1. Jason Voorhees – Friday The 13th Franchise
He’s one of the most recognizable horror movie villains of all time, and for good reason: he’s terrifying. Jason Voorhees is a large, machete-wielding, hockey-mask-wearing, wordless killing machine who regularly unleashes all hell on groups of unsuspecting teens. Though his backstory has seen a handful of revisions over the years, he’s generally not as evil as his body count would suggest.
The original Friday the 13th saw Jason’s mother, Pamela Voorhees, committing murders in his name after the neglect of several camp counselors resulted in his death. After Pamela is killed, Jason returns and begins to exact his own revenge upon the promiscuous teens he encounters, avenging both his own drowning and his mother’s violent death several times over. For the final time, we don’t condone murder here at Corner of Film, but it’s plain to see how Jason might be filled with violent rage.
Had the original counselors taken proper care of him, he’d have grown to live a normal life. Instead, his unfortunate and ultimately preventable death drove his mother insane with grief, and her death then later served as the catalyst for his own murderous rampages. It’s perhaps easy to think of Jason as a monster owing to the fact that he doesn’t speak or show any real emotion, but he is human (or was, at one point). Deep down, Jason Voorhees was just a scared boy who suffered due to the neglect of careless teens, and that’s what drives him to kill as many of them as possible. Justifiable? Not so much. Understandable? Absolutely.
And that’s our list. Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to follow Corner of Film on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @corneroffilm to keep up to date with all our excellent content!