Arguably the biggest thing to happen to the FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise was giving Jason Voorhees his trademark hockey mask in 1982. But a number of other characters (many of them parodies of Jason himself) from cartoons, video games, comic books, and films have also donned the now iconic mask. And since today marks the only Friday the 13th of 2016, let’s take a quick glance at some of these masked psychopaths.
But before we get to the main list, here’s just a few shout-outs to other characters who donned a hockey mask ever so briefly in film and television (if only to appease my pal Doc Terror):
CLARK W. GRISWOLD – Chevy Chase’s bumbling family man puts on a hockey mask to trim the trunk on the Christmas tree he brought home for his disastrous “Griswold Family Christmas!” Watch this scene HERE.
HOMER SIMPSON – In Season 5, Episode 2 (Cape Feare), Homer shows a terrified Bart his new chainsaw and hockey mask! Watch this hilarious scene HERE.
THE LORD HUMUNGUS – In a post-apocalyptic Australia, this hockey-masked giant leads a small army of marauders that scour the wastelands for gasoline, water, and unlucky travelers! He meets his end when he goes up against “Mad Max” Rockatansky in THE ROAD WARRIOR!
JUDD – In SLEEPAWAY CAMP 2: UNHAPPY CAMPERS, Judd (Walter Franks III) puts on a makeshift Jason Voorhees costume to scare some female campers. Angela Baker (Pamela Springsteen) does not approve and murders him with a chainsaw.
MASON – In Season 1, Episode 3 (Adventures in Bobbysitting) of the animated show BOBBY’S WORLD, a spoof of Jason Voorhees makes an appearance. Mason talks like Dirty Harry (punk!), wears a Michael Myers-style jumpsuit, and is armed with a plunger!
There’s probably a few others that I’ve neglected to mention, so if I’ve missed any please sound off in the comments below. But for now, let us focus on the following seven hockey-masked madmen (that aren’t Jason Voorhees)!
“JINGLE BELLS”
Portrayed by: Peter Brown
Featured in: RAPE SQUAD, a.k.a. ACT OF VENGEANCE, a.k.a. THE VIOLATOR (1974)
A serial rapist calling himself “Jingle Bells” is on the loose. Disguised with a goalie mask, he forces all the women he rapes to sing a certain Christmas classic as he goes to town on them. Eventually his continued escapades spur five of his past victims to form a vigilante group. They take their fight to the streets, beating up pimps, and guys that get a little too pushy with their dates, working their way toward a final confrontation with the dreaded “Jingle Bells.”
“THE BLEEDER”
Portrayed by: Philip Clark
Featured in: ALONE IN THE DARK (1982)
A box office failure for New Line Cinema during it’s initial release, ALONE IN THE DARK has since (rightfully) garnered a cult following. Directed by Jack Sholder (THE HIDDEN, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST. PART 2: FREDDY’S REVENGE), this 80s Horror classic revolves around four violent mental patients who believe that the doctor that has been treating them, Dr. Leo Bain (Donald Pleasance), has been murdered and replaced by their new psychologist, Dr. Dan Potter (Dwight Schultz).
As fate would have it, the power goes out in town one night, and Hawkes (Jack Palance), Preacher (Martin Landau), Fatty (Erland van Lidth), and Skaggs (the hockey-masked villain nicknamed “The Bleeder”), escape and decide to pay their new doctor a visit. What follows is a great series of tense moments as Potter and his family fight to survive against the mentally disturbed villains that are lurking within their secluded home.
CASEY JONES
Portrayed by: Various (most notably Elias Koteas)
Featured in: THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (comics, cartoons, and live-action films)
Casey Jones first appeared in 1985, in issue #1 of Kevin Eastman’s RAPHAEL comic mini-series. Four-color Casey was the survivor of a violent assault by a gang called The Purple Dragon, and eventually grows up to be a mentally-imbalanced vigilante that dons a hockey-mask. Initially Casey wasn’t above beating criminals to death, and only eventually stopped (and sort of calmed down) after various clashes with the cool, but rude, Raphael. In the films and cartoons, Casey Jones is way more toned down, though the animated version of the character (who sort of sounds like Jack Palance) is definitely off his rocker. Take a peek at his debut on Season 3, Episode 23 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles below!
RICK TAYLOR
Portrayed by: 16-bit gaming sprites & and voice actor Josh Keaton.
Featured in: SPLATTERHOUSE (1988 & 1989), SPLATTERHOUSE 2 (1992), SPLATTERHOUSE 3 (1993), and SPLATTERHOUSE (XBOX 360 – 2010)
During a storm, parapsychologist Rick Taylor and his girlfriend Jennifer Willis take refuge within the long-abandoned mansion of a one Dr. West. But the house is not empty: Rick is killed and his girlfriend is dragged off to an uncertain fate. Soon after, Rick finds himself revived by a sentient artifact called the Terror Mask, that endows him with superhuman strength. He then tears his way through the mansion, violently killing all manner of monsters and grotesque creatures in order to eventually save the woman he loves.
And that was just Namco’s arcade version of the game! It eventually got ported over to a console (TurboGrafx-16), and spawned two sequels on the Sega Genesis, plus a modernized remake on the XBOX 360 (which offers up all three original games as a bonus when you beat the game). Seriously though, why hasn’t anyone turned this series into a movie yet?!
JACKSON
Portrayed by: Gregory Cox
Featured in: UNMASKED PART 25 (1989)
This once forgotten spoof of FRIDAY THE 13TH’s Jason Voorhees finally received a legit release from Vinegar Syndrome after being out of print for over three decades ago! (They’re doing God’s work I tell you!) The story focuses on Jackson, a serial killer (who you guessed it, wears a goalie mask!) that begins questioning his career choice and motives. These feelings of uncertainty are linked to a blind girl named Shelly that Jackson falls in love with. Will he stop slaughtering innocent victims and settle down, or will his murderous tendencies finally get the better of him?
MASON
Portrayed by: Ken Kirzinger
Featured in: STAN HELSING (2009)
In Bo Zenga’s poorly received sendup of the slasher sub-genre, a video store clerk named Stan Helsing (Steve Howey) and his girlfriend, run into a small army of movie monsters on the way to a Halloween party, including: Fweddy, Lucky, Pleatherface, Needlehead, Michael Cryers, and Mason. He challenges them to a karaoke competition to leave town, but when they don’t, he must use his vast movie knowledge to exploit each Horror villain’s weakness to save the day.
Watch the horrifying karaoke competition below if you dare!
TREVOR MOOREHOUSE
Portrayed by: ?
Featured in: BLOODY MURDER (2000) and BLOODY MURDER 2 (2003)
I’ve never seen either of these movies, (yet I own them on DVD? Huh.), but by many accounts, I’m apparently not missing out on much here. Both BLOODY MURDER films borrow heavily from better slasher films, and feature a series of dumb red herrings, a twist revealing that the killer actually isn’t Trevor Moorhouse, and then ends with the real Trevor murdering the villain while the final victims escape. Sorry for the spoilers gang, but I figured I’d save us all a couple of hours.