Friday the 13th: how to celebrate Jason Vorhees’ annual holiday by streaming the horror movie series online

• It’s Friday the 13th, meaning for a lot of superstitious types, it’s a day not worth celebrating.
• But for horror movie fans, including writer Benjamin Jackson, it’s the one day a year they get to celebrate iconic horror movie character, Jason Vorhees.
• So ahead of this weekend, here’s how you can watch almost every “Friday the 13th” film in the United Kingdom - plus Rotten Tomatoes ratings to know which to avoid.

Black cats? Cracks in the pavement? A broken mirror? These are all superstitions many are shying away from today is another Friday the 13th we have to contend with in 2024.

But for horror movie fans like myself, rather than shying away from the date we instead are leaning into it; it is, after all, the date of one of cinema's most beloved, if not critically maligned, horror movie franchises.

Originally released in 1980, “Friday the 13th” was a smash hit and a watershed moment for horror movies; the financial success led to a raft of sequels, some good, some not (ahem… many not), but it did lead to establish Jason Voorhees as one of the characters on the “Mount Rushmore” of modern horror movie monsters - alongside, in my opinion, Michael Myers (“Halloween”), Freddy Krueger (“A Nightmare on Elm Street”) and Leatherface (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”)

So to celebrate today, and give you a reason not to leave the house if you are the suspicious type, here’s where you can stream all the movies in the United Kingdom this weekend, what their Rotten Tomatoes ratings are and a little bit about each movie.

So an advanced warning, there will be spoilers ahead. 

Where can I watch the “Friday the 13th” film series in the United Kingdom?

Friday the 13th (1980)

The original movie that started the long-enduring franchise, it is the only movie in the series where Jason is not the killer, but rather we meet his mother Pamela, who is hell bent on revenge on horny, irresponsible teenage camp counsellors after the death of her son. But Jason does make an appearance…

• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 66% (fresh)
• Where to stream in the UK: Available to rent or buy through Prime Video or Apple TV.

Friday the 13th: Part II (1981)

The first full Jason Vorhees film after the events of the original movie, Jason once again contends with young camp counsellors breaking every horror movie survivor code in an act of vengeance in the name of his mother. Though he’s yet to adorn the iconic hockey mask yet.

• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 33% (rotten)
• Where to stream in the UK: Available to stream on Netflix and NOW TV.

Friday the 13th: Part III (1982)

NOW we’re at the stage where Jason picks up his iconic hockey mask trading the burlap sack he wore in the previous film for the popular item. He once again is on the rampage at Crystal Lake but on this occasion, cinemagoers were treated to a new dimension of horror - Jason in 3D, complete in anaglyphic glory.

• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 11% (rotten)
• Where to stream in the UK: Available to stream on Netflix and NOW TV.

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

What was said to be initially the end of Jason Vorhees’ arc in the franchise, “The Final Chapter” marks the first appearance of the franchises favourite hero, Tommy Jarvis, as he and his sister contend with another Crystal Lake rampage. 

The role of Tommy? He was played on this occasion by none other than Corey Feldman, while a pre “Back to the Future” Crispin Glover also starred in the film, now famous for “that” dance he undertook.

• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 21% (rotten)
• Where to stream in the UK: Available to stream through Paramount+.

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

We thought that would be the end of the series, however the popularity of the slasher genre led to filmmakers deciding to give the hockey masked maniac another try. This time, the film follows Tommy dealing with the trauma of surviving Jason’s previous rampage - but someone else in a hockey mask is killing those in the halfway house he’s living in. Is it Jason… or is it Tommy? 

• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 18%
• Where to stream in the UK: Available to stream through Paramount+.

Friday the 13th: Jason Lives (1986)

Spoiler - it wasn’t Tommy. But he does return in what is considered one of the better movies in the franchise, one that played around at an early cinematic era with the concepts of meta-humour. Tommy, played this time by Thom Matthews (“Return of the Living Dead”) wants to make absolutely sure Jason is dead. A thunderbolt later, our favourite moral crusader is once again on the rampage.

• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 53%
• Where to stream in the UK: Available to rent or buy through Prime Video or Apple TV.

Friday the 13th: The New Blood (1988)

Jason vs telekinesis is what some earmarked this movie as, with the Crystal Lake killer remerging after our heroine “accidentally” uses her telekinetic powers to part the lake and allow Jason to re-emerge.

• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 33%
• Where to stream in the UK: Available to rent or buy through Prime Video or Apple TV.

Friday the 13th Part VII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

Jason - on a cruise ship. Somehow, Crystal Lake is connecting to a larger waterway with campers on this occasion set for a luxury getaway to New York. But there’s a stowaway aboard, and he’s not too happy to be hunting outside of his stomping grounds of “Camp Blood.” Queue the iconic moment that Jason Vorhees’ is stunned with the world around him as he sets foot in Times Square.

• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 11%
• Where to stream in the UK: Available to rent or buy through Prime Video or Apple TV.

The Final Friday: Jason Goes to Hell (1993)

Does Jason finally get killed on this occasion? Given we’ve a few more films in the series, my magic 8 ball doesn’t need to tell me no. But try as people might, Jason is destroyed early on, but a magical power allows him to swap bodies, leading to a distinct lack of hockey mask on this occasion - though the ending alludes to a crossover many horror fans had waited for.

• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 16%
• Where to stream in the UK: Available to rent or buy through Prime Video or Apple TV.

Jason X (2002)

Jason goes to space. Yeah… they were really thinking of avenues outside of Crystal Lake on this occasion. But once again placing it’s tongue squarely in it’s cheek, the film often verges into meta humour, especially regarding Jason Vorhees’ penchant for those in sleeping bags. The highlight? Nanobots “rebuilding” our beloved anti-hero.

• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 20%
• Where to stream in the UK: Available to rent or buy through Prime Video or Apple TV.

Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

The horror movie crossover many of us had waited years for: Jason Vorhees’ taking on the malevolent force of Freddy Kreuger (played by Robert Englund in loving fashion.) Freddy initially uses Jason to help with his plan of attacking the children of Elm Street, but in a plot straight out of professional wrestling, Jason “turns face” and instead looks to help the teenagers… sort of.

• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 42%
• Where to stream in the UK: Available to rent or buy through Prime Video or Apple TV.

Friday the 13th (2009)

In an era where Michael Bay was happy executive producing remakes of beloved slasher films, such as “A Nightmare on Elm Street” or “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” the Crystal Lake killer was remade on this occasion but the premise was still simple. Horny teenagers in a luxury house by the lake, a stranger looking for his sister who went missing and Vorhees’ once again on the rampage because of his mother. It’s… meh…

• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 25%
• Where to stream in the UK: Available to stream on NOW TV.

Will you be undertaking a “Friday the 13th” marathon this year? What was your favourite film from the movie franchise? Let us know by leaving a comment down below or contacting the writer of this article.