Well, the first description describes the Jason Voorhees portrayed by Ken Kirzinger, the colossal Canadian giant who played Jason in Jason v. Freddy. The second description of Jason fits the style of Kane Hodder, who played Jason in four films and most recently in the Friday the 13th video game.
Before Kane Hodder wore the hockey mask, each actor that played Jason portrayed him a bit differently, although the overall style was the same. CJ Graham (Friday The 13th, Jason Lives) was the first to make noticeable changes. At the beginning of the film, Jason’s maggot infested corpse was struck by lightning and became more of a supernatural being. This Jason could not be hurt, had superhuman strength, and could seemingly teleport. Stealth was probably his greatest weapon in the film, as his victims could almost never see him coming.
The director for the next film (Friday The 13th, The New Blood) was friends with Kane Hodder and hired him to wear the mask for the next film. Kane’s version of Jason was a new animal altogether. Each movement and kill was done with an insane rage and power we’d never seen from the monster before. In addition, Kane developed his own vocabulary of movement for the character. This Jason would intimidate victims sometimes by just standing there, doing idle breaths. He would also move his head and the rest of his body would follow its lead in sync. Kane’s Jason was a hit with audiences and he wound up playing the characters for four consecutive films.
Unfortunately, Kane developed a reputation for being difficult to work with behind the camera. There are stories that he would sometimes hold up production by arguing with the producers about what Jason would or would not do.
Freddy v. Jason Director Ronny Yu wanted nothing to do with this. So he instead hired a lumbering stuntman from Canada named Ken Kirzinger. Ken was much more cooperative and just happy to have the part. With Ken wearing the hockey mask, Ronny would not have to worry about being intimidated by Kane Hodder.
In Ronny’s movie, Jason is actually the lesser of two evils. Freddy is the evil mastermind. Jason is no saint obviously, but the movie shows him being bullied by his peers as a child. We also see Freddy manipulate his fear of water and love for his vengeful mother. Ronny wanted Jason to have “sensitive eyes.” Because of these vulnerabilities, Jason almost comes across as an anti-hero.
Kirzinger did not copy any of Hodder's signature Jason movements. Well, except for one. Like Hodder, Kirzinger's Jason would tilt his head to the side like a puppy whenever he was puzzled by something. It's almost adorable.
When I finally sat down recently to watch the movie for the first time in years, it clicked. “I got it. I see Ronny’s vision.”
What do you think?