“Why won’t you die!?”
I was really dreading this one, walking
into it. I’ve hated almost every movie in the Friday the
13th franchise, and have only seen the first flick
in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. I was
shockingly surprised by Freddy vs. Jason, though.
It’s occasionally creepy, often hilarious, and always
entertaining. The material wears thin by the end, and it’s
definitely not one of the better movies playing across the nation,
but I had a tremendously fun time watching it.
From a marketing standpoint, New Line is
genius. It’s not a new idea to make a movie, which features two
legendary, unstoppable villainous monsters fight to the death
(though the loser never really dies). However, Freddy vs.
Jason is being advertised as if it’s the freshest movie to
play in multiplexes all summer. It’s definitely an experience
watching Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees battle against each
other, in one movie, but Freddy vs. Jason is
essentially the exact same movie as any of the others in the two
lead character’s franchises, just a bit better quality-wise.
Though most of the dialogue in it is
awful, the plot is ingeniously inventive. Freddy (Robert Englund),
the nutty villain of the Nightmare on Elm Street
series, who kills children in their dreams, is having a difficult
time conducting evil. If no one remembers him, or is scared of his
deadly capabilities, they will not dream of him. If no one dreams
of him, he therefore cannot kill them, while they slumber. In
order to gain the remembrance of many, he must recruit Jason (Ken
Kirzinger), to strike on the teens who occupy the houses on
Elm Street, the place
where he is famous for killing people. When Jason begins to murder
somewhat random victims, the police (and others that live in the
neighborhood), think that Freddy has committed the crimes. The
families and friends of those whole were killed by Jason, begin to
dream of Mr. Krueger. When he is ready, he will regain power, and
cause much more terror on
Elm Street.
Unfortunately for Freddy, his plan
backfires. He cannot completely take over, because Jason will not
stop killing innocent people. To reign supreme, he must stop
Jason. Hence, another battle emerges—Freddy vs. Jason. There is a
winner, though the victory is a lot less clear-cut than one would
expect, despite the fact that the rest of the movie is always very
obvious and straight-forward.
Much of the credit for what this film
accomplishes should go to director Ronny Yu. Behind the camera, he
doesn’t take any big risks, but obviously knows how to surprise
the audience. Freddy vs. Jason is definitely scary at
times, primarily because of the chilling atmosphere. This is a
better-than-average slasher-flick, even if it does occasionally
resort to using old and conventional techniques. One thing’s for
sure, though; I enjoyed myself while viewing it. What more could
you ask from a movie of this sort?
The balance between campy humor and
nail-biting horror is off, however; I laughed more than I was
frightened. Freddy vs. Jason, though gory and
shocking, really shouldn’t be categorized as the average horror
movie. It’s exhilarating, but is missing some crucial elements
that are needed, in order to terrify audiences. Even though the
original Friday the 13th film was very
similar to this, execution-wise, it did have its fair-share of
scares. Even though Freddy vs. Jason is fun and
entertaining, some of producer Sean S. Cunningham’s and film
editor Mark Stevens’s work misses the mark. Regardless, it’s still
considerably enjoyable, flaws aside.
Freddy vs. Jason has a
higher budget than most of Krueger’s and Voorhees’s other flicks,
which most noticeably, improves the quality of the visuals and
special effects. While the look of this film is still nowhere near
perfect, it’s definitely an improvement on that of the recent
Jason X. Wayne Beauchamp, the special effects
director on the project, has clearly put much effort and time into
his work. There is a lot to be commended in Freddy vs.
Jason, but unfortunately not enough to earn it an entirely
positive recommendation, from me.
While the cool concept of this one wears
thin towards the end of it, I’d probably pay to see a rematch
between Freddy and Jason. Freddy vs. Jason is
definitely interesting, and worth your money, if you’re only
paying matinee price to see it. It’s not even close to being the
best motion picture, currently in release, but does offer
tremendous amounts of entertainment. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and
those who see it, who aren’t bothered by witnessing many of the
violent and gory (though cheesy) onscreen sequences, will too.
Freddy vs. Jason is a wonderfully campy romp, and a
step in the right direction for two franchises, that were thought
to be extremely tired, and nearing death, by most.
-Danny, Bucket Reviews
