Horror Movie Review: Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

A crossover movie starring Freddy Krueger & Jason Voorhees was first attempted way back in 1987. Studio disagreements over who could hold the rights to both characters & the film meant it was a non-starter. Even after the huge hint dropped at the end of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (Freddy’s gloved hand comes out of the ground to claim Jason’s mask) it would be another 10 years before audiences finally saw 2 of horrors most famous icons face off.

Freddy has been forgotten, the kids of Springwood don’t remember him & if they don’t remember him they can’t fear him rendering him powerless. In his own words “he can’t come back if nobody’s afraid!”

Freddy, in hell finds Jason & manipulates him (by pretending to be his mother) into going to Springwood to start a fresh killing spree. The idea being that the fear that would run rampant would be directed back towards Freddy seeing that Springwood has no idea who Jason Voorhees is.

It’s an interesting idea as it’s hard to see how else the two killers could have been mixed together & then eventually end up at odds.

Lori lives at 1428 Elm Street…recognise that house? That’s the house Nancy lived in & could be seen as Freddy’s base of operations. Home alone she is joined by a group of her friends, a mostly bland group of characters that you can’t wait to see die. Thankfully it doesn’t take long for the killing to start as Jason arrives & butchers a jock post sex-session. It’s pretty brutal as he gets stabbed multiple times in the back & is then folded up in half in the bed. It made me smile…

The police are over the scene quickly & few privately speculate that it looks like Freddy Krueger’s MO but are shot down by the Sherriff who is adamant that they’re not going to even talk about him.

More deaths come fast with Lori & her few surviving friends beginning to hear tales of the gloved murderer, Freddy. Elsewhere Loris ex-boyfriend Will has been incarcerated at a psychiatric facility where they are prescribed Hypnocil (remember that drug from Nightmare 3?) to block them from having dreams. It seems that those who’ve come into contact with Freddy in the past are here. Will sees the news report about Lori so escapes with his friend Mark believing her to be in danger from Freddy.

Freddy finally reachs full strength & begins to stalk a victim but before he can claim her Jason kills her. Freddy realises he has created a problem as Jason won’t stop leading to an eventual showdown between the 2 immortal killer.

Let’s be honest…that’s all we’re waiting for, the big fight scene that takes up the bulk of the final third. It’s fun & very silly…with Jason offering no lines & no facial expressions it’s up to Robert Englund in his final Freddy Kruger appearance to make it entertaining. Kruger is the star of the show, whether it is bad puns or general evilness he shines whenever he is on screen. Jason disappointingly isn’t played by Kane Hodder this time but it’s not a major problem as the Jason mannerisms are all there.

The rest of the cast…well, does it matter? Sure Lori, Will, Mark & a few others do a decent job of running around screaming while piecing together the unnecessarily complicated story. Others… well I have to mention Kelly Rowland (her of the pop group Destiny’s Child) who plays Kia. She is god-awful; I mean just the worst with cringe-worthy dialogue delivered with little conviction. The scene at the end where she teases Freddy is funny for all the wrong reasons & you just have to applaud Jason for shutting her up.

I liked that, I liked that regardless of their own beef (Freddy & Jason) they still take the time to kill the stupid teens that cross their paths. That’s dedication!

Freddy vs Jason does look good, gore & make-up looks particularly impressive. At times during the final big fight scene it does delve into a more comical route with Jason & Freddy tearing chunks out of each other but never seeming to do any real damage until they use each other’s respective weapons.

It’s hard not to get a kick out of this movie; it’s silly & doesn’t make a whole lot of sense (if Jason could leave Hell at any point, why hasn’t he?) but aims to entertain fans of both franchises. The dour bits tend to come when dealing with the cast that aren’t villains, they’re just not that much of an interesting bunch and you’re just waiting for the next death! Hmmm….that actually sounds like most of the movies in either franchise.

Its Freddy Krueger vs Jason Voorhees…what more do you want!? A cohesive story & interesting cast for the pair to gut their way through? Sorry…not happening but look, Freddy vs Jason! Have they distracted you yet?