Freddy vs Jason (2003) - Review Blitz
Originally published March 2015.Even though Jason X kind of tried to separate itself from the series a bit with the nature of its title, as well as how it disregarded the events of the previous films, it still feels like the 10th Friday the 13th movie. Freddy vs Jason separates itself even further because it is obviously a crossover between Nightmare on Elm St and Friday the 13th, the two biggest slasher franchises of the ‘80s. Yet, in terms of tone, it manages to be a little more along the lines of the Friday movies and Elm Street movies than Jason X or Jason Goes to Hell. It's a movie that doesn't feel tied to any chronology of the previous movies, but the way that it’s done shows real attention to the details that make up the Friday and Elm St movies.
What I’m trying to say is that I dig this movie a lot. I actually saw it in theaters before I really started to enjoy horror movies that weren't Alien and were thoroughly entertained by it. Before this movie, I’d never seen a movie from either franchise the whole way through, which I'm sure is blasphemy for most fans. But that means it did its job and got me interested in the rest--it did a hell of a lot better than the 2009 remake would have, but I'll get to that tomorrow. Regardless, since this was my first full romp into the franchise, I may be a little biased in my opinion of Freddy vs Jason, but to me, it’s a valid entry in either series, even though it's a crossover.
The movie opens with a recap of the Nightmare on Elm St movies and a close-up of Freddy Krueger, played by Robert Englund of course, speaking into the camera about how the kids of Elm Street managed to defeat him. They did so by forgetting about him, thus draining his power. Don't worry though, he has a plan to remedy that.
New Line Cinema
Once Freddy finishes his spiel, we cut to Jason stalking a random naked girl. Almost immediately, we meet the (fake) boobs quota of the ‘80s slasher movie. After killing the girl, he’s confronted by his mother. She tells Jason to go to Elm Street and punish the teenagers. After he walks off, it’s revealed that Freddy, naturally, is pulling the strings. His plan is to simply have Jason go and slaughter some horny teenagers and let the townspeople jump to conclusions about who might be responsible so that he might be able to regain some of his magical dream killing power.
The movie’s story revolves around Freddy more than Jason. To most of the characters, Freddy is the bigger threat, though, by the movie’s end, Freddy only kills one character and Jason gets maybe the highest body count of his killing career. So, the plot definitely feels more like a Nightmare movie than a Friday one with such a focus on Freddy, but Freddy has also been a deeper character anyway so it makes sense to focus more on him and just have Jason be the gambit of the movie.
Naturally, since this is a VS movie, eventually the murderous desires of the two killers cross paths with one another and Jason becomes more trouble than he’s worth to Freddy. It, unfortunately, takes a while to get to the point in the film where they turn enemies, but it’s worth the wait when it happens. The first part of their fight takes place in Jason’s dream, where Freddy proves to have a significant advantage.
Jason’s dream battle with Freddy is one of my favorite scenes because of the fact that they took the time to develop Jason more as a character. Freddy is all about preying on people’s fear, so he manages to find Jason’s pretty easily and exploit it. Seeing the behemoth in the hockey mask finally afraid of something is a pleasant surprise. They also utilized simple lighting effects to bring to light the themes they had been using to paint the scenes. Freddy is typically portrayed in red and heat, while Jason’s scenes had more of a blue tint to match the coolness of lake water.
Somehow the fight comes into the real world and the fighting gets even more intense and entertaining. Both the characters fight and behave the way you would expect of them before the movie finally ends in an appropriately poetic fashion.
Pros
Robert Englund is always a delight as Freddy
Some genuinely funny moments from both the humor and bad acting
The Nu-Metal soundtrack is probably a con for most people but definitely has some nostalgic qualities for me personally
The kills are entertaining
The fight scenes are worth the wait
Movie feels like it fits well in either series, though slightly more geared toward Nightmare
Jason character development, at last!
Theming through colors and cinematography
Dream scenes are pretty good
Cons
The 30-year old “teenagers” are all pretty boring and forgettable if it weren't for the fact they all look like (or are in some way related to) someone else more famous
Takes a while to get to the big confrontation
While nostalgic for the nu-metal soundtrack, I'm not going to say the music choice in this movie is necessarily a good thing
Final Thoughts
One of the better movies in either franchise, Freddy vs Jason is entertaining for both its horror and humor. The people who made this film clearly had a grasp on what made the made either series fun and did what they wanted to do without overstepping their boundaries to do so. Worth a watch for fans of either franchise.
Make sure to read our Friday the 13th Drinking Rules, part of our Hair of the Dog feature
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and check us out on Facebook!
Fan of death metal? Check out my band on Bandcamp and Soundcloud. If you like what you hear and want to hear more, head to HoundsofInnsmouth.com for more info!