Movie Review

Freddy vs. Jason (R)

Guylaine Cadorette

Photos| Movie Info

Hollywood.com Says
Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees leaves the cozy confines of Camp Crystal Lake for Elm Street, where he meets his most dangerous adversary yet--A Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger. But this town only has room for one slasher--who will it be?

Story
About 10 years ago, the residents of Springwood ended Freddy Krueger's legendary reign of terror by drugging the town's teens to prevent them from dreaming and locking away the ones who wouldn't forget the master of nightmares. But as Freddy points out, "being forgotten was a bitch." In order to emerge from his purgatory, Freddy needs to instill fear back on the 1400 block of Elm Street--and he thinks he has found his ticket with the hockey-mask-wearing serial killer Jason Voorhees. Taking the form of Jason's dead mother, Freddy invades Jason's dreams and instructs him to leave Crystal Lake and head to Elm Street to do some slaughtering. The plan actually works and as the town becomes fearful once more, Freddy is able to prey on their vulnerability. But whom will Freddy torment if Jason slashes all the teens in town? As advertised by the studio, the two '80s horror icons eventually engage in the ultimate showdown. Moviegoers, however, will have to check out the movie to find out who wins the face-off, but the question is, is it worth it? If you are not a fan of either franchise, be prepared to sit through a shoddy story that is missing the tension and buildup so prevalent in Wes Craven's original 1984 thriller A Nightmare on Elm Street. If you are devotee, the melding of Freddy and Jason on the big screen is a pretty delicious treat, but the battle's outcome may ultimately frustrate fans.

Acting
Almost 20 years ago, Robert Englund gained cult status as Freddy Krueger--a horror icon as recognizable as Boris Karloff's Frankenstein. Now, Englund's name has become so synonymous with this character that replacing him would be catastrophic--and with good reason; this character actor is cause enough to go see the Freddy vs. Jason. This is Englund's eighth time going under the putty knife and he appears to still be having a blast playing Freddy. Although the character's physical appearance hasn't changed a bit (he still wears that skanky, striped sweater and his razor fingers are still charmingly low-tech) but his quips are more sarcastic than ever. "What's the matter, Lori," the dream-crasher taunts his victim. "Miss your wake-up call?" Former stunt performer Ken Kirzinger portrays Freddy's challenger, Friday the 13th's Jason Vorhees. Different actors portrayed the character in 6 of the 10 installments of the Friday series; the last four sequels starred Kane Hodder. But since Jason sports a hockey mask and doesn't talk, he doesn't have many personality traits to note--unless you count his slashing technique. So while Kirzinger is a convincing enough Jason, it's safe to assume this stunt man was probably hired more for his ability to crash through glass and go up like a human torch rather for any likeness to Jason.

Direction
Director Ronny Yu, who helmed the psycho doll thriller Bride of Chucky in 1998, is no stranger to the horror genre. Freddy vs. Jason is well done, especially Yu's subtle transitions from the characters' realities to dreamland. This is where the director manages to inject a bit of tension into the film by playing mind games with the audience: When a character heads towards imminent danger, the audience is never sure if they have fallen asleep and are dreaming or if what is happening is real--until a visual clue pops up, like a bleating goat appearing where it clearly doesn't belong. Yu does this with a sense of humor and a bit of '80s nostalgia, which is sure to please connoisseurs of the franchise. But the problem with Freddy vs. Jason is that it is so busy not taking itself too seriously that it fails to instill fear. Screenwriters Damian Shanning and Mark Swift had the thorny task of blending Freddy's supernatural and somewhat intellectually superior storylines with Jason's thuggish, slasher plots and the result is story that leans more towards the brutish. The buildup and tension that made Nightmare on Elm Street so eccentrically frightening is gone and Freddy is brought down to Jason's level, forced to fight physically rather than use his manipulative mind power. Watching the two malevolent entities hacking away at each other, Freddy and Jason have almost been reduced to standing jokes.

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