lake as a zombie, and the implication that he was still alive. The next film also never actually explained how Jason was alive after his apparent drowning and [[FridgeLogic why, if he was, Pamela killed so many to avenge him]]. The sixth film ''Jason Lives'' made Jason explicitly superhuman by [[BackFromTheDead rising out of the grave]] after being [[LightningCanDoAnything stuck by lightning]], but as noted above, this was a deliberately [[RefugeInAudacity crazy move for a previously somewhat grounded horror series]], and done in a tongue-in-cheek manner. The seventh film ''The New Blood'', however, gave this supervillain a superhero in the telekinetic Tina, the eighth film ''Jason Takes Manhattan'' implied that he really could teleport, and the less said about what he pulls off in ''[[DemonicPossession Jason Goes to Hell]]'' and ''[[WeCanRebuildHim Jason X]]'', the better. More than a few fans have since complained that Jason was now too over-powered and like a comic-book character to be taken seriously.

* Jason has always seemed to have powers of OffscreenTeleportation, to the point where fans sometimes jokingly call it the "Voorhees Unreality Engine", ''VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame'' even lampshaded it by making it a game mechanic, and ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' had to seriously discuss whether or not he had it when breaking down his abilities. [[note]] they did the same for his opponent, [[Characters/HalloweenMichaelMyers Michael Myers,]] but to a lesser degree since Michael had fewer blatant instances. They ultimately played the battle under the assumption neither could, even though Wiz was thoroughly stumped to explain some of Jason's movements. [[/note]] Earlier films, however, took place in campgrounds and forests that were fairly large and spread out, so it was easier for either the teens to get lost or for Jason to circle around his victims. ''Jason Takes Manhattan'', however, is set mostly on a cruise ship or in tight alleyways, where those explorations don't work nearly as well. Jason is never shown climbing a ladder to grab Miles, nor is he shown entering the building he throws [=McColloch=] out of, but he does so anyways. Seemingly giving him such a useful superpower in addition to his preexisting one's undermines the idea as Jason as a creature of brute force, and almost makes one wonder if the filmmakers were trying to make him like [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] in this film.

* Jason's NewPowersAsThePlotDemands. It's easy to forget, but the series starring one of the toughest and bloodiest slasher villains ever [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness began]] with a middle-aged, single mother as the killer, who gets KilledOffForReal during the climax. Jason being a somewhat mystical entity, however, was foreshadowed both by Alice's ImagineSpot of him jumping out of the lake as a zombie, and the implication that he was still alive. The next film also never actually explained how Jason was alive after his apparent drowning and [[FridgeLogic why, if he was, Pamela killed so many to avenge him,]] but it wasn't until the sixth film that Jason was made explicitly superhuman by [[BackFromTheDead rising out of the grave]] after being [[LightningCanDoAnything stuck by lightning,]] but as noted above, this was a deliberately [[RefugeInAudacity crazy move for a previously somewhat grounded horror series,]] and done in a tongue-in-cheek manner. Part VII, however, gave this supervillain a superhero in the telekenetic Tina, Part VIII implied he really could teleport, and the less said about what Jason pulls off in ''[[DemonicPossession Goes To Hell]]'' and ''Jason X,'' the better. More than a few fans have since complained that Jason was now too over-powered and like a comic-book character to be taken seriously.

* Jason's NewPowersAsThePlotDemands. It's easy to forget, but the series starring one of the toughest and bloodiest slasher villains ever [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness began]] with a middle-aged, single mother as the killer, who gets KilledOffForReal during the climax. Jason being a somewhat mystical entity, however, was foreshadowed both by Alice's ImagineSpot of him jumping out of the lake as a zombie, and the implication that he was still alive. The next film also never actually explained how Jason was alive after his apparent drowning and [[FridgeLogic why, if he was, Pamela killed so many to avenge him,]] but it wasn't until the sixth film that Jason was made explicitly superhuman by [[BackFromTheDead rising out of the grave]] after being [[LightningCanDoAnything stuck by lightning,]] but as noted above, this was a deliberately [[RefugeInAudacity crazy move for a previously somewhat grounded horror series,]] and done in a tongue-in-cheek manner. Part VII, however, gave this supervillain a superhero in the telekenetic Tina, Part VIII implied he really could teleport, and the less said about what Jason pulls off in [[DeminicPossession ''Goes To Hell'']] and ''Jason X,'' the better. More than a few fans have since complained that Jason was now too over-powered and like a comic-book character to be taken seriously.

* Jason has always seemed to have powers of OffscreenTeleportation, to the point where fans sometimes jokingly call it the "Voorhees Unreality Engine", and ''VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame'' even lampshaded it by making it one of his abilities, and ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' had to seriously discuss whether or not he had it when breaking down his abilities. [[note]] they did the same for his opponent, [[Characters/HalloweenMichaelMyers Michael Myers,]] but to a lesser degree since Michael had fewer blatant instances, and they ultimately played the battle under the assumption neither could, even though Wiz was thoroughly stumped to explain some of Jason's such movements. [[/note]] Earlier films, however, took place in campgrounds and forests that were fairly large and spread out, so it was easier for either the teens to get lost or for Jason to circle around his victims. ''Jason Takes Manhattan'', however, is set mostly on a cruise ship or in tight alleyways, where those explorations don't work nearly as well. Jason is never shown climbing a ladder to grab Miles, nor is he shown entering the building he throws [=McColloch=] out of, but he does so anyways. Seemingly giving him such a useful superpower in addition to his preexisting one's undermines the idea as Jason as a creature of brute force, and almost makes one wonder if the filmmakers were trying to make him like [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] in this film.

* Jason has always seemed to have powers of OffscreenTeleportation, to the point where fans sometimes jokingly call it the "Voorhees Unreality Engine", and ''VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame'' even lampshaded it by making it one of his abilities, and ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' had to seriously discuss whether or not he had it when breaking down his abilities. [[note: they did the same for his opponent, [[Characters/HalloweenMichaelMyers Michael Myers,]] but to a lesser degree since Michael had fewer blatant instances, and they ultimately played the battle under the assumption neither could, even though Wiz was thoroughly stumped to explain some of Jason's such movements.]] Earlier films, however, took place in campgrounds and forests that were fairly large and spread out, so it was easier for either the teens to get lost or for Jason to circle around his victims. ''Jason Takes Manhattan'', however, is set mostly on a cruise ship or in tight alleyways, where those explorations don't work nearly as well. Jason is never shown climbing a ladder to grab Miles, nor is he shown entering the building he throws [=McColloch=] out of, but he does so anyways. Seemingly giving him such a useful superpower in addition to his preexisting one's undermines the idea as Jason as a creature of brute force, and almost makes one wonder if the filmmakers were trying to make him like [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] in this film.

* Jason has always seemed to have powers of OffscreenTeleportation, to the point where fans sometimes jokingly call it the "Voorhees Unreality Engine", and ''VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame'' even lampshaded it by making it one of his abilities. Earlier films, however, took place in campgrounds and forests that were fairly large and spread out, so it was easier for either the teens to get lost or for Jason to circle around his victims. ''Jason Takes Manhattan'', however, is set mostly on a cruise ship or in tight alleyways, where those explorations don't work nearly as well. Jason is never shown climbing a ladder to grab Miles, nor is he shown entering the building he throws [=McColloch=] out of. It almost makes one wonder if the filmmakers were trying to make him like [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] in this film.

* There was also the series' overreliance on [[DancingBear gimmicks]] rather than characters or story, which first became a problem with the sixth film, ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives Jason Lives]]''. The fifth film, ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVANewBeginning A New Beginning]]'', greatly upended the franchise status quo by [[spoiler:having a JackTheRipoff of Jason Voorhees as the killer and setting up Tommy Jarvis, the film's protagonist, to [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain become the killer in the next one]]]], and met a very negative reception from series fans as a result. When ''Jason Lives'' brought Jason back as a RevenantZombie, it helped WinBackTheCrowd and is still seen now as a return to form after ''A New Beginning'', but it also set a precedent for the use of gimmicks to lure in audiences. ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIITheNewBlood The New Blood]]'' had Jason battling a CaptainErsatz of [[Literature/{{Carrie}} Carrie White]], ''Jason Takes Manhattan'' [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin had its gimmick right in the title]], ''Film/JasonGoesToHellTheFinalFriday'' turned Jason into a [[BodySurf body-surfing]] demon spirit, and ''Film/JasonX'' was ''Friday'' [-[[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]]-] -- and all met diminishing returns with critics, fans, and moviegoers alike.