Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th. It is not to be confused with triskaidekaphobia, which is the fear of the number 13 itself. (Check out the Wikipedia entry on "Black Friday" for some genuinely fascinating stuff, including a chart of upcoming occurrences.) Fear of Friday the 13th seems a little retarded, but fear of Friday the 13th makes perfect, rational sense... because those movies rule most excellently. Okay, some of them do. As October is always Halloween month here at *bitter defeat*, and as we won't have another October Black Friday until 2017, it seems the perfect time to say a few words about one of America's favorite indestructable homicidal maniacs, Jason Voorhees. Sure, last year marked the franchise's 25th anniversary(!), but this is...um... spookier. More seasonally appropriate, if you will. Besides, hockey season just started.
Here are some fun facts:
1. If you count Freddy Vs. Jason, and you should, there have been eleven F13 films.
2. Jason's trademark hockey mask has been the primary design element in the official movie posters since chapter IV (the now-ironically subtitled The Final Chapter).
3. Jason is NOT the killer in two of the films. As everyone knows (or at least everyone who's seen Scream), his mother was the killer in the original film. But after his "death" at the hands of a bald and disgruntled Corey Feldman in Chapter IV, Jason remained buried for one entire film. In Chapter V, A New Beginning, the mask is actually worn by an unhinged and deeply pissed off ambulance driver named Roy. Needless to say, it's the worst installment.
4. The original film (which was made for some $700,000) continued to reign as the highest-grossing installment ($39,754,601 in box office receipts) until it was dethroned in 2003 by Freddy Vs. Jason, which ended up with a worldwide gross of $114,190,748.
5. Eight different actors have played Jason, but Kane Hodder, who donned the mask in chapters VII-X, is considered by most to be the definitive goalie from hell. Hodder is also the only actor to reprise the role. A dude named Warrington Gillette played Jason in Chapter II. That's just an awesome name.
6. Notable F13 cast members include Kevin Bacon (I), Corey Feldman (IV, V), Crispin Glover (IV), Erin Grey (of Buck Rogers and Silver Spoons fame) (IX), Destiny's Child's Kelly Rowland (Freddy Vs. Jason), and, shockingly, genius director David Cronenberg (X).
See? Weren't those facts fun?
Not that you asked, but my personal favorite is definitely Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. Other fine additions to the F13 canon include Friday the 13th (duh), Friday the 13th Part 3 (in 3-D!!), Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (probably the second-best), Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday, and the surprisingly entertaining Freddy vs. Jason.
So do yourself a favor and visit Camp Crystal Lake this Halloween season. Michael Myers tends to hog the spotlight during this time of year, so share the mass-murderer love on this special day.
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