Freddy vs. Jason

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Freddy vs. Jason

Promotional poster
Directed by Ronny Yu
Produced by Sean S. Cunningham
Written by Damian Shannon, Mark Swift (screenplay)
Wes Craven, Victor Miller (characters)
Starring Robert Englund,
Ken Kirzinger,
Monica Keena,
Kelly Rowland
Distributed by New Line Cinema
Release date(s) USA August 15, 2003
Running time 97 min.
Language English
Budget $25,000,000
Preceded by Wes Craven's New Nightmare
Jason X
Followed by Friday the 13th Part 11
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Freddy vs. Jason is a slasher film and a sequel that was released in 2003 by New Line Cinema. The film was directed by Ronny Yu. The plot pits Jason Voorhees (of the Friday the 13th series of films) and Freddy Krueger (of the Nightmare on Elm Street series of films) against each other.

Tagline: Winner kills all...

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) is stuck in hell. He is not able to get out of this situation as long as no one remembers him and his crimes. Therefore, he conjures up Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger) who is capable of acting in the real world. In the guise of Jason's mother (Pamela Voorhees, the one person to whom Jason will listen), Freddy convinces Jason to kill teenagers living on Elm Street to make the residents of Springwood, Ohio think that Freddy is back.

Jason commits a few murders which are blamed on Freddy. A small group of youths including Lori Campbell (Monica Keena), her boyfriend Will Rollins (Jason Ritter), Kia (Kelly Rowland), and a sheriff's deputy notice that it was not Freddy who had committed the murders. However, when they realize this, it is already too late and the population's fear has made Freddy strong enough to come back from hell.

Since Jason has done what he was expected to do, Freddy wants him to stop. However, Jason does not listen and continues to kill. Thus, a bloody fight begins between Jason and Freddy. The film ends with Jason impaling Freddy with his own severed arm. Lori then decapitates him. The final scene of the film shows Jason carrying Freddy's head out of Crystal Lake. Freddy winks as the head moves by the camera at the end of the film. Thus, the winner of the battle is ambiguous.

[edit] Alternate endings

The filmed alternate ending takes place 2 months after the incident. Lori is having sex for the first time with Will. After a few moments of talking, Will goes too rough and then Lori screams as his hand transforms, it's Freddy. He apparently slashes her to death. At one point during the script's development, Pinhead was to make an appearance at the end of the film, but licensing issues prevented it; however, an animatic of this ending can be found on the DVD. Another alternate ending was also considered where Freddy and Jason fight for eternity as gladiators in Hell for Satan's endless amusement, but this was never filmed. However, animatics for this sequence do exist and were included as a hidden easter egg in the DVD special edition of the film. A third alternate ending finds Crystal Lake drained and a giant hand made of water dragging Freddy and Jason down to Hell, which Freddy escapes and then kills Lori's father. He then fights a reanimated Jason.

[edit] Cast

Actors/Actresses Role
Robert Englund Freddy Krueger
Ken Kirzinger Jason Voorhees
Monica Keena Lori Campbell
Jason Ritter Will Rollins
Kelly Rowland Kia Waterson
Chris Marquette Charlie Linderman
Brendan Fletcher Mark Davis
Katharine Isabelle Gibb
Lochlyn Munro Deputy Scott Stubbs
Kyle Labine Bill Freeburg
Tom Butler Dr. Campbell
Gary Chalk Sheriff Williams
David Kopp Blake
Odessa Munroe Heather
Jesse Hutch Trey
Paula Shaw Mrs. Pamela Voorhees
Chris Gauthier Shack

[edit] Reception

While a box office success and fairly well received among fans but not so among critics, many felt that the film failed to live up to the hype generated for such a highly anticipated film. This is mostly faulted to the plot, which is often cited as adding little to the genre, and the characters being standard slasher stereotypes. While these criticisms are argued to be expected in the genre, others express the desire for something different in a film that they believe should be grander than both sets of predecessors and other slasher films. Some Friday the 13th fans have also expressed a distaste for the way in which Jason is portrayed in the film. On the other hand, Nightmare on Elm Street fans were upset that Freddy's body count was considerably lower than that of Jason's (Freddy only directly kills one character versus Jason's body count that reaches more than a dozen) [1]. However, one of the most talked about aspects is the final scene, which has caused endless debates among fans of both franchises as to its meaning and who of the two actually comes off as the victor. Fans of Jason contend that he won the conflict, due to him striking the last blow of the fight, weakening Freddy enough so that Lori was able to decapitate him. Some fans of Freddy argue that since Jason himself did not strike the fatal blow, that it was a draw. Others say that the mysterious, winking scene meant Freddy wasn't dead. Neither argument has been confirmed nor denied by New Line. However, co-writer Mark Swift has stated that he considered Jason to be the victor.[2] Some even believe that the idea of pitting the two monsters against each other to be futile itself, as there would be an effort not to offend fans of either, and that the film "copped out" by not making a clear winner in order to please both fanbases.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Betting

Due to the popularity of Jason and Freddy among adults, a large number of bets were placed on the outcome of the movie. Some professional betting establishments even started taking bets and giving odds on different outcomes.[citation needed]

[edit] Fan reaction

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Many fans were upset that longtime Jason actor Kane Hodder was not asked to reprise his role, but the producers said that they wanted an actor with more sympathetic eyes. In reality, many thought that Kane was unprofessional in not doing what directors had told him to do in the past. On one occasion, the director of one of Friday the 13th movies wanted Jason to kick a dog that was barking at him, Hodder replied, "Jason wouldn't do that" and refused to do it. Freddy vs. Jason also required Jason to run in a scene. Hodder had always said, "I will never have Jason run." However, rather than the scenes not being filmed due to Hodder's refusal, another actor was simply dressed in the Jason costume and performed the scenes. And so professional stuntman Ken Kirzinger was hired. Kirzinger had previously appeared briefly in Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. In one of his short appearances, Kirzinger (as Jason) runs out at a victim from around a corner underground because Hodder had refused to do it, again replying, "Jason wouldn't do that." Kirzinger also served as that film's stunt coordinator.

Due to the movie's excessive number of violent scenes, Freddy vs. Jason was banned in Malaysia.

[edit] Possible sequel

Several ideas for a sequel to the film have been proposed. Many of these involve additional characters from other horror franchises. The use of Bruce Campbell's Ash Williams character from the Evil Dead franchise had been considered, but this idea was halted when Evil Dead creator and director, Sam Raimi, decided against it. According to an interview with Englund from March of 2006, New Line Cinema has participated in talks with John Carpenter concerning the use of Michael Myers in a sequel.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:


The Nightmare on Elm Street Series
Films: A Nightmare on Elm Street • A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge • A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors • A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master • A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child • Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare • Wes Craven's New Nightmare • Freddy vs. Jason
Major characters: Freddy Krueger • Amanda Krueger • Nancy Thompson • Kristen Parker • Alice Johnson
Other topics: Comics • Freddy's Nightmares (TV series) • Hypnocil • Springwood, Ohio • Timeline • Video Games
The Friday the 13th Series
Films: Friday the 13th • Friday the 13th Part 2 • Friday the 13th Part 3 • Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter • Friday the 13th: A New Beginning • Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives • Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood • Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan • Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday • Jason X • Freddy vs. Jason
Major characters: Jason Voorhees • Pamela Voorhees • Tommy Jarvis • Roy Burns
Other topics: Comics • List of Deaths • Timeline • Video Game
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