Jason Voorhees Isn't a Deadite

The series saw Jason Voorhees return as a revenant zombie in Tom McLoughlin's amazingly directed and written Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. Over the next three films, the lore evolved, culminating in Jason Goes to Hell, which introduced a new shift within the established narrative. Adam Marcus, a young and first-time director, was a fan of both the Friday the 13th and Evil Dead franchises. He attempted to connect the two universes, which had no prior connection. This post aims to explain why Adam Marcus's connections are not logical and why Jason is neither a Deadite nor part of the Evil Dead series.

People have been claiming that Jason is a Deadite for years but without any solid evidence or logic to support it. This post will answer the question, "Is Jason a Deadite?" with evidence from the films and interviews. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT attacking Adam Marcus! I am NOT insulting him! This thread is simply about refuting the notion of Jason Voorhees ever being a Deadite. This is a "Jason Voorhees is a Deadite" debunk thread. I love the design of Jason Goes to Hell and have spoken with Adam a few times. I respect his work and hold no negativity toward him!


This is from Adam Marcus’s own interview about and for Deadite Jason, with keywords italicized. The first one is from November 2, 2017, where Bloody Disgusting had an article titled “‘Jason Goes to Hell’ Director Says Jason is Canonically an ‘Evil Dead’ Deadite!” with Adam stating this:

Adam Marcus wrote:“I wanted to create a mythology for Jason in this movie because it had driven me nuts as a viewer,” (Marcus explained, speaking specifically about Jason magically growing from a small boy to a full-grown, unstoppable monster in such a short period of time.) “She [Pamela Voorhees] makes a deal with the devil by reading from the Necronomicon to bring back her son. This is why Jason isn’t Jason. He’s Jason plus The Evil Dead, and now I can believe that he can go from a little boy that lives in a lake to a full-grown man in a couple of months to Zombie Jason, to never being able to kill this guy. That, to me, is way more interesting as a mashup, and Sam Raimi loved it! It’s not like I could tell New Line my plan to include The Evil Dead because they don’t own The Evil Dead. So it had to be an Easter egg, and I did focus on it…there’s a whole scene that includes the book, and I hoped people would get it and could figure out that’s what I’m up to. So yes, in my opinion, Jason Voorhees is a Deadite. He’s one of The Evil Dead. It absolutely is canon.”

Firstly, his viewpoint of “Jason magically growing from a small boy to a full-grown, unstoppable monster in such a short period of time” is already illogical and incorrect. You may ask how. Well, Jason was 11 years old when he "drowned" in 1957, Jason Voorhees was born on June 13, 1946, so let’s fast forward to 1979, when Pamela is on another killing spree and gets killed. 1984 is the timeline of Friday the 13th Part 2. So let’s add this up: 1946 to 1979 means Jason is 33 years old in 1979, and by 1984 (5 years after Part 1), Jason is 38 years old. There is nothing “magical” about Jason growing up naturally.

Before anyone says, “But Jason drowned!” he didn’t. It is heavily supported within the official novelizations that Jason survived the ordeal and went into survival mode.

How can an 11-year-old boy survive in the woods? There are multiple trash cans, camps, cabins, and wildlife for Jason to use. Yes, some things may cause illnesses, but if he survived this long (21+ years) and is in the shape he is now, that shows either Jason is incredibly lucky or highly intelligent and knows what to eat, what not to eat, and how to hunt around the lake and campgrounds.

So we know Jason becomes superhuman in both physical strength and physical durability. To quote Tom McLoughlin, the director and writer of Part VI: Jason Lives, Jason is 100% an UNDEAD entity—a REVENANT ZOMBIE to be specific. McLoughlin even states Jason’s father (not Elias; this was not the name of Jason's real father) is the reason why Jason is so “supernatural.” According to the Friday the 13th Part VI novel’s back-cover summary:

Friday the 13th Part VI: Novel Summary wrote:A hideous creature who will stop at nothing in a soul-chilling battle to the death... Something unspeakably evil suddenly attacks and snuffs out the life of a horrified young graveside visitor... Two college students come face-to-face with blood-curdling terror in their last moments alive... A silent masked figure mercilessly stalks a beautiful camp counselor through blinding woods until she smashes into a screaming dead end... Jason, the mysterious boy, possessed of the devil's power, has been laid to rest, and the inhabitants of a small New England town shudder with relief. The evil Jason is rotting in his coffin... they think. But his ominous shadow rises again... consumed by a furious and overwhelming compulsion to kill... and kill... and kill...

If you read the line, “Jason, the mysterious boy, possessed of the devil's power,” you’ll notice that Part VI: Jason Lives establishes that Jason’s supernatural nature stems from his father’s unknown genetics and inherent evil. Furthermore, evidence in the Friday the 13th: The Game for Pamela Tapes Pamela describes Jason’s father, who "raped" her and had "eyes filled with hate (and evil)" that were "red." This hints at Jason being indirectly the son of the Devil or someone tied to evil.

Savini Jason’s game origin even shows Jason defeating or killing "Lucifer" himself for his "trident." However, Jason is not a “demon” either!

(Understanding Jason: What is Jason Voorhees?)

To stay on the topic of the interview, Adam Marcus states:

Adam Marcus wrote:It’s not like I could tell New Line my plan to include The Evil Dead because they don’t own The Evil Dead. So it had to be an Easter egg, and I did focus on it… there’s a whole scene that includes the book, and I hoped people would get it and could figure out that’s what I’m up to. So yes, in my opinion, Jason Voorhees is a Deadite. He’s one of The Evil Dead. It absolutely is canon.

Now, this is a major 100% contradiction. He stated it was "in his opinion" and mentions it as an "Easter egg" because New Line Cinema DID NOT own the rights to The Evil Dead. Yet he also says, "Jason Voorhees is a Deadite. He’s one of The Evil Dead. It absolutely is canon." This is not a fact; it's the opposite of what the term "canon" means! This is completely wrong! Let's delve into the 2018 interview given to SYFY WIRE:

SYFY WIRE wrote:What is the backstory link you crafted to The Evil Dead franchise?

Adam Marcus wrote:When we were pre-producing the movie, Bob Kurtzman and the guys at KNB said, “We're gonna do the effects on the movie.” So I got to go on Sam Raimi's set for Army of Darkness. I asked Bob if Sam would lend me the Necronomicon for Jason Goes To Hell. I let Bob in on my secret plan and knew I couldn't say Deadite or Evil Dead in the movie because Universal owned the rights. If I just take that prop and put it in the Voorhees house and use the Kandarian Dagger as the thing that kills Jason, what I'm doing is setting up a mythology that Jason's mom wanted her son back so badly that she made a deal with the darkness. So she reads from the Necronomicon and brings about the resurrection of her son. Now the fact he lived at the bottom of the lake and grows two feet makes sense.

Notice how Adam Marcus states he couldn’t say Deadite in the movie. This strongly hints at there being zero official connection to The Evil Dead. He tries to claim he’s creating a mythology, despite one already being established, which contradicts his earlier statements. He then contradicts his own 2017 interview by stating, "She [Pamela] made a deal with the darkness." So which is it? The Devil or the Darkness? Because it's getting confusing! And then this statement: "So she reads from the Necronomicon and brings about the resurrection of her son. Now the fact he lived at the bottom of the lake and grows two feet makes sense." This contains many holes, which will be addressed in the next paragraph.

Debunk 1: If she knew she resurrected her own son... where was he during the 20+ years? Why didn't he show up? Why didn't she know his location? This doesn't make sense. If he was resurrected, I am 1000% sure they would have been reunited, and it would make her killing at the camp nonsensical because that's the reason she was killing: to keep the camp closed. But now that she had her son back, what would be her motivation?

Debunk 2: If Jason had lived at the bottom of the lake, why does the official novelization contradict this? It doesn't make sense in either scenario how he magically grew up. Then there is a 20+ year time frame of him naturally just growing up in the woods of Camp Crystal Lake. This is supported in the Part 2 novelization as well, which establishes that Jason had a healing factor and that, since the time he "drowned," he was healing over and over again. He wasn’t dead but in a coma state, from which he eventually woke up to find himself a grown man surviving in the woods.


Since the Necronomicon/Kandarian Dagger are just props... ONLY PROPS as Adam Marcus himself stated, they are just EASTER EGGS! If you are thinking "Easter eggs are canon," then... you are purely wrong on this subject. Easter eggs are seen as intentional inside jokes, hidden messages or images, or secret features of a work but aren’t canon! (Unless the COMPANY says otherwise, not the actual director. This is due to licensing issues to avoid lawsuits, etc.)


The lore of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday attempts to retcon the majority of established lore from previous films and novels.

The Part 2 novel establishes that Jason didn’t truly drown and that he grew up, which isn’t trying to force a retcon—it’s logical. This differs from JGTH, which introduces the Necronomicon as the source of his revival.

The Part 2/6 novels establish that Jason was born with supernatural abilities due to his genetics, and that after his revival, these abilities fully revealed his potential. This explains how he survived life-threatening injuries and came back to life.


1. Tommy Jarvis and the Voorhees Bloodline:
It's established in the film by Creighton Duke that only a Voorhees can kill a Voorhees. What does this mean? This logically means Tommy Jarvis shouldn’t have been able to kill Jason back in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. If all Voorhees are immortal, then Elias Voorhees being Jason's biological father would create a paradox: Pamela shouldn’t have been able to kill him.

Additionally, why would Elias have a weapon (the dagger) in his house that could kill him? Pamela’s last name wasn’t Voorhees until she married Elias. Even if Pamela were the “link,” it still wouldn’t make sense!

2. Elias Voorhees: It's established that Elias was murdered. So how could he cheat on Pamela and have a child a few years later? We know he was killed when Jason was a few months old. If Jason has an older sister, then wouldn’t she be immortal too? If Jason has a younger sister, how could Elias have fathered her after death? This creates more plot holes.

3. Ash Williams, Pamela Voorhees, and the Necronomicon: How can Pamela Voorhees obtain a book that wasn't even around her timeline?  Book was found in England by Professor Raymond Knowby in 1981 and The Cabin incident happened in October 1982 in the USA...Pamela died in 1979...so when and how does Pamela ever obtain the book?? It was in England the entire time and was in Knowby hands the entire time after so there is no way Pamela Voorhees went to England, went back to the USA, and put it back, no amount of canonical means does it make sense!!

This is a major disconnect and proves how illogical it is to claim Jason is a Deadite.

4. Adam Marcus States Pamela Had Jason’s Sister: To summarize Adam Marcus’s statement: Pamela Voorhees gave birth to Diana Kimble and ignored her in favor of her newborn son. This isn’t logical and creates a massive contradiction with the established lore that Pamela had a single child: Jason.


It’s 100% established that Jason X (aka Friday the 13th Part 10) and Freddy vs. Jason doesn’t follow anything from Part 9.

In Jason X,  In 2010, Jason is held captured in a "prequel" to Freddy vs. Jason. There is no evidence of body possession by the scientists or the military.

In Freddy vs. Jason, Jason rises from camp crystal lake, and Freddy revives him from a corpse, that's not physically within hell, Both films completely ignores ignore JGTH's lore about the Necronomicon, the Kandarian Dagger, or Jason being dragged into Hell as mentioned before.

So two future films within the New Line Cinema brand name completely overlooked any continuation from Jason Goes to Hell is no coincidence due to inconsistent it was.


The major differences between Jason and Deadites are:

Jason Voorhees: Doesn’t talk. His personality is linear and nonexistent.

His powers include:

• Supernatural Strength
  
• Supernatural Durability
  
• Teleportation (Parts 7/8
  
• Shifting (Parts 6/7/8)
  
• Nigh-Invulnerability
  
• Regeneration
  
• Possession (once and that's in JGTH only)
  

Deadites: Taunt prey using fears and desires. They enjoy self-mutilation and possess a distinct personality.

Their powers include:

• Shapeshifting
  
• Superhuman Strength
  
• Inconsistent Durability
  
• Flight
  
• Mutation
  
• Possession
  
• Hive mind communication (We instead of I)
  

Jason acts and behaves nothing like a Deadite—there’s absolutely zero connection to The Evil Dead series yet again!! The biggest difference is also their weaknesses, a deadite can die from fire and being shot to death, Jason doesn't as evident in Part 6,7, even in JGTH was he tanking shots, Part X and FvJ shows this.


In Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives, Jason is clearly an undead entity... a zombie. But what type of zombie doesn’t eat flesh or crave brains? The answer: Jason Voorhees is a Revenant Zombie.

Definition wrote:A revenant is a sentient creature whose desire to fulfill a special goal allows it to return from the grave as a creature vaguely resembling an intelligent zombie or jiangshi (vampire).

Jason is a zombie who retains his intelligence and personality. He is driven by revenge, hate, and unfinished goals.

Demon? Deadite? Only in the sense of JGTH which is completely an Outlier to the franchise.


It’s important to understand what "canon" means and so many ignore it and how important it is:

Definition wrote:In fiction, canon is the material accepted as officially part of the story in an individual universe of that story.

The comics Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash are not canon. They are not officially part of any story for the franchise. Just because Ash Williams assumes Jason is a Deadite doesn’t make it canon.

The documentary The Untold Saga of The Evil Dead explains that Rob Tapert (longtime collaborator of Sam Raimi) stated:

Rob Tapert wrote:"We thought about it for one second but knew we would totally trash the franchises in doing that."

Thus, two comic series (Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash and The Nightmare Warriors) were created based on this concept but remain out of continuity for all franchises for a reason, this is why Jason Vs. Leatherface isn't canon, this is why none of the DC Comics adaptations aren't canon, they are basically filler for entertainment and not for canonical purposes.


Jason Voorhees is not a Deadite—there is zero evidence, zero connection, and zero logic behind the claim. Adam Marcus simply created fanservice for the series because he liked that concept.

While Friday the 13th was licensed under New Line Cinema for Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X, and Freddy vs. Jason, consider the following:

1. Jason X ignores the Easter eggs and the “Only a Voorhees can kill a Voorhees” concept.

2. Freddy vs. Jason ignores JGTH entirely, including Jason’s trip to Hell and the Voorhees bloodline plot.

3. Adam Marcus did not have permission from higher-ups to use the props, making their inclusion merely his opinion and not canon.

4. Given the evidence, timeline, and pre-established lore, there's no way to connect the canonical Evil Dead with the Friday the 13th canon, Jason Vs. Ash isn't logical. However, a Nightmare on Elm Street vs. Evil Dead crossover makes more sense, considering Freddy's claw glove is visible in the shack with Ash. Additionally, their timelines align more closely: A Nightmare on Elm Street begins in March 1981, while Evil Dead was beginning in September 1981 and October 1982.