Freddy vs Jason 2003 Film Directed by Ronny Yu
Friday 13th Meets Nightmare on Elm Street in Cross Over Horror Film
Sep 22, 2009
Two of the titans of the slasher genre are about to clash as Freddy Kruger resurrects serial killer Jason Voorhees. Caught in the middle are a group of helpless teens who aren’t safe regardless of whether they are asleep or awake.
Plot and Characters of Freddy vs. Jason
Freddy Kruger (Robert Englund reprising the character from the Nightmare on Elm Street Franchise) is trapped in Hell after the children of Springwood have forgotten about him, which prevents him from entering their dreams. Whilst in Hell he resurrects the serial killer Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger) from Friday 13th. Freddy uses the disguise of Jason's mother (because she was the only one he ever listened to) to send him to Springwood to put the fear back into the children.
Jason kills several people in short order and the residents begin to think that Freddy is back once again. Initially their fear is not strong enough to allow Freddy to kill any of them, so he allows Jason to have some fun.
However, as Freddy gets stronger he begins to target the children only for them to be murdered by Jason infuriating Freddy who has been unable to kill anyone. Within the dream world Freddy works to destroy Jason but their final confrontation takes place in the real world.
The pair engages in several battles in both the dream and real worlds with the hapless teenagers caught in the middle.
Uniting Two Horror Franchises
Freddy Vs Jason was an attempt to unite two horror icons and basically allow them to have a massive fight over a group of teens. The young cast are made up of several beautiful and clichéd characters. The main screaming heroen is Lori Campbell (Monica Keener), her friends Kia Waterson (Kelly Rowland) and Gibb (Katharine Isabelle), Lori’s lost love Will Rollins (Jason Ritter) and geek Charlie Linderman (Chris Marquette).
There are other members of the cast, including the thoroughly unpleasant boyfriend of Gibb who essentially treats her like dirt (and not surprisingly he meets a grisly end after having sex with her) and his friend Blake who is interested in Lori.
Essentially everyone in the film serves as the meat for Freddy or Jason. The pair hack and slash their way through the majority of the teens with the audience left to wonder who of them (if any) will survive until the credits role.
The title of the film is Freddy Vs Jason; however, the fights between the two don’t happen until later on. The film follows two tracks with the first following Jason as he slices his way through the youth of Springwood. Then deals with Freddy as he lurks in his dream world growing stronger and becoming increasingly angry at Jason’s inability to stop killing the Springwood teens.
Freddy Kruger is a killer that makes jokes as he stalks his victims, he is a delight, and was the only reason to watch the later films in the Nightmare on Elm Street Series. Freddy is huge and invulnerable, he walks slowly and ominously as he stalks his victims, and is able to smash through metal doors with ease.
Fans of either or both genres will be delighted to see the two together. The title could have been Freddy and Jason kill a few teens and then fight, which admittedly is not as catchy but it would let the audience know exactly what they are in for. There is nothing new on offer here. The invincible serial killer Jason still hacks his way mercilessly through anyone in his path and Freddy lurks in the dream world ready to dispatch anyone unfortunate enough to have fallen asleep.
5/10
A film that does what is says on the tin, Freddy fights Jason. A fan of either franchise will enjoy seeing the two icons battling one another.
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