Movie Info
Movie Name: Jason vs. Freddy
Studio: New Line Cinema
Genre(s): Horror
Release Date(s): August 15, 2003
MPAA Rating: R
Hot time in the old town tonight!
Freddy Krueger has lost all his power because the people of Springwood have forgotten him. With the goal of making them remember, Freddy tricks Jason Voorhees into being agent of death…causing the people of Springwood to think the horror of Elm Street has returned. As Freddy grows stronger, Jason keeps killing, and Freddy needs the children more than Jason does. Lori Campbell (Monica Keena) is dealing with her mother’s death and she and her friends find themselves caught in the middle of Freddy and Jason’s deathly game.
Directed by Ronny Yu, Freddy vs. Jason is a horror mash-up film which combines the franchises of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. The film follows Jason X from 2002 and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare from 1994. The film was met with negative reviews but performed strongly at the box office.
Freddy vs. Jason was a dream of childhood (and also mix in Michael Myers). My friends and I would talk about who would win in a fight, but the idea in the ’80s of a match-up actually happening felt like a pipe dream. Enter the 2000s and the battle finally happens…but the movie waited too long to develop.
Say my name, say my name, say my name!!!
If Freddy vs. Jason happened in 1989, it would have been the coolest event. The ’80s slasher mentality was completely different from the reflexive nature of 1990s horror. Horror movies became intentionally funny (you could argue that Freddy did that to them) and all killers seemed to be cracking jokes or were the butt of them. The movie does what it promises (a throwdown between the two), but it isn’t as fun or scary as it should be due to changes in the times.
Robert Englund continues to shine as Freddy Krueger. He knows how to deliver the lines and present his character. Jason never really needed much range and Ken Kirzinger takes over the role. Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, and Kelly Rowland play the main teens. Rowland demonstrates she’s not much of an actress, but the slasher film’s final girl’s best friend never has much luck surviving anyway.
Calling 1989…come in!
The movie is pretty poorly edited. It is jumpy and the action fight scenes aren’t put together well. The movie feels more like an action film through the course of the story and it would have benefited from more scares and jumps since Jason and Freddy were primarily surprise scares.
Freddy vs. Jason will satisfy fans of both the franchises, but it could have been better. The movie needed to be made ten or more years earlier for that to be accomplished, but surprisingly, the movie did not spawn a sequel despite its performance. Jason returned in the Friday the 13th reboot film in 2009 and Freddy returned in the A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot in 2010.
Related Links:
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)
Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
