You have to be a `special' sort of person to enjoy Freddy Vs. Jason. Take this test: Did you take popcorn to driver's ed. class when they showed Death On The Highway? Did you giggle uncontrollably while dissecting frogs in Bio 101? Do you have an autographed picture of Richard Speck? Have you ever been featured on American Justice? If you answered yes to any of the above, then man, this movie's for you.
In the grand tradition of Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, Freddy Vs. Jason pits the popular maniacs from the Nightmare On Elm Street and Friday the 13th series against each other. Fred Krueger is kicking around Hell unable to invade the dreams of teens. The children of Elm Street have forgotten to be afraid of him. No fear. No power. Spying the undead Jason Voorhees hanging out in another ring of Hell, the wily Krueger sets him free and points him towards Elm Street so as to strike the fear of Freddy into its denizens. Of course Jason has his own needs and veers away from Krueger's plans. Naturally Krueger gets miffed and so we are treated to a knockdown, drag out brawl between the titular baddies. This fight is the complete reason for this film and a fine, frolicsome dust-up it is too. Both monsters get their licks in, each having moments where they have the upper hand. Surprisingly at the end there is a clear winner. While I can't tell you who the winner is I can tell you that Krueger is the more impressive of the two monsters, not that there is much of a competition. Krueger, with his dream powers, metal claws and constant wisecracks easily eclipse poor mute Jason and his rusty machete. Krueger is, as always, played by the indispensable Robert Englund with his usual wicked wit and nasty panache. Jason is, as always, played by a stuntman trying to emote through a hocky mask.
The teenage victims and their subplots are pretty much an afterthought. In the tradition of the Nightmare movies there is some effort to give the victims a semblance of a personality but this impulse disappears quickly. Most of the younger cast's acting is only as good as it has to be and no better. Not that this all makes much difference. Trust me, no one is coming to this movie to see if Kia gets a nose job or Gibb quits drinking before she is fricasseed.
Just as you don't approach Freddy Vs. Jason expecting a deep exploration of teenage angst, you probably shouldn't go expecting a real horror movie either. The film is an example of a curious sub-genre called `splat-shtick'. That is, a comedy that uses flying viscera in the same spirit that Laurel and Hardy used cream pies. As such, it is a pretty funny movie - providing you can get into the spirit of things. While it never reaches the sublime dementia of the possessed hand sequence in The Evil Dead Pt. 2 or the classic `head' scene in The Re-Animator, Freddy Vs. Jason does sustain its humor better than most of the `strait' comedies released this season. While I can't - in good conscious - recommend this movie, if you bring to it a sick enough sense of humor you should have a reasonably good time.
In the grand tradition of Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, Freddy Vs. Jason pits the popular maniacs from the Nightmare On Elm Street and Friday the 13th series against each other. Fred Krueger is kicking around Hell unable to invade the dreams of teens. The children of Elm Street have forgotten to be afraid of him. No fear. No power. Spying the undead Jason Voorhees hanging out in another ring of Hell, the wily Krueger sets him free and points him towards Elm Street so as to strike the fear of Freddy into its denizens. Of course Jason has his own needs and veers away from Krueger's plans. Naturally Krueger gets miffed and so we are treated to a knockdown, drag out brawl between the titular baddies. This fight is the complete reason for this film and a fine, frolicsome dust-up it is too. Both monsters get their licks in, each having moments where they have the upper hand. Surprisingly at the end there is a clear winner. While I can't tell you who the winner is I can tell you that Krueger is the more impressive of the two monsters, not that there is much of a competition. Krueger, with his dream powers, metal claws and constant wisecracks easily eclipse poor mute Jason and his rusty machete. Krueger is, as always, played by the indispensable Robert Englund with his usual wicked wit and nasty panache. Jason is, as always, played by a stuntman trying to emote through a hocky mask.
The teenage victims and their subplots are pretty much an afterthought. In the tradition of the Nightmare movies there is some effort to give the victims a semblance of a personality but this impulse disappears quickly. Most of the younger cast's acting is only as good as it has to be and no better. Not that this all makes much difference. Trust me, no one is coming to this movie to see if Kia gets a nose job or Gibb quits drinking before she is fricasseed.
Just as you don't approach Freddy Vs. Jason expecting a deep exploration of teenage angst, you probably shouldn't go expecting a real horror movie either. The film is an example of a curious sub-genre called `splat-shtick'. That is, a comedy that uses flying viscera in the same spirit that Laurel and Hardy used cream pies. As such, it is a pretty funny movie - providing you can get into the spirit of things. While it never reaches the sublime dementia of the possessed hand sequence in The Evil Dead Pt. 2 or the classic `head' scene in The Re-Animator, Freddy Vs. Jason does sustain its humor better than most of the `strait' comedies released this season. While I can't - in good conscious - recommend this movie, if you bring to it a sick enough sense of humor you should have a reasonably good time.