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REVIEW: FREDDY VS. JASON
Directed by Ronny Yu
Review by Michael Rowin
a Film Comment online exclusive
It was inevitable. Just as Godzilla battled King Kong, and Superman raced the Flash, so too would Freddy Kreuger and Jason Voorhees, the two most recognizable horror characters of the last quarter century, have to face off. After more than a dozen lackluster sequels in the Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th series, the realization of Freddy Vs. Jason is somewhat of a gift for fans. Indeed, rumors of this celluloid death match have been around for years, conjuring images of limitless mayhem.
But perhaps it's wishful thinking to hope New Line Cinema could breathe new life into these withered bogeymen. After all, the concept of the Nightmare series, as created by Wes Craven - in which an undead child-killer haunts teenagers in their dreams - was always more frightening than its execution. Freddy quickly turned into a cartoon character replete with one-liners and novel methods of entering his victims' minds. The franchise seemed all but finished with the last installment, 1994's New Nightmare, which put Craven back in the director's seat but saw him aiming over his audience's head with a metacinematic reimagining of Kreuger's origins. And although Sean S. Cunningham created a mythology with Jason, a tormented child who comes back to terrorize camp counselors at Crystal Lake, the character was never that interesting to begin with, and the Friday the 13th movies became lesser Halloweens. Both franchises have taken strange twists over the years, as the original storylines veered away from their horror raison d'être-Freddy planned to father a child in Part V of Nightmare, and Jason somehow found himself in the 25th century in 2001's Jason X - so it's no surprise that Freddy Vs. Jason once again fails to get things back on track.
The good news is that the plot of Freddy Vs. Jason attempts to readdress Freddy's and Jason's origins. The bad news is the attempt utterly fails, flying in the face of Nightmare on Elm Street's premise. It seems that the kids of Springwood have forgotten Freddy (Robert Englund), with the help of medication and/or the detention of survivors in a local loony bin. He lures Jason (Kurt Kirzinger) to the town in the hopes that a crash-course in fear will remind the kids of their long-lost nightmare and allow him to regain his power. Of course, if anybody remembers the original, Nancy and her friends didn't know who Freddy was until late in the film, thus making the shadowy man with razor fingers much more frightening. Gaping plot holes may not matter in horror movie land, but here they set the tone for the rest of the film's ridiculousness. In fact, the justification for the two slashers' collaboration is lazily spelled out in Freddy's direct address to the audience in the prologue (and, as a complete insult to the audience, several times thereafter), dissolving any mystery and suspense.
The main problem is that the film fails to live up to its title. Instead of delving into the fantastic worlds of Freddy and Jason - full of the torments of childhood and the unconscious mind - the film's first half is much like any other slasher film, with attractive teens getting picked off one by one after drinking, smoking, and having sex (you'd have thought that resorting to this formula would have faded after the insufferable irony of Craven's Scream series, but then you'd have thought wrong). In fact, the only indications that Freddy Vs. Jason takes place in 2003 is a mention of Columbine, an outdoor rave, and the noticeable proliferation of breast implants among the young, talentless Hollywood actresses.
When Freddy and Jason finally do battle, the result is hackneyed and dull. Ronny Yu, former Hong Kong martial arts director, now taking up B-movie fare such as Bride of Chucky, stages these scenes without any hint of suspense, surprise, or originality - Freddy and Jason could be any random pair of enemies. The attempt to delve into Jason's psyche particularly comes up short in that it offers no shocks, just empty recognition. The film's most egregious move is the long-awaited "conclusion," which cheats fans and newcomers alike.
It may seem silly to even review Freddy Vs. Jason - the remaining hard-core fans will ultimately have their say, and that's what counts. What's disappointing is that given the steadfast devotion to these villains and their storylines, New Line might have offered something new and exciting for those who've stuck with each series through some rather lean times. Alas, it's just a dream, and a bad one at that.
- MICHAEL ROWIN
© 2003 by The Film Society of Lincoln Center
