Jason Voorhees first gets his iconic hockey mask in Friday the 13th Part III (1982) , and he puts it on roughly around the middle of the movie, after starting out without it.

Quick Scoop: When Does Jason Get His Mask?

  • In the original movie, Jason doesn’t wear the mask at all (it’s about his mother).
  • In Part 2 , Jason wears a burlap sack over his head instead of a hockey mask.
  • In Part III , at Higgins Haven, Jason kills a prankster teen (often nicknamed the “fat jew‑fro” prankster in fan discussions) and takes the hockey mask from him.
  • After this moment in Part III, Jason starts using the mask for his kills, and it becomes his trademark look for the rest of the franchise.

Why this moment matters

Once he puts on the mask in Part III, it’s treated almost like a “costume reveal” — similar to a superhero finally putting on their suit — and that’s the point where Jason truly becomes the slasher icon people recognize today.

From then on, the hockey mask is basically “the face of fear” for the Friday the 13th series.

TL;DR: Jason gets his famous hockey mask for the first time in Friday the 13th Part III , about halfway through the movie, when he takes it from a prankster at Higgins Haven.

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