Freddy vs Jason (2003)

“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. I had to search the bowels of Hell, but I found someone, someone who'll make 'em remember. He may get the blood, but I'll get the glory, and that fear is my ticket home.”

– Freddy Krueger

As the publicity for this was gearing up. I couldn’t wait to see it. Jason actor Kane Hodder had kept Jason in the public consciousness during the downtimes between films and had done a fair bit of pre-publicity in the run-up to Jason’s inevitable conflict with Freddy Krueger. This film had been teased since the final scene of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, where we see Freddy’s gloved hand drag a defeated Jason’s mark presumably to hell. This, in my mind promised the most anticipated crossover of horror franchises since Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1943). Hopefully, this would be more of an out and out battle than the brief last reel skirmish between the Monster and the Wolfman.

The battle is indeed pretty epic, but my disappointment was that at the last minute, Kane Hodder was dropped from the role, and stuntman Ken Kirzinger was cast instead. Evidently, according to interviews, Hodder was deemed too bulky and muscular for the role. Nobody would (apparently) believe that Robert Englund’s Freddy would stand a chance against him physically. Consequently, Jason’s sheer physical menace is scaled back considerably in this film as Kirzinger is tall and slim. Skinny, by comparison with just about every previous incarnation we’ve seen. Neither does he have the miming skill of Hodder in the role. And this detracts a lot.

I’d say that the film takes place sometime after Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare and perhaps after Jason Goes to Hell, even though we see neither character actually IN hell. (Jason X seems not to have happened at all, unless it happens after this film, chronologically speaking.) But anyway, Freddy is mulling his weakened state. He’s almost powerless. He feeds on fear, and the youngsters of Springwood have forgotten him. They need reminding, so that he can feed again. To this end, he uses his remaining power to revive Jason, who’s lying dormant in a shallow grave in the Crystal Lake area. If Jason does some killing then the kids will become scared, the authorities will begin to mention Freddy’s name, believing him to be back in action, fear will grow, the kids will have nightmares – and he’s back. All well and good.

Freddy’s plan works for a short while. The problem is, Jason’s almost impossible to control. Actually, he IS impossible to control. Between that and the fact that some of these kids are smarter than the usual teen victim types and have figured out that they need to bring Freddy out of the dream world in to the realm of the real. And of course, that’s where Jason lives. Let battle commence.

And that’s essentially the plot of the film. The first half of the run time is building up a means of getting the two to a place where they can face off, because let’s face it, that’s what we’re here to see. And the battle is spectacular and worth the wait. But, there’s a problem. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.

With films like this and others where franchises have crossed, like Godzilla vs Kong, you’re trying to appease two fan bases and that’s never going to happen. If there’s an outright winner, SOMEONE’S going home unhappy. The tendency is to either have a stalemate draw/ambiguous ending or a distracting third character that the main two have to team join forces against. I was hoping that two endings would be filmed. One showing Freddy as the victor, the other showing Jason triumphant. It would be the luck of the draw which ending you’d see at the cinema. But there would BE an ending. If it wasn’t the one you wanted, go and see it again and see the other one. (Boy, that made great business sense to me.)

But we’re left with an image of Jason rising out of Crystal Lake holding Freddy’s severed head. (So, our boy Jason’s the victor????) Then, we close in on Freddy’s head and he winks at the camera. So ambiguous ending it is. Nobody goes home happy; nobody goes home disappointed.

I have mixed feelings about this film. It’s the best appearance of Freddy Krueger since the original Nightmare on Elm Street in 1985. I’m talking about the franchise version of Freddy in the ongoing series of six original films here, not Wes Craven’s New Nightmare which is a different beast altogether. As for Jason, the absence of Hodder in the role is felt in every one of Jason’s scenes and despite his height, Kirzinger’s portrayal is just tepid in comparison.