Who’s Your Favorite Horror Movie Boogeyman?

Eric W’s Pick: Jason Voorhees

He’s the one that I believe I’ve known the longest, he was the scariest when I was a youngin’. It may not have been the first FRIDAY THE 13th I was exposed to, but I vividly remember watching Part 7: THE NEW BLOOD and arriving at the scene where Jason stalks up behind the guy in the woods and punches into his back, leaving a gaping hole there. For whatever reason, that particular kill made an impression on me – you might even say it scarred me. But, demented adolescent that I was, I officially became hooked on that massive, cranky, unstoppable brute. Over the years I’ve seen every one of the 1980s FRIDAY THE 13th films a dozen times each. (Who am I kidding, two dozen times each.) What is it about this character and his horrible deeds that keeps us coming back again and again? I have some theories but no definitive answer; all I know is, I never get sick of Jason Voorhees. He’ll always be my #1 boogeyman.

And there you have it. Not a single one of us strayed from the camp ground, and none of the other creeps stood a chance: Jason Voorhees is the definitive – at least in Arrow in the Head’s hive mind – horror movie boogeyman. – Eric Walkuski

Mike’s Pick: Jason Voorhees

Jason Voorhees is my favorite boogeyman. While it was hard to pick one (Chucky’s moving up the list quickly), Jason will always win out for me. I love how he’s evolved over the years. Freddy’s the same since the first day we met him. Same goes for Leatherface, Pinhead, and Chucky (until recently…). It’s the evolution of Jason from little mongoloid popping out of lakes, to baghead, to running/hulking killer, to unstoppable zombie super-slayer that makes him the best of the best. Plus, he would win out in any fight over the others. So there’s that too. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if (for some God forsaken reason) I had to get a tattoo on my f*cking face, I would go with Jason Voorhees. – Mike Sprague

Jimmy’s Pick: Jason Voorhees

The original HALLOWEEN is one of my favorite films. And yes, the John Carpenter classic stands far above every single Jason or Freddy flick in my eyes. So why is Michael not my favorite? He is awesome and truly frightening. Well that brings me to Jason Voorhees. It took three flicks for this crazy madman to find his hockey mask, but I loved Jason from the beginning. This massive thug haunted my young mind the very first time time he jumped out of a lake and attacked Alice. Truthfully the movies don’t scare me really, like at all. I love them but they aren’t terribly spooky. However, the idea and the look of Jason has brought this horror fan way more nightmares than all the other genre icons. Maybe it’s the creative kills. Perhaps it’s his brutal strength. Either way, I love Jason Voorhees. I’ll always be a fan of F13 and the guy that terrorizes Camp Crystal Lake. – James Oster

Cody’s Pick: Jason Voorhees

From his tragic back story to the awesome visual of him hacking his way through his many victims while wearing that famous hockey mask over his misshapen (and sometimes rotting) features, Jason Voorhees is by far my favorite of the horror icons. He’s a killer with a motive you can connect with – he’s not inherently evil, he’s seeking vengeance, and anyone who crosses his path will pay for what was done to him and his mother, as he will dispatch them in brutal, bloody, and often inventive ways that are always fun to watch. There is no pretension to a Jason movie, they know they’re body count pictures. In this endeavor, the films sometimes shift tone and settings, and this is another thing that makes Jason such a great character: he’s versatile. Even though he’s best at home around Crystal Lake, he can be put into any situation and never lose his effectiveness. The movies can be dark or comedic, backwoods simple or over-the-top supernatural/sci-fi, but at the center of it, Jason is Jason. He’s badass, cool, and deadly, and has the best mask in horror. – Cody Hamman

Jake’s Pick: Jason Voorhees

Honestly, it’s not even about the abject terror this big dumb butcher can instill in a person, it’s the sheer volume of wet-work my man has put in over the decades that rings so damn admirable. No shit – I love this murderous mute, this slow-stalking, mask-donning, machete-wielding maniacal madman who has mortally waylaid no less than 100 victims between 1980 and 2009 has to be my all time best. Not only have I spent the most time with him, depending on who he’s stalking, I actually root for him to slay, flay and lay them to rest in the most vicious way imaginable (see our Top 10 Jerks Who Had it Coming in the Friday the 13th Franchise for more). Color me disturbed all you want, but I’ve actually come to consider Voorhees a parasocial friend. I love the assortment of weaponry, I love the iconographic hockey mask, I love Kane Hodder. Twelve movies and counting, Jason Voorhees will likely always remain my favorite onscreen Boogeyman! – Jake Dee