Freddy vs Jason (Freddy-Centric)

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The time has come for me to review this for a second time, but as a Freddy movie, as the first time around I did it as a Jason movie. Here's that review, but if you don't want to read a full second review on the same movie, the gist of it is that the film disappoints more as a Jason movie, seeing as he's more or less a pawn being played first by Freddy and then by our group of heroic teens. It seemed too easy to get into Jason's head and manipulate him. Although he does go on the killing spree we all want him to, it feels fueled by all the wrong reasons.

My personal connection to this is actually pretty big. After seeing all seven of the necessary Freddy flicks, those Jason jams were next on my list. I found myself genuinely appreciating horror by the time this would come along in 2003, making me 21 at the time of its release. I dabbled here and there in the few years leading up to it, and Michael Myers and Chucky were all a part of it too. It was like playing one massive game of catch-up. So, when this was released, I was super excited and didn't actually have too much of a "wait" on it since it was just a few years before that I'd seen all of the original material. So to see both a Freddy and Jason movie on the big screen for my first big screen experience with either of them was kind of a big deal for me.

By the time the movie was over, I was really quite pleased with it. There were certain things to take into consideration and criticize, but in truth, I've never had any sort of genuine problem with this title. The closest it comes is the idea that they made Jason afraid of water, which simply does not compute. However, for the film's purposes, it does work. Jason had to be afraid of something for Freddy to get into his head, and the only other real solution might have been a constant imitating of his mother. That would have been a disappointment all around, because if you ask me, the only Freddy Krueger is Robert Englund and the same goes for Betsy Palmer playing Pamela Voorhees - and at this point she was still around (although to be fair, she may not have wanted to take on that role again).

Going back to seeing this as a Freddy film, it all starts when Freddy (Robert Englund) finds Jason (Ken Kirzinger) in Hell and resurrects him, sending him to 1428 Elm Street to start killing for him. If Freddy can make people think of him again, and fear him again, he can come back and wreak havoc on a whole new generation of nightmare-ridden teens. Starting with Jason's first kill at a small party taking place at 1428 Elm Street (the famous house of the 'Elm Street' franchise), Freddy's name is uttered by a cop, and the kids at the party all overhear. Among them are Lori Campbell (Monica Keena), and her best friends, Kia (Kelly Rowland) and Gibb (Katharine Isabelle). It's not long before Lori starts dwelling on the name of Freddy and starts having her own nightmares - but with Freddy still not quite powerful enough yet.

Meanwhile, Lori's old boyfriend, Will (Jason Ritter) and his friend, Mark (Brendan Fletcher) are being treated at the Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital (as seen in 'Dream Warriors'). Will sees a news feed that shows the murder that occurred at 1428 Elm; now the home of Lori, and soon escapes with Mark's help in an attempt to get back to protect Lori and the others as well as reveal secrets about their past with Mark remembering, in particular, Freddy killing his older brother. As Freddy fear starts to spread, Krueger soon gets powerful enough to do some real damage - if only Jason would stop taking away his victims and robbing his body count, which ultimately leads to the feud between the two horror titans.

Along the way, we also meet the likes of the expendable geek, Charlie Linderman (Chris Marquette), expendable cop, Deputy Scott Stubbs (Lochlyn Munro) and expendable stoner, Bill Freeberg (Kyle Labine) who is so much like Jason Mewes of 'Jay & Silent Bob' fame that the documentary 'Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy' does a tongue in cheek interview with Mewes for a couple of seconds. Linderman has a bit of a crush on Lori, Stubbs is the only cop in town willing to help, and Freeberg is there to speak to all the stoners watching - unnecessarily there other than to provide comic relief, but I will say that the Freddy caterpillar scene (in an homage to 'Alice in Wonderland') is one Freddy scene I genuinely enjoy here. I mention in my Jason-centric review that this is much more of a Freddy movie, and I stick by that. For this reason, I think that's why I tend to lean towards enjoying this.

Personally speaking, I think the film gets far too much flack for what it is. When we watch a "vs" movie, more often than not, what we really want to see is those two characters duking it out, be it 'Alien vs Predator', 'Godzilla vs King Kong' or these two, who were about ten years in the making. Maybe that's just me, but I felt like I got that and the film expanded on Freddy's lore while providing some fan service with things like Westin Hills and the non FDA approved drug Hypnocil (also from "Dream Warriors'). I think the overall concept for this is great, but can admit that some aspects of it lack - most of which is the Jason aspect. So, when all said and done, I'd still recommend this to Freddy fans and implore them to really take a look at all the neat things they have scattered throughout the film. However to Jason fans, not so much, as he's really just a blood-thirsty pawn here.

Body Count: 1
​Total: 30

​4/5

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