I'm just curious, what do you think is the reason why this Horror Franchise has had more comebacks and has survived through three decades better than any other horror franchise? Is it just luck? Or is "Friday the 13th" really the Godfather of Horror Franchises? Obviously it outleads all other horror movies in endless sequels and it's always the "go to" reference horror franchise when it comes to Horror discussions and such. But why have other series like "Halloween," "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and more recently "Scream" not been able to make comebacks yet Jason has had so many ups and downs but can always keep kicking?

Are the other series trapped in Nostoglia land? Is it not cool to like Freddy Kruger because his appeal is so 80s?
Is it not cool to like Scream because it was so 90s?

That's certainly one thing that i believe keeps F13 going is that even though it was considered one of the 80s staples, it's appeal was sort of spread out and never really peaked during a certain time period whereas Freddy was just huge in the Late 80s and then fizzled out.

Opinions?

Personally, in my opinion, I say Scream still has a shot to stay alive. More sequels (though all seem to have the whole "remake" feel) are on the way. But, Friday the 13th will always be bigger, that's just how it is.

Growing up (though I'm still in school), only two big-screen killers were ever really mentioned, Freddy Kruger and Jason (1 out of every 10 people in my school actually know his last name . . .) I'm not an expert on this but the franchise lies with the killer it's centered around and Jason (and sort of Freddy) is just badass all around. I guess that's how people in high school view it.

I think what keeps it alive is the structure off it, we never saw him growing up after he was "drowned" And from being a helpless kid, can't talk, looks different, and the mask! You get something that keeps people entertained, if you get what i mean?!

It could be several factors whether it is box office numbers or just popularity with the fans. The Saw films have done well for themselves, although I haven't watched but the first 3 or 4.

Simplicity and an ability to reboot without rebooting. Jason is a pop culturer icon now, you can drop him anywhere and he starts killing./ Remake? Space? Demons? Canon doens't even matter anymore, it's Jason. He's a media urban legend. He'll always be known and always return. Story isn't the priority in his films as a while... a good sequel may have a good story but unlike the other franchises, it's never been as important. He's an icon and thus immortal.


- Scarecrow

I also think the way Jason chooses his victims has a lot to do with it. Because Jason kills trespassers, any poor sap can wander into Camp Crystal Lake for any reason and suddenly find themselves the unlucky star of the latest Friday the 13th movie, as opposed to Freddy's quest for revenge or Michael's attack on his own family, both of which are directed against specific, exhaustable groups of people.