Thirsty Enough to Drink Crystal Lake: The Hunks of Friday the 13th

The Friday the 13th movies are known for scantily clad, promiscuous girls meeting their demise, much like the slasher genre in general. But although the T&A quotient is certainly high, the long-running series provided plenty of man candy as well. “They really knew how to always cast the cutest guys!” declares the creator of Instagram’s @horrorhunks. I watched every last installment, from the 1980 original to Jason X (2002) and Freddy vs. Jason (2003) in my exhaustive review of the hot men of the franchise. You’re welcome.

Friday the 13th (1980)

Just as A Nightmare on Elm Street introduced Johnny Depp as a half shirt wearing heartbreaker, Friday the 13th gave us a pre-fame Kevin Bacon as a shorts clad counselor at the doomed Camp Crystal Lake. But my heart belongs to Mark Nelson as the goofy Bill. He’s not only funny, but willing to wear nothing but a headdress, briefs, and a shirt tied around his waist. Ah, the ‘80s.

Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

I talked to a few friends who cited handsome, openly gay Tom McBride, who played the wheelchair bound Mark, as their favorite guy from the franchise. According to Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street co-director Roman Chimienti, “It didn't matter that his character was wheelchair bound and somber—his square jaw and quirky smile still made the girls swoon. [He’s] probably the only handsome camper who wasn't also an asshole. Not only was he a super cutie at Camp Blood—but Tom McBride's sexiness made him a familiar face in ads and TV, [and] even landed him the Uber-male role as the Winston Man in the iconic cigarette ads. It’s well known that his story ended tragically from AIDS-related illness in 1995. But his legacy was sealed in the revealing documentary Life and Death on The A List [1996], filmed during his final days and showcasing his impact on gay culture at the time. RIP Tom!”

Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)

Is there anything better than a shirtless hunk pulling rope in 3D? Not to my friend Andrew Carrillo, a graphic designer based in New York. "My first crush in the series and personal fave was Rick [Paul Kratka] from Friday the 13th Part III,” he says. “Not only was he such a nice guy and easy on the eyes--his death, to me, was one of the most unexpected and brutal in the series to date at the time, IMO. I think it hit hard because he was such a nice guy and I really thought he would make it to the end. So seeing his eyes pop out on the screen (yay 3D effects) was definitely scarring for me!"

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Cult actor Crispin Hellion Glover wins my personal hunk prize for a few reasons: he’s cute and relatable as the awkward Jimmy, who utters the immortal line, “God, I’m horny”; his close bromance with Ted (Lawrence Monoson) has queer overtones; and his hilariously spastic dance—reportedly based on the way he actually danced at clubs—is maybe the most entertaining moment in the whole series. Glover’s eccentric persona has a decidedly queer quality, and it’s interesting that his first reaction to scoring with Tina (Camilla More) is to run to Ted and share it with him.

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

This sequel may be controversial, with the notorious twist (35-year-old spoiler) that its killer isn’t Jason, but there’s no denying its lead is a hunk. As the adult version of Tommy Jarvis from The Final Chapter (Corey Feldman), John Shepherd “perfectly captures the duality of a man attempting to move on with his life, but haunted by his run-ins with Jason,” says technician, geek, and Dark Shadows super-fan J. Peter Lavalle. Plus, he looks great naked from the waist up.

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)

Handsome Thom Matthews (Return of the Living Dead) takes over the Tommy role for this sequel, but my heart belongs to Tom Fridley as sweet, dopey Cort. He rocks a skank tank, even if he’s a terrible driver who can’t quite last ten minutes in bed. Bonus points for his earring (wonder if he influenced Cody Fern’s Michael on American Horror Story: 1984). I have to give a shout out to Matthews, too: we met at New Jersey’s Monster Mania Con a few years back, and he was extremely genuine and nice.

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

Nicknamed “Frigay the 13th” by fans and its own largely gay cast, The New Blood starred a number of cute boys. Chief among them was Kevin Spirtas as Nick, love interest to Lar Park-Lincoln’s telekinetic Tina. Spirtas and Park-Lincoln didn’t get along during filming—Spirtas opted to go out to gay clubs with his queer cast-mates instead—but later became close friends. “I’ve always liked Kevin Spirtas, he’s super-hot in [1984’s] The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 (underrated movie!) too, so it’s great to see him added to the Friday 13th hotties list,” says  @horrorhunks.

Friday the 13th Part VII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

I’ll let @horrorhunks do the talking here: “If I had to pick one hot guy from the Friday the 13th series I’m going with Todd Caldecott in Jason Takes Manhattan. It’s probably my least favorite film of the series, but this opening scene is great, and Todd is sexy AF! I’m not a great fan of the long hair, but hey it’s the ‘80s and it’s cute. Bonus points for having him in his tiny briefs, it’s nice to see guys sexualized (and killed) in these slashers, the way we’re more used to the girls being the ones in tiny underwear. (Interestingly his female co-star [Tiffany Paulsen] is wearing a baggy sweater throughout the scene, not sexualized at all…) Yeah, I'd jump in that boat with him any night.”

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)

At this point we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel in the series, and hunky moments, alas, are further and farther between. While Michael B. Silver as “Luke, the boy camper” (yes, adorably, that’s actually his character name) is cute and naked onscreen, he refuses to wear a condom with his girlfriend, so he loses major points right there. Instead, I pick Kipp Marcus (brother of Jason Goes to Hell director Adam Marcus) as Officer Randy. He’s handsome, he looks great in uniform, and he has a vaguely queer onscreen friendship with Steven (John D. LeMay). At one point Steven asks Randy—ahem—to “cuff me!” I like the part where they get on the ground and wrassle.

Jason X (2002)

Another mediocre sequel that doesn’t give us much in the hunk department, although the tank tops flatter all of the guys who wear them here. The sexiest boy meets his demise early on: Yani Gellman as Stoney, the horny med student slaughtered by a thawed out Jason. I love his shirt, which wouldn’t look out of place in a gay club (ah, the early 2000s), and he seems to have a talented tongue. Plus, his bio says he has a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  Unf.

Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

The long awaited mash up and finale (?) to the Elm Street and Friday the 13th series stars a hunk who holds a special place in my heart. Jason Ritter, handsome son of the late John Ritter, plays the stalwart Will, who’s determined to save his hysterical girlfriend (Monica Keena) from the clutches of Freddy—and later Jason. In 2005, I attended a screening of gay director Don Roos’ comedy Happy Endings followed by a Q&A by star Ritter. I asked him to discuss his work in Freddy vs. Jason and he was absolutely game to talk about his experience on the film. He even approached me as we were exiting the theater to tell me more stories about Robert Englund and his method for playing Freddy Krueger, i.e. changing his posture and walk to embody the killer. Years later, I saw Ritter picking up comics at New York’s Forbidden Planet and realized he was a geek, too.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this deep dive into the many beautiful men of Friday the 13th.  Feel free to add your favorites in the comments!