The Friday the 13th franchise has an interesting timeline thanks to the fictional history of its main killer, Jason Voorhees, and his apparent immortality. The story of the Friday the 13th movies chronologically stretches from the 1950s to 25th century, with a reboot and a crossover movie making things even more complicated. Watching the Friday the 13th movies in order isn't a difficult task, though the timeline of events can be confusing as, while all the movies do revolve around the titular day, not all of them give a year for when the events take place.

The chronological order of the Friday the 13th movies starts off simple enough, as most of the first three sequels take place over one continuous stretch of time. However, things start to become more difficult to follow after the first of Jason's on screen deaths, which prompts a brief hiatus for the character, a resurrection and even more deaths following that. Watching in order of release is still the most recommendable course of action for new fans to the franchise, but certain entries can be skipped as long as they roughly know where each entry picks up and leaves off.

1 Friday The 13th (1980)

It Kicked Off An Incredible Era Of 1980s Teen Slasher Movies

The original Friday The 13th movie follows a group of camp counselors setting up for summer at Camp Crystal Lake when a mysterious killer picks them off one by one. The film begins with a sequence depicting murders at the camp in 1958, but the main story is set in June 1979.

Friday the 13th (1980) has a Rotten Tomatoes critics' score of 66%.

It kicked off an era of 1980s teen slasher flicks that are considered some of the best. Camp Crystal Lake becomes the usual location for the movie franchise, but not for every movie in the franchise going forward. Though Jason Voorhees is the villain of the franchise, he is not the killer in the original film.

Following the original, he's become one of the most iconic horror villains, but when it's revealed that the murders are all committed by Jason's mother, it's not what the audience is initially expecting. She is motivated by Jason's drowning at the lake in 1957.

2 Friday The 13th Part 2 (1981)

The Second Movie Finally Features Jason As The Killer

The majority of Friday the 13th Part 2 is set five years after the original film, though it does contain an opening sequence set two months after the events of the first film, in August 1979, and it does kill off the original movie's final girl. In reality, actress Adrienne King was dealing with a stalker and didn't want to be as heavily involved in the production when it came time to film.

The solution of the team behind the scenes was to kill Alice and focus on a new group of characters. While it might have angered some slasher fans, it gave the movies real stakes as other ongoing movies kept a core character around for multiple installments. Alice being dispatched after one scene in the sequel makes it clear that no character is safe in this franchise.

The main story follows a new group of would-be counselors, this time attending a school for counselors on the shores of Crystal Lake. Though this film does feature Jason as the killer, he has yet to reach his final form and don his iconic hockey mask. He instead uses a sack with a single eyehole cut into it to cover his face, which is an eerie and interesting addition to the list of Jason Voorhees' many masks.

3 Friday The 13th Part III (1982)

For Many Fans, This Is The Best Of The Friday the 13th Movies

This is the first time the franchise moves away from Camp Crystal Lake - in a manner of speaking. Following on directly from the events of Friday the 13th Part 2, Jason continues his killing spree, focusing on a house full of teens nearby to Crystal Lake in Friday the 13th Part III. For many fans of the franchise, this is the best of the Friday the 13th movies because it's where Jason truly becomes Jason.

He finally puts on his hockey mask in this movie and the entry also stands out as being the only 3D entry into the franchise so far. Part III also features the first of many onscreen Jason deaths, when he's hit in the head with an axe by the Friday the 13th franchise's third final girl.

4 Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

The Movie Introduced Tommy Jarvis

The fourth Friday the 13th movie, The Final Chapter, begins the evening following the ending of Part III. The timeline of the early movies of the franchise occurs in a relatively condensed frame with just a few months taking place from the first to the fourth movie. Here, the audience is aware that almost no time has ed because of Jason's body being taken to the morgue to kick off the events of the film.

It isn't long before he comes back to life and begins a new killing spree. Though Jason's death at the end of the movie wouldn't last particularly long, the movie introduced the character of Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman in this installment), who would lead the next two movies in the franchise and become one of the rare survivors of Jason Voorhees.

5 Friday The 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

One Of The More Experimental Installments In The Franchise

With A New Beginning, the Friday the 13th franchise got its second timeline jump following the events of The Final Chapter, as it follows an adolescent Tommy Jarvis (John Shepherd here) five years later as he attempts to cope with the trauma of having met and killed Jason as a child.

A new series of murders follows Tommy at his group home, though, despite some twists and dream sequences, Jason remains dead in this installment and does not return to the franchise until the following movie. This movie is seen as one of the more experimental installments in the franchise. For one, it's a bigger time jump than the first few movies in the franchise.

For another, it changes up the killer for the movies, and by this point, Jason has already become something of a horror icon. It also plays with a similar idea that a lot of the slasher movies of the era would: putting young people in a home for troubled youth who are really just traumatized by their past. All of that adds up to it not being the best of the franchise, but still a solid installment.

6 Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)

Tommy Doesn't Kill Jason In This Movie

The year following the events of A New Beginning sees Tommy Jarvis (now played by Thom Matthews in another recast) doing better but still haunted by the memory of Jason. In an attempt to destroy Jason's body once and for all, Tommy accidentally ends up seeing Jason resurrected.

Jason returning to life means the iconic villain is ready for a new slew of murders that takes the action back to Camp Crystal Lake, which has been renamed Camp Forest Green in an attempt to distance itself from Jason's legacy.

Though Tommy doesn't kill Jason in this film, he does successfully imprison Jason at the bottom of the lake, where the killer remains dormant until he's unleashed again in the following film. It's a great way to seemingly put a pin in the movies, but keep the door open for the villain to return in the future.

7 Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

A Supernatural Approach Is Introduced To The Franchise

This movie sees another time jump for the franchise. Since the first four movies took place so close together, each time jump helps to get the movies closer to the current date of their release. Following the ending of Jason Lives, Jason spends the next seven years trapped at the bottom of Crystal Lake, which takes back its original name during that time.

During those years, a young Rennie Wickham has a life-changing encounter with Jason while he's at the bottom of the lake, though this would not become known until the events of the eighth movie, which Rennie leads. At the end of the seven years, the events of The New Blood take place. If Jason coming back to life had already hinted at the potential for supernatural in the franchise, this movie cements it.

Jason is freed from his watery prison by the telekinetic powers of Tina Shepard. Tina is actually trying to resurrect her father, whom she previously killed with her abilities, though the doctor treating her is hoping to harness that power for his own use. Tina sets out to stop Jason when she realizes what's happening, and he ends up imprisoned in the lake yet again following his killing spree.

8 Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

The Farthest Jason Has Ever Gone In The Entire Franchise

One year on from the events of The New Blood, Jason is freed from the bottom of Crystal Lake once again when a boat's propeller hits a nearby power line and revives him. He sets his sights on a group of teenagers on a cruise, but when they escape into the city, he follows.

As the eighth Friday the 13th movie's title implies, Jason then makes his way to Manhattan to wreak some havoc on the Big Apple with some of his best kills in the Friday the 13th series. It's the farthest the franchise has really traveled from the Camp Crystal Lake territory and aesthetic at that point. Jason is seemingly killed once again at the end of the movie by a flood of corrosive toxic waste, though he will return again for another movie, of course.

9 Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (1993)

Established A Future Crossover To Come

Unlike the other movies in the Friday the 13th franchise, this installment doesn't make just when the events pick up very clear. Though the exact date of Jason Goes to Hell is uncertain, it does take place, at the very least, a few years after the events of Jason Takes Manhattan.

The beginning of the film sees Jason back at Camp Crystal Lake before his body is destroyed by police in a hail of bullets and explosions. The rest of the film sees Jason's spirit possess various people in his quest to be reborn, which ultimately fails, resulting in Jason being taken to hell. Before the credits roll, however, the distinct clawed hand of Freddy Krueger is seen dragging Jason's mask down into the dirt, setting up a crossover movie that would not arrive for another decade.

10 Freddy Vs. Jason (2003)

It Featured Monica Keena As The Incredible Final Girl Lori Campbell

Like Jason Goes to Hell, the exact year that this Friday the 13th movie takes place in isn't readily apparent, though it can be surmised that it takes place in 2003 as it takes place after the events of both Jason Goes to Hell and Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, which dates itself as taking place ten years into the future, which would presumably be no later than 2001 as the film was released in 1991.

The movie sees the two horror icons fight "to the death," but they're both seen alive at the end. Regardless of this and the film's box office success, both franchises would be rebooted entirely for their next installments.

However, the continuity set up by Freddy vs. Jason did receive a sequel in the form of the comic book series Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, which is set five years after the events of Freddy vs. Jason. This comic series would also get a sequel set six months after the original's events titled The Nightmare Warriors, though neither comic series would impact the events of later films in any of their respective franchises.