"Being dead wasn't a problem, but being forgotten, now that's a BITCH. I can't come back if nobody remembers me. I can't come back if nobody's afraid. I had to search the bowels of Hell, but I found someone, someone who'll make 'em remember."
In one corner of the ring, Jason Voorhees. The legendary Crystal Lake Killer, known for his legendary hockey mask, and bloody machete. In the other corner of the ring, Freddy Krueger. The Springwood Slasher, known for his iconic fedora and knived glove. Both equally notorious titans of terror, and both equally disturbing characters to pit against each other in what I consider to be one of the most fun, terrifying, and hilarious movies ever to come into existence. Now, I know that many of you have seen this film, and many, undoubtedly, find my statement as to the movie being terrifying very funny. Well, I only mean the concept of the movie is terrifying. Freddy Krueger who has scared millions with his dream massacres, bringing to life Jason Voorhees, known equally as the bane of Camps and Camp Counselors worldwide to do his bidding, and then losing control. Many thought this movie would be a thrillride of terror. While I wouldn't go as far as calling this movie a masterpiece, I will admit that it is a very interesting, very fun, and very creepy movie. Both "Friday the 13th," which came out in 1980, and "A Nightmare on Elm Street," which came out in 1984, are both equally iconic movies in the horror genre. In many ways, "Friday the 13th" carried the horror-slasher mania of the eighties into full-force, after coming out close enough to John Carpenter's legendary masterpiece, "Halloween." "A Nightmare on Elm Street" took the slasher genre to an even higher pedastal by making the killer of the movies completely and utterly demented. Whereas Michael Myers, star-murderer of John Carpenter's "Halloween" and Jason Voorhees of the "Friday the 13th" series had a drive to their killings, Freddy, aside from being torched to death, had nothing but the bloodlust he died with. You know that when you pitch these two titans of terror against each other you're going to get one hell of an epic movie. While this movie does not end up being as terrifying as you would expect it to be, owing to the fact that Freddy Krueger, like he was in "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare," was more of a joker than he was the maniac killer he started out as, and the fact that Jason Voorhees' gestures and kills seemed to be more humorous in their movements and circumstances than was normally expected for the previous "Friday the 13th" films, it makes an epic contribution to BOTH series. While the movie doesn't quite make it's mark as better than the previous "A Nightmare on Elm Street" installment, "New Nightmare," it is a DEFINITE step up from the previous "Friday the 13th" installment, "Jason X," which, as many of you know, was an epic failure. "Freddy Vs. Jason" may fail to bring the ultimate and nerve-wracking scares that you would expect of it, but it is by no means a bad movie. It is a VERY enjoyable and fun film to watch.
Ronny Yu, whose directed another favorite of mine, "Bride of Chucky," takes it upon himself to take these two titans of terror and pit them against each other full force. Many directors have been assigned to both the "Friday the 13th" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, most prominent among them is Sean S. Cunningham, director of the original "Friday the 13th" series, and Wes Craven, director of the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" movie, and the previous/final installment of the same series, "New Nightmare." Ronny Yu had a lot to live up to on both ends, so it was almost inevitable that scare factor would have disappeared, or the movie would have failed, however I'm glad that it was the latter rather than the former that happened. I don't think I'd have had any more faith for "Friday the 13th" had "Freddy Vs. Jason" proved to be as hilarious as "Jason X" was. Even though I loved "Jason X" as a comedy movie, I still prefer Jason Voorhees as a horror killer, rather than comedic relief. Yu does a fantastic job of utilizing angles to make scenes look more intense and creepy. This is most prominent in the dream scene that Gibb experiences while passing out at the rave. There are so many different angles that they take the scene from to make the dream more frightening, and for the most part, this actually works. Yu also utilizes some excellent filters for the scenes as well. The most prominent of these is scene in another dream sequence. This dream is experienced by the movie's unintentional hero, Jason Voorhees. Jason and Freddy duke it out on Freddy's turf, and there are some excellent filters that really make the scene pop out as rather freaky and intense, while at the same time being hilarious and exciting. Definitely a great use of his talents on that scene. Yu is definitely one of the few horror directors that knows what he's doing. Damian Shannon and Mark Swift do the writing for the movie, basing the story around the brainchildren of Victor Miller and Wes Craven. Shannon and Swift do an excellent job at creating both a plausible story for the movie to go by, as well as creating a decent script that brings together both the elements that made Jason's victims so unique and the elements that made Freddy's victims so unique, and utilizing all of it very well. The writers of the movie definitely had a lot to undertake, but they handle it very well, and make one excellent movie to watch.
With both "Friday the 13th" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street' being known so well for excellent and visual kills, it's no wonder that "Freddy Vs. Jason" the movie that pits these two beacons of evil together, has some excellent visuals itself. First of all, the point of view for BOTH Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees was handled nicely. It went with what Jason was later on in the series: you saw him as he slashed up the screen, but it made you a little leary of how things would turn out. Freddy Krueger's point of view was like it was from the third "A Nightmare on Elm Street" movie through to "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare." Freddy was seen as he slashed across the screen and killed the people in their dreams. Both seemed to work out nicely for the scare factor of the movie, and made it very intense and enjoyable. Both Freddy and Jason are looking as epically scary as ever. Clearly the movie happens before "Jason X," and Mr. Voorhees' upgrade, so Jason is back to his normal hockey mask and jean attire, which I always found much more creepy than Uber Jason. Freddy is back in movie universe, so his attire is back to the normal burns and fedora and Christmas sweater. Also it's back to the original, home-made knife glove that Freddy created himself, which is great to see make it's come back. Both characters are equally scary as they slash up the screen and kill the characters and children that both characters feel so strongly about killing. The blood for the movie is definitely looking pretty realistic, and since both characters carve a bloody mess across the screen, this is definitely good. It's a lot more bloody than any of the other movies in either the "Friday the 13th" series OR the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, which is definitely saying something for both series. The kills in this movie are some of the most interesting. The most interesting kill of this movie, I'd have to say, belongs to Jason and the bed of doom. In the beginning of the movie, Jason stabs a man repeatedly with his machete, before grabbing both ends of the bed, and pulling it together, effectively snapping the man's spine, and breaking him in half. Definitely an excellent kill for the movie. One other excellent visual for the movie is one that deserves mention, but I refuse to go into detail over. This is the epic ending battle between Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. The one that everyone watching the movie held their breath for. Let me tell you that it has to be one of the most intense and kickass battle sequences I've ever seen, and it's literally a feast for your eyes. The visuals of this movie definitely do a great job of adding intensity and creepiness to the movie, which is definitely a good thing for a movie that pits two of Horror's greatest icons against each other.
The storyline of this movie definitely deserves some major points. It does a great job of pitting together, at what I repeatedly refer to as two two titans of terror. As I said earlier, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees both are iconic slashers and both make for one hell of a movie. While the movie's scare factor is pretty much gone, it definitely serves as an excellent and fun movie to watch. What I really enjoyed about the movie was the way that they chose of pitting Jason against Freddy. Freddy's plan to regain his powers was magnificent, down to his plot of using Jason, since it was easily guessed that Jason would not stop once he was let off of the proverbial dog chain, and his slashing and killing got in Freddy's way, which definitely was not planned by Freddy. I like this concept because it doesn't let those who are on Jason's side down, since it allows him to be equally as menacing as ever, and also lets us know that he cannot be so easily manipulated without consequences. Freddy doesn't let down his fans, either, since he won't be so easily deterred from making a prominent return to those children of elm street. He goes after Jason with a vengeance, and it seems as if his hard work is going to pay off. What I really liked about the movie, to be honest, how after a while, a definitive line was drawn, and it seemed as if Jason Voorhees had, much to his distaste, become the hero of the movie. However, we know this is completely untrue because even though Jason wants Freddy dead as much as everyone else does, he doesn't give a fuck who he kills on the way to get this. I like this. He's what I'd refer to as a hapless hero. Meaning, he wasn't thrown into the position by choice, but rather he was just thrown into it, and is doing his best to make the situation more bearable to himself. While the characters of the movie may not be that compelling, you're really only there to see Freddy and Jason duke it out while a bunch of teenagers get in their way and get massacred in the process. I know that sounds terrible, and many were probably rooting for the destruction of both Freddy and Jason, but this is what I felt in the movie. I was there to see the two kill each other, no holds barred. The movie also holds great continuity for both ways. At the end of "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday," Jason was banished back to hell, where he belonged, and Freddy said he finds Jason in the bowels of hell. Also, at the end of "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare," Freddy is supposedly killed once and for all, however Freddy explains that he can't completely die, and that all he needed was to be remembered and his legacy of terror would once again be reinstated. Also the events of the movie happen far before "Jason X," so that also works out nicely, too. All around the movie's continuity for both series works pretty nicely. Another thing that I really liked about this movie, was how it brought the two major elemental settings for both movies into one movie. In the beginning, we find ourselves at 1428 Elm Street. The very house that Nancy Thompson, and countless other young women and men have found themselves facing off against Freddy Krueger at. When we get towards the end, and the tide of battle shifts, we find ourselves at Camp Crystal Lake. The very Camp where countless other teenagers and young people have found themselves being stalked by Jason Voorhees at. It's awesome to see that the writers knew enough about what the fans want, to bring both of these places into the movie. I give the movie some definite points for having an excellent storyline to keep the whole thing going smoothly, as well as adding an intense and creepy/spooky feeling to the storyline, making it a worthy addition to BOTH the "Friday the 13th" AND the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series'.
The movie begins with Freddy Krueger (Played by Robert Englund of "Dead & Buried") giving a speech about how he's gone missing from the minds of everyone, and how it's a bitch being gone, but he's got a plan. He had to search the bowels of hell, but he's found someone that'll do the job for him. He's counting on Jason Voorhees (Played by Ken Kirzinger of "Screwed") to punish the children of Elm Street, and bring him back into the memories of everyone so that he can once again continue his reign of terror and gore. We see Jason beginning this job in a dream. He is on Crystal Lake, and killing a woman, when his mother, Pamela Voorhees (Played by Paula Shaw of "Insomnia," where she played a bit part), shows up, and tells him that the children of Elm Street have been very bad, and she wants them to be punished, so Jason wakes up. In reality, Jason has only been sleeping, though he was thought dead. We watch as his body begins to show signs of life. His heart beats, his lungs take in air, and soon his whole body sits up, and Jason Voorhees is reborn, once more. We cut to a scene where a group of girls, Lori Campbell (Played by Monica Keena of "Orange County") , Kia Waterson (Played by Kelly Rowland of "The Seat Filler"), and Gibb (Played by Katharine Isabelle of "Insomnia") as they are sitting around and hanging with each other. They are playing a game, when Gibb decides to go out and get some more beer. The others ask if she's alright to drive, but she just brushes off the comments, and heads out the door. As she is leaving, her boyfriend, Trey (Played by Jesse Hutch of "The Butterfly Effect"), and his friend Blake (Played by Davide Kopp of "Josie and the Pussycats"). They enter, and Trey has beer. They all start to mingle as Trey and Gibb go upstairs to make love. It is clear that Trey is a real jerk, as he orders her around. When they finish Gibb goes to take a shower. Meanwhile, downstairs, Kia and Lori talk about Blake, in whispers, as he sits and drinks. Kia thinks that she needs to be with him, but Lori refuses, since she remembers her time with Will. Kia tells Lori that she needs to get over Will, since he up and left her over a year ago. Lori refuses to listen. Back upstairs, it is clear that something is wrong. As Gibb takes her shower, and Trey reaches for a drink, Trey notices someone else in the room. Trey insults the man, who is Jason, as Jason starts to stab at him, soon enough, though he struggles valiantly, Trey is dead. They run screaming from the house when an officer, Deputy Scott Stubbs (Played by Lochlyn Munro of "A Guy Thing"), finds them in the street. The officers at the scene start to talk about it as everything is tagged, they discuss Freddy Krueger, whom they apparently are trying to keep under wraps, because when one of the offciers says it out loud, the lead officer, Sheriff Williams (Played by Gary Chalk of "Trapped"), shushs him, and ushers everyone out of the house, saying he doesn't want any Freddy business spreading around. We cut to a scene as Will Rollins (Played by Jason Ritter of "Smash the Kitten") and his friend, Mark Davis (Played by Brendan Fletcher of "21st Century Scott") as they take their medicine at the institute where they're staying. It's clear soon, that Will is the Will that Lori was talking about, when he sees the news broadcasting of her house on the TV behind the medicine counter. He asks the man to turn it up, but he refuses, and soon Will starts a ruckus. The man behind the counter pulls out a package with needles in it, and Mark soon grabs Will and drags him away. They talk about why they're there, being thought for crazy. That night, as Will obssesses over having to see if Lori is alright, Mark sneaks out of their room, causes a ruckus, and steals the guards keys. The two of them escape, with Mark drugged from being detained, and drive away in a van. As Lori stays the night in the station, trying to remember the name she overheard the cops mention. As she does, she wakes up from a dream, she realizes. What she finds out, though, is that the entire police station is empty. As she walks out of the room she fell asleep in, she sees a trail of blood leading away from the room. She follows it, and finds herself with a little girl. When Lori asks the girl if she is alright, the girls turns and her eyes are gouged out. She warns Lori that Freddy's coming back, whether she likes it or not. Lori screams, amd suddenly jerks awake. The next day, as she is finally let loose, she argues with her father, Dr. Campbell (Played by Tom Butler of "Josie and the Pussycats"), about whether she should go to school or not. We see him try and drug her so she can get some sleep, but it fails. When she gets to school, she finds out from Kia and Gibb that Blake was killed the previous night, too, as well as his father. They go about school, and as they're walking, they run into Charlie Linderman (Played by Chris Marquette of "The Tic Code"), who tries to ask Lori out on a date, but Kia is a bitch and tells him off. They get invited to a party by a kid named Bill Freedburg (Played by Kyle Labine of "Spooky House"). She takes the invite and walks on, but starts to talk to Kia and Gibbs about her dream, and explaining Freddy, when she runs into Will and Mark, both freshly escaped from the institution. She faints, and wakes up in the ifirmary, finding out that Will and Mark had escaped when every swarmed around her. She decides to go to the party with Kia and Gibbs to take her mind off of things. At the party, though, Linderman shows up and tries to talk with Lori once more, and when Kia bitches him out again, he tells her off and leaves. Soon Will shows up at the party, and him and Lori talk with each other. Meanwhile, Gibb wanders off, and finds herself in a barn silo, face to face with Freddy Krueger, who has now returned to power. However, as Freddy is about to kill her, Jason shows up, and kills her first, as well as killing off the other kids at the party one by one. Freeburg and Linderman show up and run with Kia, Lori, and Will as they try to escape Jason. They find the body of Gibb, and freak out, but are forced to keep going. They get into Will's van, and leave. However, what everyone doesn't realize, is that something far bigger than they'd ever imagined is going down, as Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees begin to battle each other. No one is safe awake or asleep. It's Freddy Vs. Jason; place your bets! All of the actors and actresses in this movie manage their parts well. They're not the best of the best, but they manage nicely. They get each of their respective characters' feelings, worries, emotions, and other such characteristics down very nicely, making excellent characters. Chief among the actors, though, are Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger, and Ken Kirzinger as Jason Voorhees. Englund manages Freddy so well, as he has done in the past, and really makes the character as sick and demented as you would expect him to be. Kirzinger manages Jason very nicely, getting down all of the proper movements and gestures that help make Jason the big, bad killer that everyone knows him to be, really making his mask, an inanimate object, coming to life. I really think he outshines all of the past people who played Jason Voorhees, including Kane Hodder, who took the role for the longest span of movies, going from "Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives," through "Jason X." He's not as good as Derek Mears in the "Friday the 13th" remake, but he does one of the best jobs as the masked killer that I've ever seen. They were both spectacularly played charachters, and the rest of the cast manage their parts nicely, rounding out the movie nicely, and helping to make it pretty spooky, creepy, exciting, fun, and intense. Definitely a pretty good job on the casting of this movie.
All in all, this was a great movie that helps to bring two of Horror's biggest icons together for one brutal, and gory bloodfest that'll appease even the biggest fans of both Freddy Krueger AND Jason Voorhees. It may not be the scariest movie in the world like some fans had expected, but it's definitely a great addition to both series, and the continuity it keeps for both is a definite plus. The Director of this movie does a great job of making the movie really creepy and spook by using excellent angles and filters, that really bring out these feelings of creepiness and spookiness, as well as making it exciting and intense, as well. DEFINITELY a great job on the Directing of this movie. The Writers of this movie made a great storyline that really helps to bring these two titans of terror together, and make for one excellent battle royale. Their characters may not be the best, but the movie overall is definitely very well done. DEFINITELY a great job on the Writing of this movie. The Visuals of this movie are as awesome as they ever were for both the "Friday the 13th" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series'. The point of view for both killers are done very well, the killers themselves look as awesome as ever, the blood is pretty realistic, the kills are done spectacularly as ever, and the final battle scene is done very well. All of these visuals really help the creepiness, eerieness, intensity, and excitement of the movie very well. DEFINITELY a great job on the Visuals of this movie. The Storyline of this movie is done very well, also. They create an EXCELLENT storyline to bring Freddy and Jason against each other, and bring out the best of both worlds for the movie, too, making for a very creepy, exciting, spooky, eerie, and intense movie. Just what the fans of both the "Friday the 13th" series AND the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series were expecting from the movie when it was coming out, I'm sure. DEFINITELY a great job on the Storyline of this movie. The Acting ties everything about this movie together. All of the Actors and Actresses in this movie deliver performances as characters that are PRETTY Convincing, PRETTY Believable, and PRETTY Realistic, as well as delivering performances as characters that you don't REALLY feel for, although I'm not sure how well you could RELATE TO them, but you do kind of care for, on VARIOUSLY different levels. DEFINITELY a pretty good job on the Casting of this movie. So if you're a fan of Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, "Friday the 13th," and "A Nightmare on Elm Street," then this is definitely the movie for you to see. It's very fun, and it has some of the most epic kills and battles that I've ever seen. So give it a try. I'm almost POSITIVE that you will not get disappointed with it in the SLIGHTEST. I know I didn't!!!!!
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