Though I generally prefer the psychological horror genre, I have to it that slasher films are a guilty pleasure of mine. Having come in the generation of 1980s horror movies, I can’t help but feel a bit nostalgic for classic killers like Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, and, of course, Jason Voorhees. The creative kills, over-the-top gore, and nonsensical tropes that define these movies only make them more fun to rewatch.

After hearing the news of Peacock's Crystal Lake TV series, I decided to have a personal viewing of all the Friday the 13th movies. As much fun as it was to relive the bloody adventures of Jason Voorhees, I couldn’t help but notice several plot holes and unanswered questions from the franchise. While some questions were resolved retroactively throughout the film series, there are still others that I can't help but wonder about.

6 What Exactly Is Jason Voorhees?

He May Have Started Out As Human, But Turned Into Something Else

From the start of the Friday the 13th movies, it’s been a mystery as to what exactly Jason Voorhees is — or, perhaps a better word choice would be to say what he eventually became. We know from the first movie that Jason was a young boy with physical and mental deformities who was bullied and tormented until he was thrown into the lake and supposedly drowned. Yet as the movies went on, Jason’s nature evolved into that of a supernatural being.

In Friday the 13th Part 2, we learn that Jason somehow survived his dip in the lake, and has been living in secret in a cabin in the woods. At this point, it’s unclear whether or not he is some sort of undead creature, or if he miraculously lived through his ordeal when he was a child and went into hiding. The fact that he aged during that time suggests that he is human, and yet he is able to take a serious beating that would kill most mortals. Is he just incredibly resilient, or is there something else at work?

Things get a bit clearer once Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives comes around. At the start of the movie, Jason is dead, but the traumatized Tommy Jarvis accidently aids in his resurrection when he impales Jason’s corpse with a metal pole, which is then struck by lightning and reanimates the body. However, that still doesn’t tell us what Jason was before the Frankenstein-style resurrection, or if it may have contributed to his ability to rise from the dead.

At this point in the series, it’s obvious that Jason is a supernatural monster. His evil powers even evolve to a point where he can possess other living beings in 1993’s Jason Goes to Hell. And yet, there is still no definitive word for what Jason is. Is he a zombie? A lich? A demon? Or, as one theory suggests, could Jason even be a Deadite from Evil Dead? Hopefully, this is something that Crystal Lake will answer.

5 Did Pamela Know The Truth About Jason?

Jason's Actions Wouldn't Make Sense Otherwise

One plot hole that bothered me in the Friday the 13th movies is the insinuation that Jason’s mother didn’t know that her son was alive. In the first Friday the 13th, Pamela Voorhees’s murder spree is motivated by the fact that the camp counselors failed to save her son. However, we learn in Friday the 13th Part 2 that Jason is not dead, and has actually been in hiding for 20 years. Personally, I think that Pamela knew Jason was alive, and lied about it to protect him.

If Pamela and Jason were as close as the films suggest, then surely he would have gone to find his mother after surviving the drowning in the lake. Even though he didn’t die like she had originally thought, Pamela still could have felt a burning need to seek revenge. She might have helped him find a place to stay nearby, somewhere he could hide while she carried out her vengeance on the new camp counselors.

When Jason got revenge on Alice for his mother’s death in Friday the 13th Part 2, that’s when I really started asking questions. How did he know who killed her? How did he even know she was dead? The only thing that makes sense is that he witnessed her decapitation in the first movie while watching in secret. Being so devoted to her, it’s possible that Jason stayed in hiding at Pamela’s request — yet seeing his mother violently murdered was likely the catalyst that made him decide to pick up where mommy dearest left off.

4 What Happened To Paul?

Paul Disappeared At The End Of Friday The 13th Part 2

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One mystery from the movies has nothing to do with Jason Voorhees or the paranormal aspects of the franchise. In Friday the 13th Part 2, Jason gets his revenge on the newest counselors at Camp Crystal Lake, who are being trained by a man named Paul Holt. At the end of the film, Paul and his assistant, Ginny, are the only ones left alive. After Ginny kills Jason, she and Paul return to their cabin, believing they are finally safe.

Moments later, Jason seemingly crashes through the window and attacks them — which may or may not have been a nightmare, depending on what you believe. The scene then cuts to Ginny waking up in a stretcher and being placed into an ambulance by paramedics. She calls out for Paul, but he is nowhere to be found, and no explanation is given for his disappearance. Jason is also missing, and the final shot of the movie zooms in on the decaying head of Pamela Voorhees.

So what happened to Paul? Did Jason kill him off-screen? Was the scene of an unmasked Jason jumping through the glass window just a dream, or did it really happen? The movies never explain, as Paul is never spoken of or heard from again. Maybe he survived his encounter with Jason somehow, and if so, we may see him in the prequel series.

2 What’s With The Dream Sequences And Visions?

The Movies Don't Explain Why They Happen

At a certain point in the Friday the 13th series, it’s apparent that there is something supernatural at work. As if Jason being shot, stabbed, or chopped to pieces without permanently dying wasn’t enough of a clue, then the odd dream sequences and visions had by his victims are a dead giveaway. Yet the question remains — where do the nightmarish dreams and visions come from, and why do they happen?

I could speculate that the waters of Crystal Lake itself have some sort of paranormal properties that mess with people’s minds.

The first nightmare happens at the end of Friday the 13th, when Alice dreams about being attacked by Jason in the lake, then wakes up in the hospital. The next instance happens in Part 3, when Chris has a similar dream, except that she is attacked by the grotesque living corpse of Pamela Voorhees. I could speculate that the waters of Crystal Lake itself have some sort of paranormal properties that mess with people’s minds — except that Ginny has a similar nightmare in Part 2, when Jason crashes through the window of the cabin.

Then there are the visions. In Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, Tina Shepard demonstrated telekinetic powers at a young age, but that still doesn’t explain why she has a vision of Jason murdering her friends at a party. Then there’s Rennie in Friday the 13th Part VIII, who has multiple visions of Jason as a boy. There must be some reason behind these strange and convoluted occurrences, which will hopefully be cleared up in Crystal Lake.

1 How Did Roy Get So Strong?

Roy Only Pretended To Be Jason, Yet Somehow Seemed To Have His Powers

One of the most unique installments in the Camp Crystal Lake franchise is the fifth movie, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. Set five years after the events of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Tommy Jarvis, now a teenager, is staying at a halfway house, traumatized by what he endured in the previous film. After Joey, one of the other teens in the house, is murdered by a fellow resident, a series of murders follow, seemingly committed by a resurrected Jason Voorhees.

At the end, it's revealed that the killer isn't Jason, but Roy Burns, the paramedic. He was actually Joey's father, and began his killing spree as revenge for his son's murder. However, that still leaves me with a lot of questions. Why kill people who had nothing to do with Joey's death? And how was it that Roy had Jason's super-strength, along with his ability not to feel pain?

It's possible that Roy was corrupted by grief, and that his psychological state could be a major factor in his enhanced physical prowess. Yet there is another theory that Roy may have been possessed by Jason, imbuing him with the undead killer's powers. Personally, I'm not sure that I agree, although I can't find any reason to rule it out. Because Crystal Lake takes place long before the events of A New Beginning, I'd be surprised if the Peacock prequel series will have any answers on that front.

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