The ULTIMATE Jason Voorhees Costuming Guide - Part 1, An Introduction

from left to right: Part 4 - Jason 'SDCOSTUMEGUY' Baker, Part 6 - James 'New Blood Costumes' Maxwell, Part 7 - Brandon Scott Murphree, Versus - Ruben Morales

Ever since the Voorhees name graced the silver screen in 1980, the Friday the 13th franchise has been ripe with a vivid and active fan base. This fact has only grown to be more apparent, with the last 10-15 years seeing the birth of the internet and a huge growth in the horror convention circuit; both becoming places where casual and die-hard fans alike share their love for every one's favorite slasher series. One dream that nearly every fan of the films has wished for themselves at some point or another is to have an incredible Jason costume. Whether to spook the neighborhood around Halloween, or stalk about their favorite horror convention, these fans come in all shapes and sizes. Some are more modest(though no less badass) in their costuming approach, and some are border lined costuming professionals; blurring the lines between fiction in reality in costumes so good that they have to be seen to be believed. I am proud to announce that this is the first part in an on-going series centered around the incredible costumes of Jason Voorhees, with two simple purposes: to show off some of the best costumes out there...and teach YOU how to be one of them!

Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Brandon Scott Murphree. In addition to being a die-hard Friday fanatic and one of the many gifted writers for this incredible website, I am also a professional FX makeup artist. I have worked in the industry for over 10 years, trained and worked with quite a few incredible FX artists(including Voorhees-veteran Tom Savini and makeup FX legend Dick Smith), and now make a living as a professional sculptor and FX artist. Last Halloween, I produced my first Jason costume(pictured above), modeled after Part 7. It was a labor of love, accomplished in no small part with the aide of a fellow professional artist and friend, Lance Coulter of Xtreme Design FX. We had a ton of fun building it, because we were both inspired to do what we do by our love for 1980s slasher films and the unsung heroes of makeup FX who made them so memorable. We aren't the only ones, either.

James Maxwell, in his Part 7 and Part 6 costumes.

James Maxwell is a 39 year old husband and father of one. He's from a small town in Alabama called Gadsden, and earns his living at the local Goodyear Tire. In his off time, while others would take up hobbies like fantasy sports or hunting, James took a more inspired and creative approach; Jason costuming. And man, is he good at it. So good, in fact, that he has earned a reputation in the community for being the 'go-to' guy for costume essentials like properly weathered clothing and assembly.

It isn't a private affair; he includes his family, too. His wife, Amanda, takes care of all of his costume photography. Even his young daughter, Katie, gets in on the fun by costuming right alongside her old man. After all, a family that slays together stays together, right? You can keep up with his work on Facebook, under the name New Blood Costumes.

Ruben Morales in his Jason X and Part 7 costumes

Ruben Morales is someone you've seen before, even if you don't know it. His costumes, particularly his Part 7 and Versus, have been copied and pasted all across the internet over the years. Either in the form of fan art, fan-made movie posters, or the dime-a-dozen 'Top-10' horror costume articles, it is safe to say that you've more than likely seen his work in some form or fashion. Behind the mask, he is a 28-year-old hailing from Selma, California. Working in the video game industry as an environmental demolition artist, some of Ruben's credits include the God of War series and Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. In fact, one of his favorite things to do is hide Jason-themed easter eggs in every game he works on.

When he isn't getting paid to digitally blow things up, he spends his time making the costumes he loved growing up a reality. He attributes his love for horror to his grandmother, who would play old horror films on VHS while she would babysit. He enjoys finding ways to marry his knowledge of three-dimensional work with his love for Jason costuming. For example, his Jason X costume(pictured above) features 3D-printed shackles and restraints that he modeled and produced himself. He even runs a small web-store called Villains In Love selling 3D printed key chains and keepsakes, including a few Jason designs. You can follow him on Facebook here, and Instagram here.

Jason Baker in his eerily accurate Final Chapter costume.

 Last, but certainly not least, 43- year-old Jason Baker hails from San Diego, California. Online, he goes by the handle 'SDCOSTUMEGUY'. More unusual than the other costumers we've looked at, he actually works in law enforcement. However, don't let his good streak fool you; his Jason costumes are renowned for being frighteningly accurate to their on-screen counterparts. Like Ruben, Jason's photos have been pasted all around the internet over the years. His Jason Lives costume, for example, is so good that he even has made regular appearances(in full costume) with director Tom McLoughlin and cast members.

Jason's love for costuming branched out at an early age, which saw him making his very first Voorhees costume in high school during the mid-1980's. A time before the internet and accessible resources for costuming information, he had to rely on his own creativity and ingeniuity. He even went to a sports surplus store to hunt down the famous hockey mask, though the one he had to settle for wasn't quite what he'd hoped. His love for costuming would later come full circle when he was able to reach out to the actual prop and makeup artists who worked on his favorite film in the series, Jason Lives, and gather an incredible amount of information on creating an entirely screen accurate Jason Lives costume. In his down time, he enjoys sharing his methods, both Voorhees costumes and otherwise, in the form of tutorials on his Youtube channel(which you can check out here).

Jason Baker, in his Part 6 costume, with director Tom McLoughlin.

Now, you may look at the above costumes and think to yourself, 'Holy cow. These guys are the real deal. How could I ever do that?' Well, that is why I am writing this. Over the course of the next few months, I intend to shed light on these magnificent costumes and how you can achieve the similar results with your own. I am not alone in this massive undertaking, as the best of the best will be with me..helping me to go into great detail about how we all do what we do, and how you can too. The Jason costuming community has been around for longer than we know, and we intend to make sure it keeps on growing.

NOTE: All photos in this article are copyright their respective owners. All photos, and information, used in the creation of this article are done so with the expressed written permission of those involved.