Freddy vs. Jason (2003) New Line/Horror RT: 97 minutes Rated R (language, graphic violence and gore, nudity, sexual content, teen drug and alcohol use, partying) Director: Ronny Yu Screenplay: Damian Shannon and Mark Swift Music: Graeme Revell Cinematography: Fred Murphy Release date: August 15, 2003 (US) Cast: Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland, Christopher George Marquette, Brendan Fletcher, Lochlyn Munro, Katharine Isabelle, Kyle Labine, Tom Butler, Zack Ward, Gary Chalk, Jesse Hutch, David Kopp, Paula Shaw. Box Office: $82.5 million (US)/$114.8 million (World) Body Count: 20
Rating: *** ½
As a slasher movie fan, I dreamed about how cool a fight between horror icons Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger would be. A crossover between the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises had been in and out of development since ’87. The final moments of Jason Goes to Hell indicated that such a flick was imminent, but it took Freddy vs. Jason an additional ten years to materialize.
When it finally opened, I could barely contain my excitement. I took the day off from my job so I could attend the very first showing that Friday afternoon. Much to my delight, it was every bit as epic as I hoped it would be. Opinions vary as to whether Freddy vs. Jason counts as an F13 or NOES flick. I count it among the former myself. Either way, it totally rocks. For one thing, director Ronnie Yu (Bride of Chucky) doesn’t skimp on the red stuff. The blood flows, squirts, shoots and splatters. This picture is knee deep in it. Now for the bad news. It’s mainly the CGI kind. Sadly, the movie buys into the whole CGI movement which sucks because it takes something crucial away from the experience. Call me old-fashioned, but I’ll take the cheesy effects from the original 1984 NOES any day. To me, they look more real and far scarier than anything a computer can generate.
It’s been a long time since Freddy (Englund) terrorized the Elm Street teens and he’s feeling itchy. The adults have made sure that he’s a forgotten figure from the past as a way of preventing their kids from bringing him back through their nightmares. This has rendered him powerless and trapped in Hell. In order to regain his powers, he manipulates Jason (Kirzinger) into doing his bloody work for him. In disguise as Pamela Voorhees (Shaw), he tells Jason that the kids of Elm Street have been bad and need to be taught a lesson. He sends Jason topside to claim a few victims hoping that it will inspire enough fear to give him back his powers.
There’s a new family living at 1428 Elm Street. Lori (Keena, Undeclared) lives there with her widowed father (Butler, Renegades) and is on her own for the night. She’s entertaining a group of friends- Gibb (Isabelle, Ginger Snaps), Kia (Destiny’s Child member Rowland), Trey (Hutch, The Butterfly Effect) and Blake (Kopp)- when the trouble starts. Jason shows up and murders Trey right after he and Gibb have sex. Lori knows right away something’s up by the peculiar behavior of the police. They’re hiding something, namely they think they know who did it. Since it’s not in the town’s best interest to even speak Krueger’s name, they come up with a cover story and hope the matter will be dropped. Not bloody likely!
At a nearby psychiatric hospital, Lori’s ex-boyfriend Will (Ritter, Parenthood) finds out about the murders in his old neighborhood and escapes with his friend and fellow patient Mark (Fletcher, Rampage). The two head back to Springwood to tell the others about Freddy and inadvertently make the problem worse. Now that the teens are terrified, Freddy regains his powers and no longer needs Jason. Unfortunately, Jason is bent on continuing his latest killing spree. This creates quite a problem between the two slashers with Lori and her friends right in the middle of it.
The fights between Freddy and Jason are awesome! The former has his bladed glove while the latter wields his trademark machete. I’m glad to see that writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift came up with an intelligent way to bring Freddy and Jason together. Not only that, they make excellent use of each one’s abilities- Freddy going back and forth between dreams and the real world and Jason’s indestructibility.
Freddy vs. Jason is the coolest horror movie match-up since Godzilla met King Kong in ’62. It’s one of the rare instances where a highly anticipated movie lives up to fans’ expectations. It could just as easily gone the opposite way a la Phantom Menace. I like that the makers assembled a decent cast for this outing. Keena is such a good actress and so underappreciated. Rowland makes a pretty good debut with her first acting role. Ritter obviously inherited his father’s (the late John Ritter) gift for the craft. Englund is awesome as usual in the role that made him famous. It doesn’t seem like he’s bored with the character at all. Kirzinger makes a decent Jason, but Hodder’s absence is still felt (he played the role four times!).
The score by Graeme Revell is also quite good. You almost don’t notice that Harry Manfredini isn’t involved with this installment.
As for the killings, the highlights are as follows: a man get folded in half backwards on a bed after being stabbed repeatedly, a teen is cut in half, a decapitation, a teen gets impaled on a shelf bracket, a man is crushed by a metal door and many teens at a rave are slashed by a machete (lots of blood spray!). But the real highlight is the knock-down, drag-out fight between Freddy and Jason in the movie’s final act. Believe me when I say it’s a real doozy!
Also believe me when I say Freddy vs. Jason is freaking awesome! This is what a mad slasher flick is supposed to be. It neatly combines aspects of both franchises into one cohesive story. It’s exceptionally well-made and a great way to close the series (at least for now). I want to see more F13 flicks. Specifically, official entries in the series and NOT a remake or a reboot like the 2009 abomination. Freddy vs. Jason is the best F13 flick since Jason Lives. Truly a modern slasher classic!
