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?

Bride of Chucky (1998) - Bizarre puppet slasher black comedy

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Ronny Yu's Bride of Chucky takes the horror franchise in a new direction of self-referential, dark humor

QUICK REVIEW:

Chucky is resuscitated by his old flame Tiffany, but when he won't immediately marry her, she punishes him, - and he transforms her into a puppet.
Bride of Chucky is the 4th Chucky-film, the former three known as the Child's Play-horror films (1988/90/91). The franchise alters substantially in this film, as there's no child possessor of the evil puppet involved, but instead sex, murders and lots of self-referential, irreverent, black humor.
Everything is very tacky and 90s-Hollywood-over-done in Bride, - from Jennifer Tilly's (Bound (1996)) cleavage to the killings, - but the film stays entertaining in a bizarre kind of way.
Still, the original Child's Play (1988) by Tom Holland is a far better film.
Bride of Chucky is directed by Hong Konger Ronny Yu (Freddy vs. Jason (2003)), whose latest project was Saving General Yang (2013), a Chinese period piece.

Related reviews:

Jennifer Tilly: Bound (1996) - Lesbian femme fatales in dark as espresso mob thriller
Ronny Yu: The 51st State (2001) or, US/UK, Drugs and Shooting

The unorthodox bride and groom of Ronny Yu's Bride of Chucky

Watch the very 90s trailer for this very 90s irony-infused horror-comedy right here

Budget: 25 mil. $
Box office: 50.6 mil. $
= Flop

How do you rate the Child's Play and Chucky films?
What do you think of Bride of Chucky?

Formula 51/The 51st State (2001) or, US/UK, Drugs and Shooting!

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You want to see Samuel L. Jackson in a kilt? Ronny Yu's Formula 51 is the flick for you then

The 51st State (the film's British title) is one of those Pulp Fiction-wake films that just do not compare in quality to Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece.
The gimmicky plot here is:

A Yankee meets a limey in a huge drug deal that goes South.

The script by Stel Pavlou (Rendezvous with Rama (announced)) is light, concocted and the pace is a little bit on the slow side. - Overall, Formula 51 is a very forgettable film.
The strong cast includes Samuel Jackson (Pulp Fiction), Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty (1997)), Emily Mortimer (City Island (2009)), Rhys Ifans (Greenberg (2010)) and Meat Loaf (The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)), and they make the film acceptably entertaining if not actually memorable in any meaningful way.
I must confess that I don't know Hong Kong-born director Ronny Yu (Fearless/Huo Yuanjia (2006)) well. His Western films are not great, although Bride of Chucky (1998) is at least a more fun watch than Formula 51. Apparently, Jackson, working also as one of the film's executive producers, for some reason recommended him to direct.

Related post:

Ronny Yu: Bride of Chucky (1998) - A bizarre puppet slasher black comedy

Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: 27 mil. $
Box office: 14.4 mil. $
= Huge flop (returned 0.53 times the cost)
[Formula 51 was released 7 December (UK) and runs 92 minutes. Writer Pavlou, who conceived the plot in 1994, had envisioned a 1 mil. £ production. Shooting took place in England and in Los Angeles, California, wrapping in September 2000. It opened #12 in North America, its peak there, where it grossed 5.2 mil. $ (36.1 % of the total gross). Yu returned with Freddy vs. Jason (2003). Jackson returned in The Comeback (2002, short) and theatrically in Changing Lanes (2002); Carlyle in Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002). Formula 51 is rotten at 26 % with a 4.3/10 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Formula 51?