October is a favorite month for watching horror movies, and Friday the 13th and A Nightmare On Elm Street are two of the best. These slasher classics are not only good campy fun but also produced two of the most famous serial killers: Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. These names are enough to send a chill down any horror fan’s spine, and they even went up against each other in the 2003 movie Freddy vs. Jason.
Under Wes Craven’s masterful direction, A Nightmare On Elm Street is undeniably a more well-respected movie than Friday the 13th. However, both movies have a very famous killer, and while they share some commonalities, they stand apart from each other as well.
Similar: They Have A Tragic History
Both serial killers share a horrible childhood. Freddy Krueger has an interesting backstory as he was adopted by a man who started abusing him. He didn’t get to know his real mom and his whole life is basically one big tragedy.
Jason Voorhees has a tragic history as well. He was bullied at Camp Crystal Lake because of his facial deformity, and he even drowned as a result of the other kids being cruel to him.
Different: Jason Has A Copycat Killer
Jason Voorhees is pretty different in each movie. Someone even pretends to be him and idolizes the fact that he kills people. In Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, there is a copycat killer named Roy Burns who puts on a hockey mask and starts killing just like Jason did.
This is one way that Jason is different from Freddy, as Freddy doesn’t have any copycats and he appears in every movie of his franchise.
Similar: They Have An Iconic Look
Freddy and Jason are also similar because they have an iconic look that allows horror movie fans to tell them apart.
Freddy has a red-and-green striped sweater along with a hat and a clawed glove. Jason wears a hockey mask over his face, similarly to how Ghostface in the Scream movies dons his signature white-and-black mask.
Different: Jason Was Super Close To His Mom
Freddy and Jason are different in terms of how they relate to their mothers.
Freddy Krueger never got to know his mother, as Amanda Krueger was a nun who was attacked and impregnated, and she later died after he was born. Jason Voorhees, in contrast, loved his mom as she was the only person who paid him any attention and cared about him — as messed up as their relationship was).
Similar: They Like Murdering People
Both Jason and Freddy are pretty giddy when they get the chance to murder people, which is definitely creepy to think about, but that’s what makes them who they are.
Jason has killed a total of 157 people, which is a really high number for Friday the 13th fans to wrap their minds around.
Different: Jason Kills In The Actual World
Even though Freddy and Jason have some things in common, like the joy that they get from murder, they do have an obvious difference that horror movie fans will quickly point out.
While Jason kills in the actual world, Freddy focuses on teens while they’re sleeping. For the people targeted by Freddy, dreams are the biggest nightmares ever as they don’t always wake up.
Similar: They Have Unique, Artistic Ways Of Killing People
It’s a weird thing to think about, but in the realm of horror movies, some characters die in boring ways and others have more creative demises.
Both Freddy and Jason have unique ways of killing people. Freddy killed in violent ways as he has a lot of power to do whatever he wants in people’s dreams and it can get pretty graphic. Meanwhile, Jason uses all kinds of tools from pitchforks to spears to machetes. In Jason X, Jason even picks up someone in a sleeping bag and uses that person to kill someone else. Freddy
Different: Freddy Was A Bad Guy Before His Death
While Freddy was a bad guy before his death, as he was a pedophile who hurt children, the same thing can’t be said about Jason.
Jason was a deformed kid whom everyone picked on and then he drowned in Crystal Lake because the camp counselors weren’t paying attention. It’s an equally disturbing backstory, of course.
Similar: They Both Started Killing People After Dying
Freddy and Jason were both mortals who were treated badly and went through some terrible times.
Both of them died (Freddy was burned to death by the parents of Elm Street and Jason drowned at Camp Crystal Lake) and then started killing people. They both came back to life (in a way) and seemed impossible to kill.
Different: Jason’s Story Mostly Takes Place At A Camp
While Freddy Krueger focuses on the teens of Elm Street, Jason’s story mostly takes place at Camp Crystal Lake. This is the location that fans associate with him and it’s where he gets his revenge.
Although Freddy does go after teens, he doesn’t go near camps, preferring to stick close to home in the town of Springwood, Ohio.
