Bracket Challenge: Young Jason Voorhees


For many years, there really was no reason to debate Jason’s character when he was a youth. And why should there have been. The  young Jason character for a better part of the first decade was only known by the famous end sequence of the original Friday the 13th. That jump scare was the icing on the cake and solidified Friday the 13th as a bonified hit and a new franchise was born. However, as the series progressed, there was more of need to investigate the backstory or origins of the Jason character. A very feable attempt was made in Jason Takes Manhattan. Those dream sequences still piss me off to this day. One of the few things in the franchise I dispise. That being said, it was the first time that the young Jason character received significant screen time. Two decades later, Freddy vs Jason explored our favorite mongoloid child once again, with some good amount of screen time. The new Friday the 13th from this year included a young childlike Jason, but we never see his face on screen nor is there any type of impact from his character to warrant placing him in this division.

So, which cute and cuddly Jason would you vote for to move to the next round?


Friday the 13th (1980)
Jason’s appearance is brief. There are two scenes that he appears in. A flashback scene of Jason drowning when Mrs. Voorhees reveals her plans to Alice and at the very end when Alice dreams of Jason jumping out of the water and pulling her into the water. To this day, I believe this is still the best makeup work of the young Jason character.

Jason Takes Manhattan
The introduction of young Jason into this movie is easily the most disappointing aspect of the movie for me. We see Jason as a normal boy drowning in the lake and showing up in half-ass dream sequences that were downright shameful. I believe that if they would have omitted the dreams and had a little more Manhattan, the movie would have been received much better by audiences. That being said, young Jason receives significant screen time and at least Rob Hedden tried to bring the franchise full circle by reintroducing a character that had not been around since the first movie.

Freddy vs Jason
I was real excited to hear about Freddy vs Jason being made as there were two things I wanted to see in the movie, the two icons fight to end and seeing a little bit of Jason’s back story. I loved the fact that Freddy could get into Jason’s head and discover a little bit more about the psychology of Jason Voorhees. Much like Freddy’s Dead did when Freddy’s daughter got into his head and saw what sort of made his head tick. I was not disappointed in what they showed. I know the fact of Jason being afraid of water is highly debateable. I liked it, but it definitely is contradictory to the franchise as Jason voluntarily went into the water many times to kill his victims, The Final Chapter, Jason Lives, The New Blood, Jason Takes Manhattan.

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72 Responses to “ Bracket Challenge: Young Jason Voorhees ”

  1. Part 1 all the ways

  2. Part 1

  3. I want to vote for FvsJ because of the depth and screen time involved.

    But you cant go against the first appearance.

    Number One gets my vote.

  4. JTM Jason, I enjoyed the various incarnations of him in this one. Particularly when he is pulling Rennie down.

  5. Original 1980! Classic ! In my opinion one of the 5 top moments in F13 history.

  6. Young jason in Jason vs Freddy

  7. Part 1 all the way

  8. Part one. It was just an amazing ending. Many movies try to duplicate that final scare factor, but can never duplicate the originality of that final scare.

  9. Definately part 1 Jason

  10. Part 1 without a doubt

  11. Friday the 13th (1980)

  12. FvJ

    It was just a cool flashback scene. Wanted to pick F13th 1980 because of the awesome scare but I always wanted to see young Jason alive even if was one of Freddy’s nightmares. Come to think of it, they are both dreams ain’t they?

  13. my vote goes to Friday The 13th(1980).

  14. part 1 by far. JTM was completely inaccurate, and freddy vs jason shouldnt even be conciderd a Jason movie. Jason never showed up. what we got was a slow boring tall guy wearing a Hockey Mask. god what a mess that movie was. anywho…. Part 1

  15. FvJ’s young Jason definitely. They tried to bring some depth to the character of Jason, a high point in an otherwise so-so film.

    I don’t vote for the original’s because to me the actor comes across as a jackass(and he’s a talentless hack when it comes to his music), and not JTM’s young Jason because the idea came across to me as less than half-baked. More thought should’ve been put into JTM’s use of child Jason than a few “by the way” type scenes.

  16. also i know he was new and only on the killer cut but where is Caleb Guss??? from the remake??? i wouldnt have picked him but ya know atleast give him a chance. i would have picked him 2nd.

  17. part 1 dugh

  18. Part 1 for sure.

  19. While I agree the flashbacks were not the best idea, I think they had one interesting concept; namely, that when Rennie doesn’t know who Jason is the phantom she sees is just a fuzzy little boy who could be anyone, but the more she learns about both who’s chasing her and why she’s so afraid of the water, the more it grows to resemble the Jason we saw in the first film.

    That said, PART 1’s young Jason attack is still my favorite. I vote part 1.

  20. part 1 (1980)

  21. Part 1. He looks the best there.

  22. Part 1. The original and best. FvJ deserves honorable mention though.

  23. The young Jason from part 1, because the MakeUp FX were done by Tom Savini. Savini = god.

  24. No question about it….I vote for part 1 young Jason (Ari Lehman). That scene at the end made my heart jump and I was freaked out when I was a kid…plus Tom Savini’s makeup rules, muck like all his effects.

  25. Correction…I meant to type much not muck.

  26. Easy one this.Friday The 13th Part 1.The most effective final scare i’ve seen a horror movie,(often immitated,never beaten)………….KI,KI,KI,MA,MA,MA.

  27. Part 1. If for no other reason, the Original Jason freestyle that’s an Easter Egg on the His Name Was Jason DVD.

    None of the kids get the recognition they deserve. The Manhattan Jason has the worst reputation, because of that horrible ending (which I think was just in psycho girl’s head).

  28. Part 1….Ari Rules!!!!

  29. I vote for part 1. That was the definitive classic first appearance of Jason. It was so unexpected when I saw the movie for the first time all those years ago. It even made me jump.

  30. Ari Lehman!!!!!!!!!!!! Part 1 by a looooonngggg shot.

  31. this shouldt b asked PART 1 ARI

  32. F v J the most believable of them all.

  33. Part 8

  34. Part 1 Jason

  35. I like part one the best.

  36. Part One… Ari All The Way!!!!

  37. Ari

  38. well i think this is pretty funny,ari lehman friday the 13th part 1 for sure.

  39. 1980 Jason

  40. Ari

  41. That was easy.

    ARI! Part 1 Baby!

    Not just because he was the first but let’s be honest, he was creepy! The other two, well they were just silly.

    -MadWorldDesigns
    youtube.com/madworlddesigns

  42. part 1…all hail savini!!

  43. Jason from part 1 will always be the only young Jason. You forgot to include the young jason from the remake. He would be my second choice. Jason takes Manhattan was stupid looking and the Jason vs. Freddy kid seemed kindof fat.

  44. part 1 the classic scary JUMMPING JASON EFECT, oh she is alive and harry manfredini relax song ,and arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ,scary

  45. Part 1 all the way!!!

  46. Part 1

  47. part one no doubt man

  48. Can’t go wrong with the original but I am going for the FvsJ one! I loved those flashbacks showing why the hood & how exactly he ended up in the water. Although I didn’t like adult Jason being scared of the water.

  49. PArt 1. No contest. Best makeup, best scare and was the linchpin that started a franchise rolling.

  50. part one

  51. Part 1 all the way

  52. ari lehman jason

  53. Part 1

  54. Part 1

  55. part 1

  56. Hey…is Freddy going to be in any of these brackets? He could have been considered a Jason hunter…

  57. Part 1,easiest decision thus far,…he’s the original,had the best make-up fx,plus Ari Lehman is just a good dude :D

  58. Part #1…..”HE”S FIRST JASON!”

  59. This one there is no comparison…….part 1 all the way.

  60. You forgot the remake.

    But part 1 wins, simply for the fact Tom Savini did the make-up!

  61. I have seen a couple comments that I forgot to include the young Jason from thhe new movie. I have not forgotten him, I actually mentioned my reasons for not including him in my intro to this division at the very top. Check it out!

  62. Part 1, no doubt about it! Ari with Savini’s make-up!!!

    I also have to disagree that Jason being afraid of water was contradictory. Since Freddy was in Jason’s sbconsciousness, he was pulling up buried bits of his childhood. Adult Jason, in the real world, isn’t remotely afraid of water, but his inner-child is due to his drowning. Freddy was digging into the deepest parts of Jason’s psyche. Notice that after Jason is returned from the nightmare world, he no longer has the fear (he rises triumphantly from Crystal Lake!). It is only in the dream world that Jason exhibits that fear. I liken it to an adult who is no longer afraid of the dark, having a nightmare where they are a kid again (and thus scared of the dark). I know I’ve certainly had nightmares that revisited things I was scared of as a child, but had overcome as an adult.

  63. part 1 looks the best and was jasons first screen time

  64. I vote Part 11 Jason. Freddy VS Jason’s Jason showed an intimate part of the Jason character’s story, his drowning, that the other two just don’t. Part 1 is classic, and should be. Part 8 is cool, and I appreciate how he looks less and less human as the movie progresses. But, Part 11 is still my favorite.

    Part 12 did have his face shown in the Killer Cut of the film. That entire scene, to me at least, had a great emotional pull and I would certainly have included him myself. Actually, I like Part 12 Young Jason, storyline wise, far more than Part 1 and 8. We actually see him pick up his Mother’s necklace after her head is severed! I don’t see how this could be seen as not having an emotional impact.

    My hierarchy of voting is:
    Part 11
    Part 12
    Part 1
    Part 8

    I think I have some emotional biased in putting Part 11 above Part 12 because Part 11 is the first Friday the 13Th I ever saw.

  65. part 1

  66. Ari Lehman is young Jason…the only young jason that should be recognized! PT 1 in a landslide!

    Reason being…One of the biggest shocks in all the movies….best entrance in a movie…omg not one person can say they didnt spit something out or scream holy sh*t when Jason popped out at the end…..

  67. I know, Rob. My dad and I watched it back when I was in 5th grade. We were all peaceful and like “Wow, who knew it was the mom?” Then BAM! Jason pops out and we both screamed SO loud. I think it was the only horror movie I ever screamed in.

  68. part 1

  69. definitely Part 1

  70. Part 1. The other two just look like extremely creepy dolls or something.

  71. ari!

  72. The original. Set the tone. Made the franchise.