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Director: Ronny Yu
Release Date: August 15th, 2003
Rating: R for pervasive horror violence/gore, gruesome images, sexuality, drug use and language
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 I know what you're probably thinking. "Oh, no. Not another one of these movies. I can't believe anyone would pay money to see this crap, let alone, Scott Manning, a lover of fine cinema."
I never thought that for a second. In fact, from the first notion of a movie containing two cult figures of horror going at it in a battle to the death, Freddy Vs Jason became one of the most exciting things I could think of watching this summer.
You may mock it, but give it some thought. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you see a hockey mask? What is the first thing you think about when you see a glove with six-inch long blades coming out the fingers? What is the first thing you think of when you hear the name Jason or Freddy? These two monsters are ingrained in American society and there's no getting rid of them. They are known for their excesive violence and cheesy plot sequels.
So why not throw them together in a movie? This battle has been waiting to happen for nearly twenty years.
My journey
The story of getting to this movie is almost as entertaining as the movie itself. After underestimating the popularity of the film, I didn't buy tickets ahead of time. The movie was sold-out at two locations and we ended up driving to a theater nearly 30 miles away out in the middle of nowhere just to get to a place that had available tickets.
Don't let that fool you though. The theater was definitely packed.
The plot
So what amazing plot could the creators of this film come up with? To be honest with you, I just went for the fight, but there was a plot nonetheless.
Using a mixture of anti-dreaming drugs and playing Big Brother, the people of Elm Street have erased any memory of Freddy Krueger (still played by Robert England) from the minds of the children. Freddy, finding himself powerless and unable to kill innocent teenagers like he does so well, manipulates Jason Voorhees (played by Ken Kirzinger) into reeking havoc in his stead. Freddy's hope is that the memory of him will return until the kiddies start dreaming again, enabling his nightmarish return.
The plan sounds practically fool-proof until Jason won't stop killing kids. And Freddy prefers to get his hands dirty by doing the killing himself. The battle for killing rights then ensues on Elm Street and ends up in a grand finale on Jason's home turf, Camp Crystal Lake.
Upon taking polls at work and discussing the battle with friends, the most common conclusion is that there will be no winner. Since the rules of the fight were not defined anywhere in the movie, I'm going to institute my own: Two men in; one man out. Or how about last man standing?
Going by either of those rules, there is a clear victor in this movie.
Worth the money? Depends on what you're buying.
If you're going to this movie expecting to see the next contestant at the Oscars this year, you're obviously a moron. But if you go to this movie expecting to see another horror flick with two of the most prominent personalities in slasher films go at it in an epic battle that will be referred to and discussed in pop-culture for decades to come, then you won't be disappointed.
It is worth mentioning that there are other people in this movie and most of them do end up dead in some sort of violent manner.
Freddy Vs Jason: Who did you bet on?
Related links:
Freddy Vs Jason Official Website
Box office stats
Update: August 25, 2003
I've heard a few rumors about there being alternate endings to Freddy Vs Jason. After doing some research, I found an article by MTV News that says, "Robert Englund had previously suggested alternate endings to Freddy Vs. Jason that have yet to materialize - perhaps they'll be on the DVD version - and much can change in the development process." |
