Freddy vs. Jason

Freddy vs. Jason is a slasher film and an interquel that was released in 2003 by New Line Cinema. The film was directed by Ronny Yu. The plot pits Jason Voorhees (of the Friday the 13th series of films) and Freddy Krueger (of the Nightmare on Elm Street series of films) against each other.

Plot summary

Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) is stuck in hell. He is not able to get out of this situation as long as no one remembers him and his crimes. Therefore, he conjures up Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger) who is capable of acting in the real world. In the guise of Jason's mother (Pamela Voorhees, the one person to whom Jason will listen), Freddy convinces Jason to kill teenagers living on Elm Street to make the residents of Springwood, Ohio think that Freddy is back.

Jason commits a few murders which are blamed on Freddy. A small group of youths including Lori Campbell (Monica Keena), her boyfriend Will Rollins (Jason Ritter), Kia (Kelly Rowland), and a sheriff's deputy notice that it was not Freddy who had committed the murders. However, when they realize this, it is already too late and the population's fear has made Freddy strong enough to come back from hell.

Since Jason has done what he was expected to do, Freddy wants him to stop. However, Jason does not listen and goes on killing. Thus, a bloody fight begins between Jason and Freddy. The film ends with Jason impaling Freddy with his own severed arm. Lori then decapitates him. The final scene of the film shows Jason carrying Freddy's head out of Crystal Lake. Freddy winks as the head moves by the camera at the end of the film. Thus, the winner of the battle is ambiguous.

Alternate endings

At one point during the script's development, Pinhead was to make an appearance at the end of the film, but licensing issues prevented it. Another alternate ending was also considered where Freddy and Jason fight for eternity as gladiators in Hell for Satan's endless amusement, but this was never filmed. However, animatics for this sequence do exist and were included as a hidden easter egg in the DVD special edition of the film. A third alternate ending found Crystal Lake drained and a giant hand made of water dragging Freddy and Jason down to Hell, but Freddy survived and killed Lori's father. He then fought a reanimated Jason. This is an easter egg in the DVD version of the movie.

Reception

While a box office success and fairly well received critically among fans and genre critics, many felt that the film failed to live up to the hype generated for such a highly anticipated film. This is mostly faulted to the plot, which is often cited as adding little to the genre, and the characters being standard slasher stereotypes. While these criticisms are argued to be expected in the genre, others express the desire for something different in a film that they believe should be grander than both sets of predecessors and other slasher films. Some Friday the 13th fans have also expressed a distaste for the way in which Jason is portrayed in the film. On the other hand, Nightmare fans were upset that Freddy's body count was considerably lower than that of Jason's (Freddy only directly kills one character versus Jason's body count that reaches more than a dozen) However, one of the most talked about aspects is the final scene, which has caused endless debates among fans of both franchises as to its meaning and who of the two actually comes off as the victor. Fans of Jason contend that he won the conflict, due to him striking the last blow of the fight, weakening Freddy enough so that Lori was able to decapitate him. Fans of Freddy argue that since Jason himself did not strike the fatal blow, that it was a draw. Neither argument has been confirmed or denied by New Line. However, co-writer Mark Swift has stated that he considered Jason to be the victor.[http://www.fridaythe13thfilms.com/saga/fvsj/shannonswift.html Some even believe that the idea of pitting the two monsters against each other to be futile itself, as there would be an effort not to offend fans of either, and that the film "copped out" in making a clear winner in order to please both fanbases.

Betting

Due to the popularity of Jason and Freddy among adults, a large number of bets were placed on the outcome of the movie. Some professional betting establishments even started taking bets and giving odds on different outcomes.

Fan reaction

Many fans were upset that longtime Jason actor Kane Hodder was not asked to reprise his role. The producers wanted an actor with more sympathetic eyes, and who was much taller than Robert Englund in size, so professional stuntman Ken Kirzinger was hired. Ironically, Kirzinger is only 2 inches taller (6'5") than Hodder (6'3"). Kirzinger previously appeared briefly in Jason Takes Manhattan. He also served as that film's stunt coordinator.

Possible sequel

Several ideas for a sequel to the film have been proposed. Many of these involve additional characters from other horror franchises. The use of Bruce Campbell's Ash Williams character from the Evil Dead franchise had been considered, but this idea was halted when Evil Dead creator and director, Sam Raimi, decided against it. According to an interview with Englund from March of 2006, New Line Cinema has particpated in talks with John Carpenter concerning the use of Michael Myers in a sequel.

External links

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