If you haven’t yet looked on your calendar or at that little fixture in the lower right-hand corner of your computer screen, today is Jason Voorhees’ favorite day of the year: Friday the 13th. As tempting as it is to head out into the woods and go camping with some friends on a day like today, I instead encourage you to wait out the day at home and lock yourself in your bedroom until Jason’s done doing what he’s gotta do.
In an effort to keep you in your computer chair, we thought it only fitting to give the Friday the 13th franchise the “Must-Own Toys” treatment today, a task that’s quite a bit easier said than done. In fact, given that there are so many incredible Jason toys that have been released over the years, from pretty much every installment in the franchise, cutting the list down to only ten was quite frankly painful.
But just as Jason has to brutally slaughter any horny young teens who wander into his neck of the woods on a day like today, I had to do what I had to do. Well actually, those with a keen eye will notice that I extended the list to eleven, but more toys is always a good thing. Right? Right.
Read on for the list!
The dream sequence from the end of Friday the 13th is one of the most iconic moments in the history of the franchise, a jump scare that gave us our very first glimpse of Jason Voorhees. Mezco Toyz immortalized the scene in the first series of their Screen Grabs line, comprised of mini dioramas that brought our favorite horror movie moments to life. This one’s worth owning not only because it’s awesome, but also because it marked the first and only time young Jason and final girl Alice Hardy were immortalized in toy form.
When it comes to the Friday the 13th franchise, Sideshow Collectibles dug deeper into the series than any other toy company has over the years, releasing 12″ figures of Jason as he was seen in every installment of the original franchise other than that time he (sort of) took Manhattan. Hardcore fans of the franchise will probably want to own them all, but if you’re not that hardcore about things, or don’t exactly have hundreds of dollars to burn, picking up your favorite Jason should suffice.
Having too hard of a time selecting just one from the bunch, I instead decided to go for Sideshow’s 12″ Mrs. Voorhees doll, a character that is as important to the franchise as Jason but has never been given all that much love when it comes to toys. Mrs. Voorhees’ very first toy came equipped with several weapons and even her own severed head.
The following year, in 2005, NECA paid tribute to the 25th Anniversary of the release of Friday the 13th by putting out this incredible box set, which came with the only other Mrs. Voorhees toy that’s ever been made – well, aside from a mini-figure that recently came with a Friday the 13th toy car. A mash-up of the first two films in the franchise, the set included Pamela Voorhees and Part 2 Jason, as well as the shrine Jason built to his mother after Alice cut her head off. Both figures could be displayed alone or together with the base, and Jason came with his sack-head mask and an alternate head without the mask. The ultimate tribute to the Voorhees family, right here.
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In 2010, Japanese company Kaiyodo released this figure as part of their Revoltech line of highly articulated toys. Measuring only 5 inches tall, the toy is nevertheless one of the most detailed and impressive looking Jason figures ever made, based on his appearance in the third installment in the franchise. Featuring interchangeable heads and masks (before and after the axe to the head), the Japanese Jason toy came with a whole host of weapons as well as a barn display base and featured 12 ball joint points of articulation.
Perhaps coolest of all, one of the other accessories was the severed head of Chris Higgins, who actually survived her battle with Jason. Why is he holding her bloody head then? Because the original plan was to have him decapitate her at the end of the film, a scene that was apparently shot but forever lost. Big ups to Kaiyodo for paying tribute to that never-before seen-moment, a little touch that makes this toy all the more awesome.
In addition to their 12″ offerings, Sideshow also released a few other incredible Friday the 13th collectibles over the years, including this Part 3 statue. Measuring an impressive 23″ tall, the Premium Format figure was a whole lot more than a mere toy, cast in polystone and hand-painted with a hand-tailored fabric costume. No doubt the most must-own figure based on the franchise’s third installment, the statue was limited to just 750 pieces and originally sold for $280. As you’d probably expect, it nowadays sells for far more, typically going for at least $500. Let that be a lesson: When Sideshow releases a Premium Format figure that you want, buy it directly from them while you’ve got the chance!
In 2013, NECA returned to Crystal Lake and put out two new Jason toys, inspired by the third and fourth installments in the franchise. Since a couple Part 3 figures have already found their way onto this list, I chose this one to give some love to my favorite installment in the franchise, which also brought to the screen my favorite depiction of the character. NECA’s Final Chapter Jason toy is available as both a regular version and a battle-damaged variant, and it’s of course the blood-covered variant that I prefer. Oh, and if you’re wondering if Jason’s head has got a piece cut out of it so that you can stick his machete into it and recreate the awesome final battle scene between him and young Tommy Jarvis (unfortunately sans Tommy), you’ll be happy to know that NECA thinks the same way we fans do. And that’s why we love them.
Mezco put a few different incarnations of Jason into various series of their Cinema of Fear line, based on his looks in installments like Final Chapter and Jason Goes to Hell. My personal favorite of the bunch was their Series 2 offering, which was based on the film that is in my opinion the last great film in the original franchise: Jason Lives. Jason came packaged with many accessories including a bloody hunting knife, his own tombstone and even a severed arm from the awesome paintball massacre scene. Also included? Sissy Baker’s decapitated head, one of the few times a Jason victim was immortalized in plastic – even if it’s only her head!
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Rounding out the Sideshow releases on this list is no doubt one of the coolest Friday the 13th collectibles ever made, a gravity defying statue that depicts Jason in his watery grave. The statue is of course based on the seventh installment, New Blood, and was part of the company’s “Scream Scene” line, which also included a Freddy vs. Jason statue that was pretty damn close to making the list. Hand-painted, the diorama was cast in polystone and limited to 750 pieces.
Mezco released their own underwater Jason figure in Series 2 of their aforementioned Screen Grabs line, which saw Jason strangling Tommy Jarvis from the ending of Jason Lives. Not nearly as impressive as Sideshow’s offering, but worthy of note for being the only Tommy Jarvis toy ever made!
Say what you will about Freddy vs. Jason, but I thought it was a hell of a good time and found the final fight scene between the two to be one of the more satisfying and kick-ass moments of the decade. NECA paid a fitting tribute to that battle with this awesome box set, which featured both villains and a fiery base that they could be displayed on. When displayed separately, they’re just your standard Freddy and Jason toys, but put together the battle scene from the movie really comes to life, NECA perfectly capturing that moment in the film when the music kicks in and the two finally come face to face. The set came with three different Freddy heads, including the more demonic look he took on towards the end of the movie and even his severed head, which was magnetized so it could be held in Jason’s hand. Of all the Freddy vs. Jason toys, this set is definitely my favorite.
And finally, NECA more recently satiated fan desires by bringing Part 5‘s “Jason Voorhees” into their retro-inspired line, giving us our very first action figure of paramedic Roy Burns. Released last year, the 8″ figure comes with a handful of weapons and a cloth outfit, and yes, the mask is indeed removable. Up until last year, A New Beginning had NEVER been given any love on the toy front so this one was, needless to say, a big deal. The company also put out retro-style versions of NES Jason and Part 2 Jason last year, which both deserve to be in the collections of all Friday the 13th fans.
