Interesting Facts About Jason Voorhees & F13 (Friday the 13th Movie Fun Facts)

Behind the Scenes: The Making of the Friday the 13th Franchise

Everyone knows the iconic sound of the chilling “Jason is coming” tune throughout the Friday the 13^th.  This horror is repeated millions of times every day throughout the world…”Chi Chi Chi….Ka-Ka-Ka!” Where did the Friday the 13^th franchise get it’s scariness? How did Jason Voorhees develop into the feared slasher that he is known as today?  Horror Enthusiast hid under a couple of cabins, crawling around Crystal Lake to get some answers! Enjoy some of the most interesting and viscous Friday the 13^th Fun facts and trivia!

Interesting Facts and Trivia in the Making of the Friday the 13th Movies

Inspiration for the Famous Musical Prelude

The famous musical prelude of a Jason kill, his “Chi Chi Chi…Ka-Ka-Ka” tune was composed by Harry Manfredini.  This piece was created to resemble a voice of a child (presumably a younger Jason Voorhees) speaking to his mother, who is technically the killer in the first movie.  The voice is supposedly trying to say “Kill Kill Kill…Ma Ma Ma,” in an effort to encourage her revenge-inspired murders.

Characters Named After Video Game Users

The tenth film in the franchise, Jason X (2001), features  characters that were named after writer Todd Farmer’s friends.  These friends being people who played the video game EverQuest (released in 1999) with him.

Jason’s Highest Kill Count (for one movie)

Jason X (2001), also known as “Jason in Space” to many (rather disgusted) horror fans, features a super deadly Jason.  He claims 28 victims in this one single film, making it the highest kill count movie for Jason Voorhees, of all time.

Fake Props Cause Real Stir

Movies frequently use fake props in place of real objects and products in order to save money.  Many fake props get mistaken for real items during production and can create a bit of a ruckus.  While filming the second movie in the franchise, Friday the 13^th Part 2 (1981), a fake telephone booth was a regular set highlight.  People would try to use this booth on a regular basis only to storm off angrily when it would not work, leaving the crew and cast bursting in laughter.

A Transferred Franchise

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) was the first film in the franchise to be produced by New Line Cinema.  Up until then, Paramount had been at the reins, all the way back to the original movie in 1980.

Many Filming Locations

Camp Crystal Lake is much bigger than anticipated! It turns out that the Friday the 13^th franchise has been filmed in a number of places. While about half of the films were produced in California, the franchise has also seen movies shot in: Alabama, Georgia, Connecticut, Ontario, Texas and New Jersey (the original movie).

Sally Field

Sally Field almost played “Alice” in the original Friday the 13^th movie. Instead, Adrienne King took the part (and did a fantastic job)!

Jason’s Highest Grossing Film

Jason always put on a good show, however, his best earnings were raked in during Freddy vs Jason (2003), in which he faces off against another horror slasher favorite, Freddy Krueger.  Strangely enough, this is also the case for Freddy. In fact, it turns out the two franchises are very close in total earnings. The Friday the 13^th franchise has earned a total of more than $380 million, while the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise ranks a little over $370 million!  And still, the first film was still a strongly profitable venture, especially considering the shoestring budget!

Residual Involvement

The original movie’s write and director, Sean S Cunningham, helped pave the way for the franchise to grow into what it is today.  He produced a number of the films himself and helped produce all of the rest of the films as well by way of his production company, Sean S Cunningham Films.

Kevin Bacon’s Break Out Role

Although Kevin Bacon had a little experience before Friday the 13^th, it was one of his first lead roles paving way for the successful career he has since enjoyed.

Freddy AND Jason?

Freddy vs Jason (2003) linked the two killers in the present alone, not providing any history of any substance between the characters.  Through a number of leaks, however, it has been suggested that there was talk of a backstory in some versions of the script which would have linked the two killers via a little history. One noted suggestion was that Freddy could have been a counselor at Camp Crystal lake, who at one point molested Jason before his real-life drowning. 

They probably steered around such a plot to associating Freddy Krueger fans with pedophiles…as the entire promotion of the film seemed to encourage fans to ‘choose a side.’ And ultimately, who would want to side with a pedophile?

Freedom of Creativity

The Friday the 13^th franchise was great for giving a lot of directors the ability to both write and direct a movie.  Sean S Cunningham (Friday the 13^th, 1980), Tom McLoughlin (Jason Lives: Friday the 13^th Part VI, 1986), Rob Hedden (Friday the 13^th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, 1989) and Adam Marcus (Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, 1993), all get to experience this freedom in creativity! 

Final Words About the Making of the Friday the 13th Franchise

Friday the 13^th is one of the oldest of the horror movie slasher franchises. Jason and the Friday the 13^th franchise has helped defined the scares and fear experienced throughout the entire horror genre altogether.  Like many of the other killers, Jason was able to secure notoriety based upon two key elements: a mask and a weapon. The creators of the franchise, however, have secured notoriety based upon their ability to scare the living hell out of audiences for decades! Thus, Jason Voorhees will live on through the movies he’s made, and the movies to come…for any time they tell us there will never be another Friday the 13^th, we find Jason slashing a few years later again!