Friday the 13th’s Jason Vorhees carries a chainsaw. In “Cape Feare,” Bart (Nancy Cartwright) is being stalked by Sideshow Bob (Kelsey Grammer). Bob begins sending Bart threatening letters written in blood. Knowing that Bob is after Bart, the Simpsons are put into witness protection, but Bob figures out where they are by catching a ride underneath their car.
Voiced by the talented Kelsey Grammer, Bob is one of the most well-known animated villains of all time. Sideshow Bob’s backstory begins with his first appearance as Krusty the Clown’s sidekick in “The Telltale Head.” In “Krusty Gets Busted,” Bob frames Krusty for armed robbery as payback for his mistreatment only to be foiled by Bart Simpson. Bart stops Sideshow Bob’s plans again in “Black Widower.” Immediately upon his release from prison in “Cape Feare” Bob sets out to kill Bart.
"Cape Feare" contains a particular gag in which Homer (Dan Castellaneta) enters Bart’s room carrying weapons reminiscent of slasher villains. First, Homer bursts into the room and yells, “Bart, you want some brownies before you go to bed?” while carrying a large kitchen knife before apologizing to Bart, who is still on edge about Sideshow Bob. Without missing a beat, The Simpsons’ main character Homer bursts into Bart’s room once again, brandishing a chainsaw and hockey mask, and yells, “Bart, you want to see my new chainsaw and hockey mask?” This moment in what many argue is The Simpsons’ best episode has had such an impact on pop culture that to this day, those who aren’t devotees of the horror genre think Jason Voorhees, the hockey mask-wearing killer in the Friday the 13th franchise, carries a chainsaw. He doesn’t in fact carry a chainsaw, but the image of Jason with a chainsaw in his hand spread in a Mandela effect, convincing people that he must.
While it’s clear to horror connoisseurs that the gag is meant to allude to both Friday the 13th and based on Scorsese’s movie Cape Fear, if they haven’t watched Friday the 13th, there’s a good chance they still think of Jason as the hockey mask-wearing, chainsaw-wielding killer.
The one thing most audiences about Jason Voorhees is his iconic hockey mask. Jason is hardly ever seen without his mask, and rarely for more than a couple of moments, never in advertising or trailers. Anyone who hasn't seen the movies likely has no idea what Jason looks like. He always has on a mask. He doesn't get the famous hockey mask until the third film – the second movie he serves as the antagonist for – but the Friday the 13th franchise is 12 movies long. Even the cover art for every subsequent Jason film is focused on the mask. Many of the Friday the 13th covers don't even show Jason, just his hockey mask. Only a few of them his famous machete which is often shown at an awkward angle. Some ads even show completely different weapons, such as an ax. While the machete is iconic where horror buffs are concerned, it will never live up to the fame of Jason’s hockey mask. Thus, the infamous moment from The Simpsons became Homer dressed as Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th – wearing a hockey mask and carrying a chainsaw – not a play on two separate horror villains.