And most of those people will be better than Kane Hodder, whose overrated popularity is 100% due to him smartly creating a relationship with the fanbase, imo.

 

I like Kane, but I do kinda agree, he did sometimes "overact" the part. I couldn't get past his hammy vocalizations at the beginning of Jason Goes to Hell, it was just too campy and ridiculous for a character who had always been portrayed as silently menacing.

 

I watch a Halloween movie and I think, "Here's Michael." I watch Friday the 13th part 2, 3, 4 whatever, I think, "Uh-oh, here comes Jason."

But I watch Friday the 13th part 7, Manhattan, Jason X, I think, "Heeeeeeeere's Kane Hodder." I always see the actor, not the character. He puts way too much personality into the role, like he thought being Jason was going to lead into regular acting jobs or something. He tries to emote and his body language is too exaggerated. I got confused at first when I watched Jason vs Freddy. I thought, oh shit, Jason is back. Then I realized they had decided not to use Hodder for that movie. Oh, that explains it.

 

I've never really liked the hulking, zombie Jason that Hodder has come to personify.
Jason from 2-4 all the way for me, and in particular the sack headed version from part 2 that ran.

Part 2 is actually a reasonably scary movie.

 

100% agree! There were a lot of fun films in the franchise, but part 2 was the only one that creeped me out. Plus, the camp counsellors seems more relatable and sympathetic than in other films, so you were actually invested, and Amy Steel/Ginny was by far (IMHO) the best final girl, certainly the most inclined to use what she knew of Jason against him. Love that film.