The horror genre is thriving in Hollywood. Whether it’s Halloween or The Conjuring Universe, some of the biggest horror franchises continue to live on. As Peacock prepares to revisit one iconic horror franchise with a prequel series, the NBCUniversal streamer just brought one of the slasher genre’s most iconic villains to its streaming library just in time for Halloween.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Peacock subscribers can now stream the first three Friday the 13th movies – Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th – Part 2, and Friday The 13th – Part III. The three films, which introduced the world to horror icon Jason Voorhees, slashed their way to the NBCUniversal streamer’s library on October 1st ahead of the upcoming Crystal Lake series. First ordered at Peacock in October 2022, the series will serve as a prequel to the original 1980 slasher and star Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees and Callum Vinson as a young Jason. A premiere date for the show hasn’t been announced, but fans eager for the continuation of the story can get a refresh of the franchise on Peacock now.
Why You Should Watch Friday the 13th
Coming just two years after John Carpenter’s iconic Halloween, Friday the 13th helped solidify and popularize the slasher genre. Iconic and atmospheric in its own right, director Sean S. Cunningham’s 1980 flick remains a seminal piece of horror that popularized the summer camp setting and delivered more graphic, creative kills, setting the stage for the high body counts of slashers that would follow. The film, which grossed $59.8 million worldwide against a budget of just $550,000, played off the superstitious date and featured a standout performance by Betsy Palmer as Pamela Voorhees, a grieving mother who, in a shock twist at the end, is revealed to be the killer ruthlessly hunting down the camp’s counselors.
That first movie was initially intended to be a one-and-done film, but its enormous success led to a sequel that ultimately led to a franchise, and we’re thankful for it. Like most franchises, the quality of Friday the 13th’s sequels varies greatly, but the second and third films remain standouts. Friday the 13th – Part 2 not only brought back the suspenseful summer camp atmosphere and brutal kills of the first film but also solidified the franchise’s legacy with the introduction of Jason as the killer. The third movie took things even further, being the first to feature Jason’s iconic hockey mask as he took on a more animalistic nature, the movie featuring inventive and absolutely gruesome kills that would ultimately come to define the franchise.
Other Horror Movies Now on Peacock
Peacock is scaring up some great horror movies this October. While Friday the 13th fans will have to do some streaming service hopping to watch the rest of the franchise, horror lovers looking for more frights on Peacock can now stream other slashers like Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3, The Purge, the first three Scream films, and most of the Leprechaun franchise. Other scares include The Mist, The Omen (1976), Ouija: Origin Of Evil, and The Ring.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Ufotable -
Courtesy of Toei Animation
