“Friday the 13th” typically evokes images of Jason in his hockey mask and the chilling “ch ch ch, ah ah ah” tune that accompanies most of his kills. But longtime fans of the franchise are well aware that Jason barely makes an appearance in the first movie and that the hockey mask doesn’t enter the equation until “Friday the 13th Part III.”
Jason’s tragic origin story has always made him the focus of the franchise. A quick refresher: As a child, Jason Voorhees lived with physical abnormalities and mental disabilities. His mother, Pamela, was employed by Camp Crystal Lake. While staying at the camp with his mother, Jason was bullied and thrown into the lake, where he drowned. No one was ever held responsible for Jason’s presumed death.
In the first film, the son of the original Camp Crystal Lake owners attempts to re-open the camp 22 years after Jason’s drowning. Pamela Voorhees avenges her son by killing the owner and all but one of the camp counselors. Pamela is eventually decapitated by the lone surviving camp counselor, who then discovers that Jason is still alive.
Because of his own experiences, producer Bryan Fuller says Jason’s tragic backstory and the undying love from Pamela Voorhees are what made him fall in love with the series.