Freddy vs. Jason

Director - Ronny Yu (Bride of Chucky, Fear Itself)

Starring - Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm. St, Supernatural), Ken Kirzinger (Stan Helsing, The X-Files), and Monica Keena (Aftermath, Night of the Demons)

Release Date - 2003

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Place your bets"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I was in high school I was already fully obsessed with horror.  Movies like Thir13en Ghosts, Idle Hands, Jason X, and so on were movies that were hitting store shelves during these years.  When I was a sophmore or junior in high school the battle all horror fans wanted, Freddy Vs. Jason, was finally getting the big screen treatment.  This was something that had been hinted at a decade earlier during the end scene of Jason Goes to Hell.  Fans wanted to see these two slasher titans face off and the movie was finally here.  I went to theaters with my brother to watch it and then rushed out to pick it up after school when it got a physical release.  I loved it...but it did not age well and now I feel stupid that I actually enjoyed it all those years ago.

      The film follows the kids of Elm street who is being hunted down by the Crystal Lake slasher Jason.  Freddy scoured Hell looking for someone to help him the kids of Elm street remember him so he can regain his powers.  Jason's rampage works and the kids on Elm street start dreaming about Freddy but Jason doesn't stop forcing the two to face off over who has the right to slaughter the teens.  

     I can remember watching Freddy vs. Jason several times in high school and once or twice when I was in college.  I enjoyed it at the time which is why I watched it so many time.  However, it did not fucking age well and it was rough to finish especially if you marathon all the films like I did.  It almost works as A Nightmare on Elm St. movie but even then it comes up short.  The acting in this one is a little better than Jason X but not by much.  Robert Englund delivers another amazing performance as the iconic Freddy.  This character's personality is unforgettable and at this point Englund is the only one that can do it right.  The others characters are ok but we only want to see them die.  I know that's an asshole thing to say but in a Freddy vs. Jason film we want to watch them both hack and slash through teens.  The story for this one is, once again, on the goofy side.  It doesn't feel like a very good continuation of the Friday the 13th film but you can almost see if as another ANOES.  The film uses an interesting idea to bring the two together BUT there could have been so many other ways to get these to face off.  With that being said, a lot of the scenarios the "teens" find themselves in and how they handle it just feels rushed and not thought out.  I feel like the film was brought together in a brainstorming session with not rewriting or polishing done to it.  Finally, the film has several death scenes and does not shy away from the blood.  Some of these use practical effects but most use some form of dated visual effects that really takes away from the kill.  Some of the more entertaining death scenes features some of the most laughable visual effects.  Overall, Freddy vs Jason was a huge part of my high school experience but after revisiting it 17 years later I have to admit that it's a read dud.  This one accompanies Jason X as being the worst installments in the franchise.