Sunday, October 28, 2012

31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Freddy vs. Jason



Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
Directed by Ronny Yu
Starring Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland

Look, there’s no point in actually recapping the story of Freddy vs. Jason. It is, was, and ever shall be some standard cinematic fluff that sets up kills reminiscent of each franchise and then a big final fight between the two icons of slasher horror. This movie could only hope to reach what even the best crossovers achieve; some big, loud, stupid fun.

There is a story that actually sets up why Jason and Freddy would come to blows and it’s predictable. The characters are paper thin and only get some meat on their bones when fattened for a kill scene. Even the two villains avoid getting any development, but if you don’t know who they are there’s no reason you should be watching this. The various teen murders are pretty well done and certainly entertain; they’re just nothing either franchise hasn’t done before. The main event is actually pretty cool, changing the battleground from Crystal Lake to the dream world at the drop of a hat.

The actors all make the best of the script. The people playing the soon to be murdered teens are all fairly likeable and vanilla. Robert Englund could turn in an entertaining Freddy Kruegar in his sleep, which he did for A Nightmare on Elm Street numbers 4 through Freddy’s Dead. Ken Kirzinger takes the role of Jason Voorhees, replacing series mainstay and definitive Jason Kane Hodder. Since the entire role is staying silent, moving slowly, and hacking people up with a machete, I couldn’t really find anything wrong with Kirzinger’s performance.

You don’t watch Freddy vs. Jason without understanding that this is not going to be a good movie. It’s entertaining fan service that has what could almost be considered a plot. You either want to watch this comic book crossover styled hack and slash fest because you like either franchise, or because you hate yourself. Anyway you cut it; Freddy vs. Jason is some big, loud, stupid fun.

6 out of 10

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