The setting remains Crystal Lake, five years after the original massacre, but the counselor training school is now a remote, survivalist-style camp focused on wilderness skills. Paul Holt, a gruff ex-military instructor, leads a group of trainees including Ginny, Sandra, Jeff, and the wheelchair-bound Mark, among others. The legend of Jason Voorhees, now a local boogeyman, is more deeply ingrained in the area's folklore, with whispers of his continued presence in the surrounding woods.

Instead of a campfire story, Paul uses a rigorous training exercise in the woods to tell the legend, testing the trainees' fear and resilience. This exercise, however, inadvertently stirs something sinister. Crazy Ralph's warnings are more frantic, tied to a sense of impending doom he feels emanating from the deeper parts of the forest. The local deputy, Winslow, is now a more skeptical character, initially dismissing the legend but becoming increasingly unnerved by strange occurrences.