The King of Scream: Jason Voorhees

Okay y'all (yes " y'all ", remember I'm from Texas). In case you're wondering what's with the sudden shift in my blog to all things frightening or supposedly frightening, I'm doing this on purpose. Since it is October I thought nothing would better fit the month or the mood than to dedicate some passages of my blog to the month of Halloween. Like I said, just thought it would be fun.

I couldn't do that without speaking of the king of scream himself, Jason Voorhees, better known as the masked killer in Friday the 13th. Do you have any idea how popular this character is? He is so popular that for as long as twenty years people have devoted their time to " becoming " Jason. That's right. Jason has a cult following like you wouldn't believe. People have named their children after him, made sculptures of him, dedicated horror shrines to him, had toys made of him, opened shops selling Friday the 13th merchandise and the list goes on. People are totally obsessed with Jason Voorhees. Did you know that his cult following spans to overseas? Some people can't speak English but they can spit out " Jason Voorhees " in a heartbeat.

No wonder he keeps coming back.

So why is Jason such a legend in horror cinema? Simply put, he is the king. You challenge that? You shouldn't because it can't be done. Jason brought slasher films to a popularity they never experienced, targeting audiences that were so enthralled by him they forced the film industry to succumb to their needs. Out of all the famous villains of cinema Jason has acquired something others never have: respect. No, not respect for killing but respect for the horror genre. People make fun of most slasher flicks but for some reason Friday the 13th stands on its own. It's the film everyone else tries to duplicate. The film everyone else tries to rewrite. The film every director wishes their latest slasher wannabe will become. Of course it will never happen because Jason's fame is untouchable.

Jason has been around for over twenty years. He's managed to successfully wreak havoc for generations. In 1980 when the films began Jason was just a character. Now a legend, he has put horror films in a world of their own. No movie has ever or will ever accomplish the success Friday the 13th has. No other trilogy could even try. You see Jason is not a " thing ". He is not something spawned from hell to steal someone's nightmares. He's not a molester or a man whose soul has been trapped inside a demonic doll. Sound familiar? He is not a figment of one's imagination either. Jason was just an innocent little boy who spent his childhood being terrorized by an abusive mother. He was teased. He was bullied and he was unloved. Though killing cannot be tolerated even in movies, you can't help but feel sorry for the big guy. While he swings his machete, you can't help but see the pain behind it.

Jason is real. And that's why he stands above the rest. Unlike other villains he is human. He's gone through pain and instead of learning how to deal with that, he acts in violence. When you look at it, it's amazing how real Jason is. His life depicts every emotion you can think of: anger, sadness, resentment, loneliness, hopelessness, jealousy and fear. Out of all the times I've seen the " Friday the 13th " films I've never cared to analyze this man before. I only saw him as some worthless character. Now I see him as much more. It's weird how your mind works when you become an adult.

So all hail to the king of horror cinema, Jason Voorhees. Catch Friday the 13th or catch all thirteen sequels in honor of Halloween. They sure as hell don't make a lot of sense. But you will definitely enjoy them.

By the way, my momma bought me a Jason mask years ago and I still have it. I wore it to school one Halloween and scared everyone to death. Gave a couple of teachers some heart attacks, those were the days. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Ooh I love being evil! But for real, can't they give Jason a woman? The man's uptight because he needs to get laid! I think that would solve most of his problems don't you?