Ronnie Yu’s 2003 film “Freddy vs.
Jason” — simultaneously the eighth film in the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series and the eleventh film in the “Friday the 13th” series — finally brought together two of the most popular characters of the 1980s slasher boom and had them wail on each other in a series of supernatural monster fights.
Most slasher fans would have appreciated a “Freddy vs.
Jason” film about a decade earlier, but there was still magic in the air in 2003; Yu’s film made over $116 million on a $30 million budget. It also, in a very utilitarian way, gave audiences exactly what they wanted.
There was a decent-enough retinue of teenage victims to slaughter (led by actress Monica Keena).
The story hung together juuuust well enough.
And the final fights between Freddy (Robert Englund) and Jason (Ken Kirzinger) addressed any late-night, heavily intoxicated concerns horror fanboys might have posited.
Read full article