Freddy vs. Jason (2003) - Trashy franchise mash-up, best avoided

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+ 3rd Worst Movie of the Year

+ Most Undeserved Hit of the Year 

The titular horror super-villains meet like boxers on this dark poster for Ronny Yu's Freddy vs. Jason

Nightmare killer, scissor-handed Freddy Krueger is going extinct due to becoming forgotten, but with the assistance of hockey-masked Crystal Lake camp-killer Jason Vorhees, he is able to make another bloody return, - until the two become enemies.

Freddy vs. Jason is written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift (Baywatch (2017), both) and directed by Ronny Yu (Cheung laap cheing ngoi (1979)). It is the 8th film in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise (1984-) of Freddy Krueger and the 11th in the Friday the 13th franchise (1980-) that gave rise to Jason Vorhees.
The plot summary above is about as much of a coherent story as one gets from this taxing ordeal of a film, which spends its time stomping around worn-out territory with the eagerness of a turkey on speed. The filmmakers try to compensate for the lack of substance or an exciting premise by stocking just about every second of it with special effects, which do divert a bit.
One almost pities the actors, who put their necks out for Freddy vs. Jason, but it should be remembered that it must have been wholly obvious from the script that this truly is trash. The point of Freddy vs. Jason is solely to milk another healthy gross out of two languishing franchise cows. Ugh!

Related posts:

Friday the 13th franchise: Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) - Miner debuts with solid if formulaic first sequel
Friday the 13th (1980) - Cunningham scores with simple but effective teen killer recipe 
Nightmare on Elm Street franchise: A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - Another terrible remake of a horror classic 
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) or, Your Kids and the Bastard Son of 100 Maniacs!
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) or, Don't Fall Asleep!
Ronny Yu: 2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

The 51st State (2001) or, US/UK, Drugs and Shooting
Bride of Chucky (1998) - Bizarre puppet slasher black comedy 

Watch a super-hammy teaser for the film here

Cost: 30 mil. $
Box office: 114.9 mil. $
= Big hit (returned 3.83 times its gross)
[Freddy vs. Jason premiered 13 August (USA) and runs 98 minutes. A cross-over film had been in talks since 1987 but lay dormant for various reasons. Only after the flop of Jason X (2001) did the properties align. Yu decided to recast Jason, letting the film be the first Friday the 13th film without Kane Hodder as Jason. Ken Kirzinger (The Blackburn Asylum (2015)), the new Jason, is a bit taller and also lived in Canada, saving the production flight and hotel bills for him. Robert Englund (Wish You Were Dead (2001)) returned for one last time as Freddy. Shooting took place in British Columbia, including Vancouver, in Toronto, Ontario and in California from September - November 2002. The film opened #1 to a 36.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it retained the spot for a second week before leaving the top 5, grossing 82.6 mil. $ (71.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 4.4 mil. $ (3.8 %) and Japan with 3.7 mil. $ (3.2 %). It was the highest-grossing in the Friday the 13th franchise, and the 2nd highest-grossing in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. They were subsequently rebooted with Friday the 13th (2009) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010). Yu returned with Fearless (2006). Englund returned in As A Bad Dream (2003); Kirzinger in 6 TV credits prior to his theatrical return in Hot Rod (2006). Freddy vs. Jason is rotten at 41 % with a 4.85/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Freddy vs. Jason?

Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) - Miner debuts with solid if formulaic first sequel

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More bodies dropping bloodily is the only thing promised on this simple, brand-pushing poster for Steve Miner's Friday the 13th Part 2

A group of summer camp teachers have an easy, swell time in a camp near Crystal Lake, where a series of murders took place five years ago, as the maniacal killer Jason Vorhees turns out to still be alive - and ready for murder!

Friday the 13th Part 2, the first sequel to the 1980 slasher classic original, is written by Ron Kurz (King Frat (1979)) and directed by debuting Steve Miner (Warlock (1989)). The franchise comprises 12 films at this point, as well as works in other media.
The film is very formulaic and filled with clichés, (a car that refuses to start and so on), and it is slow by today's horror standards. But for a horror fan it is still an acceptable followup, and the ending in Jason's mother-idolizing crypt is a highlight.

Related post:

Friday the 13th franchise: Friday the 13th (1980) - Cunningham scores with simple but effective teen killer recipe

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 1.25 mil. $
Box office: 21.7 mil. $ (North America only)
= Mega-hit (returned more than 17.26 times its cost)
[Friday the 13th Part 2 was released 1 May (USA) and runs 87 minutes. Shooting took place in Connecticut and Los Angeles, California in and around October 1980. Jason's stunt double Steve Dash (Mr. Hush (2010)) was cut in a finger by a machete during filming and got rug burns around an eye for another scene. The icepick prop malfunctioned and injured an actress' head. 48 seconds had to be cut from the film for it to avoid an X rating by the MPAA. The film opened #1 to a 6.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 21.7 mil. $,  considerably under the first film's domestic total of 39.7 mil. $ but still highly profitable. The global final gross is not publicly known, but it is likely above 35 mil. $. Roger Ebert gave the film a 0.5/4 star review, translating to two notches harder than this one. Miner returned with the franchise's next entry, Friday the 13th Part III (1982). Amy Steel (Home Improvement (1994, TV-series)) returned in 5 TV-series before she came back to theaters in a bit part in Exposed (1983). Friday the 13th Part 2 is rotten at 34 % with a 4.5/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Friday the 13th Part 2?

Friday the 13th (1980) - Cunningham scores with simple but effective teen killer recipe

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The mysterious, knife-carrying killer's contour frames a drawing of the doomed youths in this very neat poster for Sean S. Cunningham's Friday the 13th

Camp Crystal Lake is an idyllic nature hideout that a group of young counselors intend to reopen 20 years after a fatal drowning took place there. But as it turns out, the camp isn't ready for a reopening.

- The youths at Crystal Lake get it with the knife, the ax, the arrow and what have you, one by one, in this classic and effective teen slasher. Friday the 13th showcases the slasher concept that worked 20 years before it was made as well as 20 years later, and which this film was instrumental in streamlining for scores of more or less inventive reproductions in the following decade. At its best here, it is an entertaining mix of suspense, shocks and spectacular deaths.
SPOILER The ending of Friday the 13th, in which Jason's mother Pamela Vorheers fights the girl Alice and is finally beheaded, is cool, and the same goes for the very last surprise scene (invented by special effects wizard Tom Savini, inspired by the ending of Carrie (1976)) that features Jason in the lake.
Friday the 13th is written by Victor Miller (The Black Pearl (1977)) and Ron Kurz (King Frat (1979)), with co-writer-producer-director Sean S. Cunningham (Together (1971)) contributing story elements. SPOILER Later star Kevin Bacon (Saving Angelo (2007, short)) has a small role in the film that entails a sex scene and an arrow through his throat.

Listen to the film's main theme here

Cost: 0.55 mil. $
Box office: 59.8 mil. $
= Mega-hit
[Friday the 13th was released 9 May (USA) and runs 95 minutes. Cunningham had worked with Wes Craven on his The Last House on the Left (1972) and was also inspired by the success of John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) to make a "rollercoaster ride" horror. Shooting took place in New Jersey, including in a reportedly still operating Boy Scout camp, from September - October 1979. Betsy Palmer took the role as Mrs. Vorheers to pay for a car and thought the film was "a piece of shit." Composer Harry Manfredini was inspired by John Williams' score for Jaws (1975) in coming up with the film's iconic ki ki ki, ma ma ma sound before the killer's strikes. Paramount bought the distribution rights for 1.5 mil. $ and spent another million to advertise it, (half a million before its release and another half during its run, which peaked domestically in 1,100 theaters.) The film opened #1 to a 5.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it triumphed its way to a sensational 39.7 mil. $ (66.4 % of the total gross), despite bad reviews. The studio's international release of an independent feature without major stars was unusual at the time but paid off, as international audiences were also sizable. The film became the 18th highest-grossing film of the year and its domestic gross wasn't beaten by the first 9 of the following 11 sequels. They are: Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Friday the 13th Part III (1982), Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985), Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988), Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993), Jason X (2001), Freddy vs. Jason (2003) and Friday the 13th (2009). Cunningham returned with A Stranger Is Watching (1982). Friday the 13th is rotten at 59% with a 5.5/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Friday the 13th?