Friday the 13th has long been my least favorite of the Big Three slasher franchises — A Nightmare on Elm Street is the most consistent series, while Halloween has the single best movie out of the three series with its original installment. But over the past few years, I’ve slowly come around on ol’ Jason and company. Before, I appreciated only a couple of the franchise’s entries: Part 2 and Jason Lives, to be exact. Now I find myself throwing on each of the first seven movies (Jason Takes Manhattan is when I check out) at various times during October. The rustling leaves and pitch-black nighttime settings are a perfect vibe-setter for Halloween season. There happen to be three Friday the 13ths in 2026, and Hermitage horror house Full Moon Cineplex is scheduling Friday the 13th doubleheaders for each of them. This Friday, you can catch Part III (the 3-D one) and Part IV (hilariously billed as The Final Chapter at the time), a pair of sturdy slasher exercises directed by genre experts Steve Miner (Halloween H20) and Joseph Zito (The Prowler). Think of this as a precursor to the release of Jane Schoenbrun’s latest meta-horror film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, slated for August.
6 p.m. at Full Moon Cineplex
3445 Lebanon Pike, Hermitage
