Jason Lives. The best in the Friday the 13th series? F’n right it is.

First off, Friday the 13th is my favorite slasher series of all time. Better than Halloween. Better than Nightmare on Elm Street. Better than Scream. F13 is the slasher. Period.

This post is about Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, which dropped August 1, 1986. I was five years old. The series was kind of in limbo after Part 5, which gets hate from a lot of people. But I actually like Part 5. It’s got some odd writing choices, sure, and Jason technically isn’t Jason, but that’s not Jason’s fault. There’s still a ton of fun in there if you're not expecting a straightforward killer.

But Jason Lives is the one that hits. From the first scene with Jarvis in the cemetery, under the thunder and rain—lightning crackling above, you just know this one’s different. The dynamic between Tommy and his friend is great. Even though the friend’s only around for a minute, they actually feel like real friends. In a horror movie, any character development at all is rare, but this movie does a killer job right out of the gate. Credit to both actors for making that quick moment count.

And now…back to that lightning. If there’s one iconic scene I can remember exactly where I was when I first saw it, it’s this one: Tommy shoves that metal fence post into Jason’s corpse, lightning hits it, and suddenly you’ve got maggot-faced Jason twitching back to life. Holy. Fuck. That was the exact moment Jason became my favorite slasher villain. No contest.

Now let’s talk writing. This one leans into camp (literally and figuratively) and has some absolute classic kills. The RV crash is legendary, and if you’ve ever watched the behind-the-scenes of that sequence, it makes it even better. The James Bond-style opening credits with Jason slashing through the screen? Genius. Younger me was a little bummed by the lack of nudity, but you gotta respect the pivot. They were trying something different—and it worked.

C.J. Graham’s performance as Jason Voorhees is one of, if not THE best incarnations of the character. Sorry, Kane. His mannerisms, his walk, his physical presence... he brought something fresh and menacing to Jason that just worked. I was lucky enough to meet CJ at Astronomicon about four years ago, and let me tell you, he was an absolute joy. He probably spent thirty minutes talking to my son and a friend about everything from financing to investing (yeah, not Jason stuff), and it was just wholesome as hell. Shoutout to you, CJ. Thanks for making fans feel like we earn the money we’re paying to see you guys. Much love.

What sets this one apart is the tone. It’s self-aware before horror movies got ironic. There’s a kid reading No Exit while hiding from Jason. You get fourth-wall breaking lines like “Some folks have a strange idea of entertainment.” This movie knows you’ve already seen five of these, and it still manages to give you something fresh without ditching what makes the series fun in the first place.

The pacing? Tight. Under 90 minutes. No filler, just pure slasher energy. And C.J. Graham as Jason? Absolute beast. He’s hulking, emotionless, drenched in storm water, and you feel the weight every time he shows up on screen. This is the version of Jason that haunts you. Zombie Jason, fully unlocked.

If you haven’t rewatched Jason Lives in a while, this is your sign. It’s the perfect late-summer throwback—goofy, gory, and packed with just the right amount of 1986 weirdness to make you crave VHS static and fake blood made of corn syrup.

And hey, if you’re sweating through summer like a doomed camp counselor, don’t trust the gas station deodorant. Check out Crystal Lake Chill! No plastic, no toxins, no machetes—just good, green stink-fighting for horror fans who like their pits fresh and their carbon footprint low.

Some people say Jason Goes to Hell is the worst. Some say Part 5. Others point to Jason X. There’ll always be debate about the best and the worst. But one thing isn’t up for debate: Friday the 13th is the greatest slasher franchise of all time. Check back next time for another throwback review, maybe it'll be one of those.

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