Friday the 13th Collection

Jesse Hutch

Robert Englund

Ken Kirzinger

Monica Keena

Jason Ritter

Lochlyn Munro

Kelly Rowland

David Kopp

Katharine Isabelle

Christopher Rodriguez Marquette

Brendan Fletcher

Tom Butler

Kyle Labine

Zack Ward

Paula Shaw

Garry Chalk

Brent Chapman

Spencer Stump

Joëlle Antonissen

Alistair Abell

Robert Shaye

Chris Gauthier

Colby Johannson

Kimberley Warnat

Kevin Hansen

Alex Green

Odessa Munroe

Jamie Mayo

Blake Mawson

Viv Leacock

Tony Willett

Claire Riley

Sharon Peters

Sarah-Anne Hepher

Kirsti Forbes

Taryn McCulloch

Eileen Pedde

Sean Tyler Foley

Jacqueline Stewart

Laura Boddington

Colton Shock

Spencer Doduk

Anysha Berthot

Evangeline Lilly

Zara McDowell

Sasha Piltsin

Sean S. Cunningham

Mark Stevens

Stokely Chaffin

Damian Shannon

Mark Swift

Fred Murphy

Graeme Revell

Ronny Yu

Nancy Green-Keyes

Matthew Barry

Gregory Mah

Tammy Morris

Alyssa Fong

Brian Burks

Gary Hebert

Ben Rusi

Adam Holmes

Kumvana Gomani

Ken Wells

Brenda Turner

Steve Reintjes

Ross Dempster

Lisa Taylor Roberts

Slava Shmakin

John Willett

Carole Kelly

Rose Marie McSherry

Milena Zdravkovic

Angela O'Sullivan

Charles Leitrants

Henry Thomas Earle

Shannon Coppin

Brent Gloeckler

Michael Keller

Mark Shoaf

Lubo Hristov

Monty L. Simons

Ashley Revell

Steve Ansell

Kirk Johns

Lee Anne Muldoon

Paul Menichini

James Durante

Harry Cohen

Wayne Beauchamp

Chris Harris

Kelly Mason

Kevin Lingenfelser

Scott J. Ateah

Dave McMoyler

Julian Chojnacki

Javier Bennassar

Kevin Elam

Patricia Barry

Ian Seabrook

Angie Jones

Ian Hunter

Patrick Cyccone Jr.

Kyle DeVriendt

Ray McIntyre Jr.

Carolyn Bentley

Tiffany Smith

James J. Perenseff Jr.

Lisle Engle

Owen Walstrom

James Dittiger

Jon Taylor

David Sanger

Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio

Douglas Tait

Laura Lee Connery

Alana Husband

Danny Downey

Byron Brisco

Leslie McMichael

Steven McMichael

Kim Howey

Glenn Ellis

Heath Stevenson

Rick Morwick

Deb Macatumpag

Doug Chapman

David R. Murray

Renee Witt

Boris Elkis

Nerses Gezalyan

Kelly Cramb

Julie McHaffie

Roy Erickson

Terence Chase

Leon Dudevoir

Terry Calhoun

Dean Collins

Douglas Curtis

Mark N. Tompkins

Jamie Salmon

Peter Christian Combe

Wes Craven

John Fraser

Graham Blacklock

Horror

Freddy vs. Jason

Yannix Technology Corporation

New Line Cinema

Avery Pix

Crystal Lake Entertainment

WTC Productions

Sean S. Cunningham Films

United States of America

Gimly

I don't think I can go so far as to call _Freddy vs. Jason_ good. But I can still be honest about the fact that I love it. Considering it mad-grabs the humour from both its delivering franchises late-stage entries, with the bizarre, ethereal yet quippy flavour of _Elm Street_, and the body count of a _Friday the 13th_, how could I not?

Crappy acting, unbelievable SFX, hack script, completely disrespectful to the canon of both parents, yet eminently re-watchable for any occasion.  

_Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time._

***Worthy new millennium entry in the Friday & Nightmare franchises, until they clash, that is***

To be expected, 2003's "Freddy vs. Jason" mixes together elements of the "Nightmare" and "Friday" franchises. Both franchises had essentially ran out of gas in the early 90s -- the last conventional "Friday" movie, before 2001's "Jason X," came out a decade earlier and the last "Nightmare" movie almost as long. So mixing up the formats was a great way to introduce these modern monsters to a new generation as well as re-introduce them to the old.

THE PLOT: Freddy Krueger, the wicked spirit of a child molester/serial killer, is trapped in hell and unable to wreak havoc on the youths of Springwood, Ohio, because they have forgotten him and therefore no longer believe. Krueger's diabolical plan is to lure Jason from Crystal Lake, NJ, to Springwood and inspire him to go on a killing spree, which would naturally be blamed on Kruger, thus giving him the power to return.

Some say "Freddy vs. Jason" is more of a "Nightmare" film than a "Friday" film, and I can see why, but it's really an equal parts crossover. Once Jason is led to Springwood it essentially becomes a "Nightmare" movie with Jason as the antagonist until Freddy gains enough power; by that time the story switches to Crystal Lake for the finale and even provides an insightful flashback (via a dream sequence) of Jason's youth and abuse.

One of the highlights takes place early in the second act: Jason's flaming attack at a teen party in a cornfield; it's a dynamic sequence and features great opticals.

As with all the Friday films, "FvJ" features a nice assortment of women, beginning with the cameo of Heather (Odessa Munroe) in the opening reel. She's pretty much on par with the cameo of Agent Marcus (Julie Michaels) at the beginning of "Jason Goes to Hell." From there we have cutie Katharine Isabelle as a secondary protagonist and Monica Keena as the heroine. It took me about half the movie to warm up to Monica but she ultimately won me over.

"Freddy vs. Jason" is a noticeably more technically sophisticated than the first nine "Friday" movies. Don't get me wrong, it's very cartoony and hardly scary (except for jump scares and gore), but it LOOKS so much better and has more oomph. The story’s also way more involved than the first eight entries and “Jason X,” which makes the film play better on repeat viewings.

The fight between the two monsters in the closing act is a cinematic tradition going back earlier than 1945's "The Wolf Man vs. Dracula" (aka "House of Dracula"), but it's the weak point of the movie for me because it's just too cartoony. The film works as horror with either Jason or Freddy attacking the youths, but when they finally clash in the action-packed climax it's just too comic booky.

The film runs 97 minutes and was shot mostly in British Columbia, Canada (e.g. Buntzen Lake, Anmore), but also Toronto.

GRADE: B

Andre Gonzales

I was so excited to hear this movie coming out. It didn't disappoint. My two greatest horror killers of all time battling each other. Love this movie.