Freddy versus Jason is an American slasher horror film from New Line Cinema and director Ronny Yu. The film was produced by Sean S. Cunningham and based on a script from Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a film that combines the franchises of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. It serves as the eighth film in the Elm Street franchise and the eleventh in the Friday the 13th. The film stars Monica Keena, Kelly Rowland, Jason Ritter, Chris Marquette, Lochlyn Munro, and returning as Freddy Kruger for the final time, the legendary, Robert Englund. Suiting up in the hockey mask, but no stranger to the series is Ken Kirzinger as Jason Voorhees.

I am watching the 2004 New Line Home Entertainment VHS release. It’s a terrific transfer that features some great trailers for Freddy vs Jason soundtrack, Willard, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and a commercial for the DVD format.

Synopsis

It's been nearly ten years since Freddy Krueger terrorized people in the dreams, and the townsfolk want to keep him erased from their memory. Freddy still has one more plan on getting back to Elm Street. He resurrects Jason Voorhees and sends him off to kill. The more bodies which fall to the ground, the stronger in which Freddy becomes. This is until, Freddy realizes that Jason isn't going to step aside easily, and must be taken down himself.

Analysis

Kelly Rowland should stick to her singing career. Her acting is horrible and leaves a lot to be desired. Same with Monica Keena, who has a bit more experience under her belt. However, as a leading actress, she just didn’t do it for me. Ginger Snaps alum Katharine Isabelle was the stand-out here. She made the scenes and her character seemed to have the most depth out of the friends of Lori Campbell. It sucks that she had so much trouble with director Ronny Yu.

Robert Englund as Freddy Kruger is as common as a cold. So it’s tough to say that he did better than any of his other performances. I loved his banter the creative kills he had. But I also appreciated the send-off that we got. It’s funny that Ken Kirzinger was in Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan as a diner cook that gets thrown into a wall by Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder). Now, Kirzinger gets to play the teen-slashing serial killer himself.

This is a slasher movie that follows a lot of the usual tropes like stalking and throat slitting. But it falls back on the comedy a bit too often. During the showdown between Freddy and Jason, the film becomes a bit of an action feature for a few minutes. The beginning isn’t the smoothest and it’s a damn shame that Betsy Palmer didn’t come back to reprise her role as Mrs. Voorhees. But I felt that the filmmakers executed it as best they could. I appreciated the minor nods to previous entries in the series and enjoyed the creative kill scenes. But I hated Jason’s aversion to water. He literally lives in a lake.

I am a sucker for the practical effects that were used. But the CGI is too much. There is a badass scene with Jason fully engulfed in flames that looks amazing. But then we have computer-generated blood, gore, and creature effects that look horrible. The stoner caterpillar scene is just one example of these terrible effects. The fast-paced, music-video style that Ronny Yu employed here is annoying at times. But it doesn’t hurt the film enough to stop me from watching it. The editing and direction just date it badly. Strangely enough, the nu-metal soundtrack has grown on me.

Overall

Freddy vs Jason is an overblown mess. It was heavily hyped around its release and everyone was talking about seeing it. I remember going to see this movie at the Pearl City Mall and the theater was packed. Everyone was yelling and screaming. It was awesome. And it was my first time seeing Freddy or Jason on the big screen. But the movie itself isn’t much more than a fun send-off for both franchises. It’s not a good movie. But it’s great for a Halloween marathon and it’s light enough for everyone to enjoy. Just be warned that the bad CGI can kill it.

Did Ya Know: The biggest problem that occurred on-set was a fight between Director Ronny Yu and Katharine Isabelle (Gibb), who had signed onto the film on the promise that she would not have to do nude scenes. During the shoot, Yu went back on this promise, and repeatedly tried to pressure her to get naked.

Bonus Content: Brent Chapman (Blake's father) and Kyle Labine (Freeburg) appeared in Halloween: Resurrection (2002), making them the first actors to appear in a Freddy, Jason, and Michael Myers film.