Don’t Call Me Bitch! Freddy vs Jason: A Battle for the Ages

Robert Englund dazzles in New Line Cinema’s long-awaited franchise crossover

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This past Friday the 13th I went for something a bit left-field. It was still a movie starring Jason Voorhees, just not the traditional Camp Crystal slaughter I typically opt for. Whenever this infamous date rolls around I’m confronted with the same old question: which instalment of the hit franchise should I indulge in this time? With so many sequels, spin-offs and reboots, it’s never an easy choice. On the whole, Friday the 13th II-VI are the instalments I gravitate towards, though I do have a soft spot for 1988‘s hacked-to-pieces Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, which despite notable setbacks does feature one of the most irresistible finales in the series, Kane Hodder’s marauding ‘Zombie Jason’ going full-on Universal monster mode against Lar Park Lincoln’s tepid Carrie clone Tina Shepard. You’d think we’d get bored of watching the same mindless nonsense time and time again, but if you’re feeling lowbrow, what better series to indulge in than Friday the 13th? It made mindlessness a peculiar artform during its irrepressible 80s run.

Whatever your tastes, we all tend to abandon certain instalments of a hit franchise for one reason or another, but time is a great healer, and every once in a while I find myself opting for those unusual suspects with a renewed hope. After all, they belong to the same series, have some of the same themes and characters, how bad could they really be? Of all those horror franchise sequels, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge is one I continue to revisit in spite of myself. I’m not the film’s biggest fan. It has some truly stand-out moments and is still one of the better instalments. It also features the most interesting protagonist in the series in Mark Patton’s final boy, Jesse Walsh, as well as a Krueger variant who is hands-down the scariest of the bunch, but for some reason it always leaves me feeling just a little underwhelmed. It’s a much richer experience than the majority of the Friday the 13th series, but when it comes to Friday the 13th trash is a given. It’s what audiences pay to see.

For this reason I’m a firm believer that Friday the 13th has no place in the current horror climate. It’s difficult to recreate that silly, gimmick-laden formula for modern audiences as it very much belongs to the 80s (though a period piece could prove a winner for a nostalgia-hungry generation fed on a diet of Cobra Kai and Stranger Things). I thought James Isaac did a fine job with 2001’s Jason X. He understood that the series was little more than fast food thrills and topped it off with a tasty dollop of tacky self-awareness. It had the production values of a Syfy space drama, many fans struggling to swallow its celestial digression, but on the whole it got the franchise and all that it stood for. Today, everything is a sophisticated update or well-rounded origins story.

In 2009, filmmaker Marcus Nispel would attempt to do for Jason Voorhees what Christopher Nolan did for Batman, ditching the cartoon tyranny for a highly-skilled hunter who’d sharpened his instincts in the Camp Crystal shadows. It made sense. If a person was elusive enough to avoid detection for decades before taking vengeance on the demographic that had proven such a scourge to the Voorhees name, he would have adapted to his habitat in ways that are alien to the modern teenage slacker. Nispel’s Jason was fresh, believable and brutal. In a post-Nolan era it was the next logical step. But the character had gone through too much silliness to come out serious on the other side. I remember the film being a fair ride, but it’s just not what I’m looking for in a movie starring Jason Voorhees.

Being dead wasn’t a problem, but being forgotten, now that’s a bitch. I can’t come back if nobody remembers me. I can’t come back if nobody’s afraid.

Freddy Krueger

By process of elimination, the only instalment that could save an evening quickly dying under the weight of indecision was another outlier in my personal ranking: Freddy vs Jason. This was a film I didn’t particularly take to upon release and one I’d heard plenty of bad things about in the interim: celebrity actors, Punch and Judy silliness, second-rate instances of CGI — I’d heard it all. The fact that I could hardly remember anything about the film didn’t bode well, but it had been more than a decade since I last laid eyes on it. I was going into it with an open mind.

Freddy vs Jason promised horror fans a battle for the ages back in the summer of 2003, one that genre geeks had played out a thousand times over, but the box office figures would indicate that such a fantasy confrontation had a much broader appeal. By 1988, the Friday the 13th franchise was on its last legs commercially. Such a low-cost series was still worth an annual punt thanks to a loyal section of Voorhees zealots, but with returns continuing to fall with each instalment, Paramount would put the series out to pasture following 1989‘s New York City debacle Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, something New Line Cinema and founder Robert Shaye would later look to capitalise on by purchasing the rights with a view to making a Freddy vs Jason crossover, and who could blame them? The only surprise was that it took so long to come to fruition.

The idea of a Freddy vs Jason spectacular was first proposed way back in 1987. While the ‘Friday’ franchise had already grown moribund, the Elm Street series was thriving like never before, the hugely successful A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors transforming Robert Englund’s fictional child killer into a morally questionable poster boy for kids the world over. This was thanks to an emphasis on camp humour and mesmerising practical effects set-pieces, but also due to savvy pop culture tie-ins with the likes of American hair band Dokken, the first of many a-list acts to oil the Freddy bandwagon. Ultimately, a deal could not be reached between New Line Cinema and Paramount. After raking in a whopping $44,800,000 for The Dream Warriors, New Line were hardly disappointed, a feeling that was only strengthened when A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master boasted series highs of $49,400,000 the following year. Meanwhile, 1988’s quasi-crossover The New Blood posted record lows for the Friday series, figures which only solidified Krueger’s position as the new commercial king.

But what comes up must come down, and boy did Krueger’s stock plummet, the series micromanaging itself into nonexistence in less than three years. Thanks to the mythos-crushing escapades of A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child and the desperate 3-D cash-in that was Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, Krueger had finally outstayed his welcome. Two years later, having finally purchased the rights to the ‘Elm Street’ franchise, New Line would take its first pop at Jason-led immortality with the hugely alienating Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, giving the movie to a fresh-out-of-film-school rookie named Adam Marcus, who though a known admirer of the series and a huge horror buff approached the material with the reckless abandon of an infant with a new chest of toys. Marcus’ most notable creative liberty came in the form of ‘Hellbaby’, a parasitic manifestation of Jason’s demonic soul that was transferred from victim-to-victim, meaning we didn’t get very much Voorhees at all. Crucially, the film teased the long-mooted crossover sequel, Krueger’s claw dragging Jason’s infamous hockey mask into the realms of hell during the film’s utterly bizarre climax.

Freddy vs Jason was again the next logical step, but Jason Goes to Hell performed so poorly that the idea was put on the backburner for an entire decade. By 2003 nostalgia had kicked in, franchise fans more than ready for another large helping of slasherdom’s most popular creations. The A Nightmare on Elm Street series had also been laid to rest following 1994‘s Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, a meta blueprint for the much more favourably received Scream released two years later. Despite such an underwhelming reception, New Nightmare was a breath of fresh air for the series, a chance to resuscitate a character who’d been poorly treated in Craven’s absence. He absolutely nailed it too, presenting audiences with a version of Krueger who sidestepped the silliness and embraced the darkness. Unfortunately, audiences weren’t ready for the character’s self-reflexive comeback, and it was left to the much more marketable Scream to do for the 90s what Halloween did for the 80s, inspiring a slew of copycat productions.

Freddy vs Jason is redolent of Scream‘s legacy, featuring a box-fresh cast of teenage fodder, a crowd-pleasing pop star, and the kind of slick production that made the crudely edited, open-canvas horror of the 80s seem like a long, forgotten nightmare. Suddenly everything was much slicker, sprinkled with studio stardust and celebrity. At the time I’m sure it grated on me, but compared with the A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot Freddy vs Jason was very much welcome this time around. The inclusion of Englund alone was enough to overshadow those efforts, and with a welcome cameo from Pamela Voorhees herself, Betsy Palmer, I actually felt like I was watching something dear to me. Friday the 13th was finally underway.

Do you want some free advice? Coffee. Make friends with it.

Mark Davis

Though the question of how Jason manages to get all the way from Camp Crystal Lake (Cunningham County, New Jersey) to Elm Street (Springwood, Ohio) without being noticed puzzled me deeply, the first act of Freddy vs Jason felt kind of like a Friday the 13th movie, Jason picking off victims with a typical seek-and-destroy abandon. This is thanks to a long-forgotten Krueger, who impersonates Jason’s maternal figure and manipulates him into yet another killing spree, the idea being that his threat will return fear to the kids of Springwood, the same that gives Ol’ Pizza Face his power. Krueger, usually smart as a whip, grossly underestimates his opponent on this occasion. Jason’s semi-autonomic bloodlust knows no boundaries, and pretty soon Krueger is struggling to have his wicked way in the unconscious realms of slumber, his potential victims hacked down before he can even get a semi-on. Naturally, this doesn’t sit well with a sadistic deviant who thrives on figurative foreplay, and when Jason sharpens his skills on a crowd of douchebag ravers, Krueger has no choice but to step in.

My biggest concern going in was that Englund would lack the same enthusiasm for the Krueger character. I needn’t have worried. In fact, his performance is central to everything that is good about Freddy vs Jason. I’m sure he was a little worn-out with it all by the time Freddy’s Dead reared its ugliness, and with New Nightmare failing to resuscitate the popularity of his most notable character, asides from the money he would have missed out on, going from oversaturation to near extinction must have been a startling change of pace, but there was surely a part of him that longed to reach for the razor-fingered glove during his decade-long hiatus. Having been played by several actors, Jason’s portrayer was somewhat irrelevant ― we all have our favourites in that regard ― but Englund is Krueger. He poured his heart and soul into the character, bringing him to life in ways that screenwriters could never have imagined. He may have been hidden behind a mask of sorts, but there was simply no mistaking him.

Unsurprisingly, Freddy is the star of the show here too. I may prefer the Friday series overall, but Englund is an absolute game changer. The best thing about Freddy vs Jason is watching Krueger bitch and squirm while he tries to regain his relevance. His opening monologue, brisking through a recap of past events, is executed superbly, all gravelly sadism and veiny-eyed close-ups. It feels like a Tales From the Crypt introduction segment without the humour but with all the cartoon pizazz, and Englund is a hoot as the film’s host. He’s so theatrical, a kind of quasi-narrator for an exceedingly flamboyant production. He looks great too. He lacks the shadowed mystique of the original Krueger or the feral menace of his Freddy’s Revenge variation, but Freddy vs Jason is a completely different animal, and though humour is the overriding element, he doesn’t look as silly as he did in the likes of The Dream Child. He’s more a circus demon, a twisted fiend in the Grimm Fairy Tales mode. This is still cartoon supervillainy, but you won’t catch Krueger playing video games with a Nintendo Power Glove, and the kills are just brutal. In terms of violence, he’s certainly got his mojo back.

This time Jason is played by stuntman Ken Kirzinger, who takes more than a leaf out of Kane Hodder’s marauder handbook, which begs the question, why not bring back Hodder himself? Director Ronny Yu decided that he wanted someone taller who could tower over Krueger, but Hodder is a huge fan favourite and would have been just as keen to return to the role. I’m no Hodder zealot. I much prefer the bumbling naivety of Steve Dash or the lumbering menace of Richard Brooker. I even prefer The Final Chapter‘s Ted White over Hodder, who gives us a similarly brutish killer in the ‘take no prisoners’ mode. But with four appearances under his belt, by the time Freddy vs Jason was set for production, Hodder was technically more qualified for the role than anyone else. I’m not knocking his replacement. In bringing the brawn to Freddy’s brains, Kirzinger does a bang-up job. The guy is huge, and when casting for a movie that sees two horror icons going head-to-head, you have to play to the characters’ strengths. What does let the character down, at least in my opinion, is Jason’s look. He’s the same relentless killing machine in a hockey mask and boiler suit, but something seems off. His scraggly hair, his googly eyes, he’s just not ominous enough.

One thing I was rather impressed with — particularly having seen the money-grabbing debacle that was 2010’s A Nightmare on Elm Street — was Freddy vs Jason‘s dreamworld delineations. It doesn’t have the craft and imagination of the original but at least they explored new avenues instead of rehashing past moments with a CGI upgrade (word of warning: CGI dates horribly. It isn’t something that allows you to abandon creativity. If that’s all you have to offer audiences, one day soon you’ll be found out). With that said, the CGI on offer here is as dated as some of our readers suggested. Particularly bad is a seemingly pot-induced Freddy worm thingy, (think Hell Baby From Jason Goes to Hell only much cuter and less realistic). On these occasions the film really suffers. I’d usually be eager to tell you that the movie suffers from celebrity inclusion too, but this isn’t Halloween: Resurrection, it’s an all-too-knowing character crossover with zero horror pretences, so it’s forgivable, even necessary, and this movie specifically targets the MTV crowd. Back in 2003, the casting of Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland was probably the reason why millions bought a ticket.

Rowland is surprisingly good as insecure cheerleader bitch, Kia Waterson, who sees the light after a brutal tearing-down from geeky counterpart Charlie Linderman. In fact, Waterson is the most memorable character in the entire film outside of our marquee attractions, particularly when she turns that aggression on Krueger himself in a no-nonsense assault that leaves our killer feeling rather small in the trouser department. About that brutal tearing down: did Kia really deserve everything Linderman threw at her? She may be a bitch but nobody deserves that kind of onslaught, regardless of social status. It’s always bothered me the way pretty people are persecuted in teenage horror. It’s not like every pretty person is fundamentally wicked. I understand the need to turn the tables on America’s competitive high school culture, but there’s a fine line between equality and a reversal in prejudice.

You know what, Kia? I used to think you hated me because you thought I wasn’t good enough for Lori, but that’s not it. You tear me down to make yourself feel better, because you really hate yourself, which is kind of pathetic when you actually stop and think about it. Assuming, of course, you *can* think, with all that make-up weighing down your head.

Charlie Linderman

There’s also something of a nod to The Dream Warriors in Freddy vs Jason, two of Springwood’s kids confined to the Westin Hills Asylum and prescribed dream suppressant hypnocil as a counteraction to Krueger’s unconscious loitering. Supposedly, it was the father of final girl Lori (Monica Keena) who had former beau Will (Jason Ritter) confined to the nuthouse after Will supposedly witnessed pops kill mom. Pops claims she died in a car crash and soon enough he’s attempting to ply his daughter with meds in an effort to calm her down (will they ever learn?). It’s a fairly entertaining plot development, as is the gang’s decision to sedate Jason and bundle him into the back of a van for reasons that are too convoluted to get into, though with Jason counting sheep, or more likely the corpses of past victims, you can probably guess who benefits in the battle arena. The whole ordeal reminded me of a Scooby Doo adventure, from the van itself to the wildly contrived detective work, which makes geniuses out of a cast of characters who are anything but. How they are able to figure out that Freddy recruited Jason from beyond the grave is beyond me.

In the end, none of this matters. Fans bought tickets to Freddy vs Jason to see our marquee attractions kick lumps of shit out of each other, and the long-awaited showdown is a joy to behold. For those who recall the bloodless censorship crusade of the late 1980s, this outing rights so many wrongs. It is brutal, but also clever in defining the strengths and weaknesses of our two opponents. Their final tête-à-tête is such a hamfest, but I took such pleasure from seeing Krueger feign injury, only for his arms to grow back in one of many mind games implemented by the physically weaker party. And it’s always a joy hearing that sinister Englund cackle. Freddy outmanoeuvres Jason for a while, using his Achilles heel, water, to his advantage. Krueger was always going to be the brains in the equation. He has a doctorate in mind games and manipulation, but in a fist fight there’s simply no contest. When Krueger crosses back into reality and is suddenly robbed of his powers, the tables quickly turn. The cowardly look on Freddy’s face after realising that Jason is hovering behind him is just priceless, and very much warranted. It’s all rather silly, but they play it to the absolute hilt. You’d have to be a grade A cynic to resist it.

There were things that annoyed me about the movie, but the fact that Yu pulls no punches in the gore department goes some way to airing out the breezy, car freshener production. The terrible twosome’s back-and-forth tussle is absolutely gruelling at times, and had to be if it was going to appease fans. Their final slice-off on a blood-drenched walkway is ludicrously epic, almost operatic. It all gets a little messy story-wise, Lori’s sub-narrative becoming something of a distraction to the main event, though having Kelly Roland almost deliver mouth-to-mouth on a drowning-in-his-dreams Jason is an inspired touch, and it’s not the only one the film has to offer.

I remember the hype surrounding Freddy vs Jason back in 2003 and the same question was on everybody’s lips. Which of our inimitable monsters would prove triumphant? We all have our favourite, and an even battle was certainly the way to go. Thanks to some inspired booby trap skulduggery from Krueger and Jason’s towering brutality, the movie managed to placate fans on both sides. Freddy is undoubtedly the star of the show, but Jason has his fair share of moments. It’s a level playing field where it counts.

Am I a fan of this movie? I’m going to err on the side of yes. It’s all a little shallow, but when shallow is the point it’s hard to criticise. Fans like myself tend to forget that, though Freddy and Jason carved a very special place in our hearts, the majority of their movies weren’t actually very good. I mean, they’re enjoyable on a mindless level, endlessly consumable, Friday the 13th peddling trash like a rogue employee flogging leftover burgers at the back door of a McDonalds, but a little perspective goes a long way. Ultimately, Freddy vs Jason is an ode to the glory days. That they didn’t completely mess it up, and in fact did a pretty decent job of it, has to be half a miracle given its transparent financial motivations.

Freddy vs Jason may not have the period charm of those 80s instalments, but it does possess the kind of creative violence lacking in many of those later sequels, and though I prefer my Krueger on the wicked side, his tongue-in-cheek performance here eclipses his post-Dream Master stand-up act by some margin. By this point, watching Englund is like watching a magician at the top of his game. He has a darkly sadistic, pantomime aura, slipping into his most famous façade like a wily stage veteran fuelled by theatrical flourishes of startling grotesquery. When Englund daubs himself in Krueger he lives and breathes the character, revelling in every last gleeful nuance. When it comes to owning one of horror’s most emblematic figures, nobody does it better.

Director: Ronny Yu
Screenplay: Damian Shannon &
Mark Swift
Music: Graeme Revell
Cinematography: Fred Murphy
Editing: Mark Stevens

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