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It had to happen. Two of the most famous fantasy horror villains of screendom had to meet in the same film. Ah, horror fans, here it is--Freddy vs. Jason.  Robert Englund is back as Freddy Krueger, the child murderer who was burned to death for his crimes but came back to haunt children and teens in their dreams. Nightmare on Elm Street was the first of his many films and the best--what could top not falling asleep? On the other side of the clawed glove (Freddy's trademark) is Jason (Ken Kirzinger), who was mercilessly teased as a child because of a misshapen head. Jason became a homicidal maniac who wore a hockey mask to disguise his scarred face and used a machete as his particular mode of destruction. His films were the Halloween ones (remember Jamie Lee Curtis in them?).

I see the meeting of the two slashers as a chance to revive this particular horror genre, which has shown decreasing revenue at the box office. In fact, if Freddy vs. Jason is a hit, perhaps other monsters could be added, such as Dracula and Alien vs. Frankenstein and Godzilla. In this particular story, Freddy is languishing in some kind of Hell and wants to be active again. In order to do so, he reactivates Jason, who claws his way out of a forest grave and starts a killing spree. Each murder makes Freddy stronger, but then -- whoa, dude -- Jason doesn't want to stop killing. Hmm, Freddy hadn't fully thought this one out. In the meantime, there are teens (Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, and Kelly Rowland) in distress from the maniacs, and most of the town is either trying to deny these guys are back in action or running into the woods/fields/lake with no clothes on and getting dismembered.

The special effects are fairly well done with enough fake blood to float Memphis down the river. There are two genuinely frightening moments. First, Jason is afire and running through a dry cornfield after teens. This shot is from above and is effective. The second scary part is when a girl is hiding in a locker in an old building while Freddy is lurking around. The monsters try to get into each other's heads to find what they are afraid of, and this technique is also a good plot.

You have to wait almost two-thirds of the movie to see the two killers go against each other but it is worth the wait. There is a size difference, with an agile Freddy  (think Chihuahua) against a lumbering Jason (think St. Bernard). While the guys chase each other, the teens try to figure out what to do. The product placements on the table are a real sell. As it stands, Freddy vs. Jason should satisfy fans for a bit. I don't know where else the villains could go, as Jason has already been in outer space (Jason X), so that leaves, what, the core of the Earth? The Arctic? Fantasy, though, does overwhelm me.

Copyright 2003 Marie Asner
Submitted 8/27/03