Movie Malcontent / FREDDY VS. JASON

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FREDDY VS. JASON / Malcontent's Mark: B+

August 18th, 2003

Freddy Krueger: Robert Englund

Jason Voorhees: Ken Kirzinger

Lori: Monica Keena

Will: Jason Ritter

Directed by Ronny Yu.

Written by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon.

Rated R

I’ve never considered myself a huge fan of the Freddy and Jason movies. But as an adolescent not allowed to see R-rated movies, I was dying to see why these movies were so popular. So when any opportunity presented itself (read: cable TV), I would watch a Jason or Freddy movie. Of course, the first movie in each series was great, but each sequel was lamer than the one before. But like a sucker, I watched each one, expecting some new twist on the same tired formula, and being disappointed. It was like buying a bottle of Crystal Coke to see if the clear liquid really tasted just like regular Coke, then realizing that it did, and that you were a sucker for expecting any different.

I assume some people watch these movies because of the junk-food comfort of watching familiar villains working their mojo in a familiar formula. But I’m sure there are others like myself that watch each sequel hoping they will see something new, maybe a self-aware twist on the old slasher genre. Both the Jason and Freddy series have tried to make those twists happen. The most successful reinvention was Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, which served as a template for the original Scream.

The Jason series has been a little more ham-handed with reinvention. The clumsiest attempt being Jason Goes to Hell, in which we find out that Jason was never really an unstoppable human after all, but a persnickety demon-worm that can pass from body to body! Ah HA!

This reinvention was only slightly worse than Jason Takes Manhatten, in which Jason terrorizes a cruise liner, and then for only the final 20 minutes of the movie gets all pissy in a few completely unrecognizable slices of the Big Apple (read: clearly not on-location). Manhatten made abundantly clear the old axiom: same crap, new setting.

And just a year ago, Jason X, also known as Jason goes Outer Space, also followed this rule despite a few clever moments: Jason freezing and shattering a scientist's face and a wicked parody sequence within a hologram deck.

Freddy vs. Jason kicks off with a set-up that has lots of potential: Freddy revives Jason to spook the newest crop of Elm Street kids, because when teens are killed on Elm Street in Springwood (which happens so often, I don’t see why families keep moving there), everyone assumes it is Freddy. And then the myth of Freddy will be revived, and only when the kids are scared of Freddy can they have nightmares about him. But Jason likes what he does. Before Freddy can even claw first blood, Jason does some pre-emptive strikes. And of course, Freddy gets royally pissed, thus setting the stage for the big rumble.

In the first 10 minutes it looks like the filmmakers might go the way of parody, what with the coeds a bit too eager to show their ta-tas, a bit too eager for bed action, and a bit too conveniently desiring a shower. But soon the gears of formula lock into place, and we’re watching yet another retread.

I’m not sure if Freddy fans and Jason fans are mutually exclusive, but the filmmakers do a good job of avoiding one villain upstaging the other. Part of the fun of Freddy vs. Jason will be Jason fans and Freddy fans sizing up each villain’s respective damage and arguing over who is “winning.” (Which is troublesome because they are rooting for the bad guys - but that’s for highbrow critics to argue over.)

It was fascinating to learn that there’s a definite code to how the villains operate. You may have thought that they were just killing machines, plain and simple, but no, like aging porn stars, they perform only under the right conditions. In Freddy vs. Jason, you can tell when the conditions are warranting an attack by one of the villains: when the kids are sitting around and talking, it’s Freddy’s movie. (Because really, with dialogue this drab, how could anyone stay awake?) But when the kids dispense with the boring chit-chat and party hard, it’s Jason’s movie. If any of the characters could have pointed this out, we might have had a better movie.

But really, eviscerating the adolescents is just a warm-up for the main attraction: the big showdown. Actually, we get more than just ONE fight: both killers get a chance at home turf advantage. Jason is dragged into the dream world, and Freddy is yanked into the real world. It’s fun to see characters materialize in someone else’s movie world because the rules change: imagine Michael Jordon playing hockey or Wayne Gretsky playing basketball. I have to admit I got a bit giddy when Freddy, who’s wildly powerful in the dream world, shows up at Crystal Lake, Jason’s stomping ground.

Some parts of the big fight are silly, where Freddy learned all of his wrestling moves, we’ll never know. Other parts work, like when the two switch their killer accessories – it’s surreal to see Freddy swinging Jason's machete and Jason working Freddy's claw.

Freddy vs. Jason director Ronny Yu had popular success in breathing new life into the Child’s Play franchise with Bride of Chucky. It seems he’s become the go-to guy for jump-starting tired old horror franchises. But he’s not brave enough to tweak the genre staples; he doesn’t think outside the box. As per usual, there are no standout acting performances - but the casting department was lucky enough to find the poor man’s Jason Mewes. And as per usual, the characters do and say the stupidest things. Fortunately, Yu maintains a good brisk pace. (As a result, there’s less time for Freddy’s usual cat and mouse shenanigans. Sorry, Freddy fans.)

And when the dust finally settles, some may leave the theatre unsatisfied. I was hoping the movie would play with my expectations more. For the fans, I am sure Freddy vs. Jason will deliver. But for those of us hanging at the fringes of the fan base, hoping that one day, maybe, just maybe, Freddy and Jason would transcend their respective formulas and poke fun at their own pop culture iconography - we’ll never get a fighting chance.

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