Freddy Vs. Jason
2.5/4
Starring: Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland, Chris Marquette
Rated R for Pervasive Strong Horror Violence/Gore, Gruesome Images, Sexuality, Drug Use and Language
On some level, I have to admire "Freddy Vs. Jason" for its willingness to embrace itself. What I mean is that it is one of those few movies that never tries to be anything than what it is. Not out of fear of failure (its box office success was all but assured), but out of a sense of affection. While the slasher movie genre got its start as scarefests in the late 70's, they quickly became gore and cheesefests (which the "Scream" franchise poked fun at with such glee). "Freddy Vs. Jason" is undeniably silly, and it knows it. It invites you to laugh along with its silliness.
Freddy Krueger (Englund) is steaming mad. As the result of a conspiracy, he's been completely forgotten. That means that he has no power to enter the dreams of not-so-innocent teenagers and slaughter them in whatever way inspires him. So he gets a way around it by resurrecting Jason Voorhees (Kirzinger) to kill a bunch of teenagers, which will make the townspeople think that he is back, which will give him more power, which will allow him to go on a killing spree. And somewhere in there are a few teenagers who try to figure out what's going on and how to take them down: blond Lori (Keena), neurotic and sensitive Will (Ritter), sassy Kia (Rowland), and a few others (none of whom last long).
If that plot synopsis seems a little hole-filled, you're right. "Freddy Vs. Jason" isn't the pinnacle of narrative. It's really just a thread to set up the kill scenes, which are numerous. It's still the film's main problem. It doesn't make much sense, which is worsened by awful editing by Mark Stevens. Slasher movies typically rely on story or character, and that's the mistake that Yu makes. This should have been a relatively, undemanding 90 minute blood-and-cheese fest.
Still, in other aspects of the film, the film is on solid ground. It's clear that either Ronny Yu is a slasher movie aficionado or at least knows his stuff. He pushes everything just far enough over the top that it becomes amusing rather than corny. The acting is bad, yes, but I think that was intentional. The actors are clearly too old to play high schoolers and elements of the plot appear to be straight out of a soap opera. That's actually part of the joke. So are the cheesy special effects, some of which are quite inventive.
"Freddy Vs. Jason" is like that. A slasher movie parody that's not a parody. If you think of it like that, then you'll have a good time.
Starring: Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland, Chris Marquette
Rated R for Pervasive Strong Horror Violence/Gore, Gruesome Images, Sexuality, Drug Use and Language
On some level, I have to admire "Freddy Vs. Jason" for its willingness to embrace itself. What I mean is that it is one of those few movies that never tries to be anything than what it is. Not out of fear of failure (its box office success was all but assured), but out of a sense of affection. While the slasher movie genre got its start as scarefests in the late 70's, they quickly became gore and cheesefests (which the "Scream" franchise poked fun at with such glee). "Freddy Vs. Jason" is undeniably silly, and it knows it. It invites you to laugh along with its silliness.
Freddy Krueger (Englund) is steaming mad. As the result of a conspiracy, he's been completely forgotten. That means that he has no power to enter the dreams of not-so-innocent teenagers and slaughter them in whatever way inspires him. So he gets a way around it by resurrecting Jason Voorhees (Kirzinger) to kill a bunch of teenagers, which will make the townspeople think that he is back, which will give him more power, which will allow him to go on a killing spree. And somewhere in there are a few teenagers who try to figure out what's going on and how to take them down: blond Lori (Keena), neurotic and sensitive Will (Ritter), sassy Kia (Rowland), and a few others (none of whom last long).
If that plot synopsis seems a little hole-filled, you're right. "Freddy Vs. Jason" isn't the pinnacle of narrative. It's really just a thread to set up the kill scenes, which are numerous. It's still the film's main problem. It doesn't make much sense, which is worsened by awful editing by Mark Stevens. Slasher movies typically rely on story or character, and that's the mistake that Yu makes. This should have been a relatively, undemanding 90 minute blood-and-cheese fest.
Still, in other aspects of the film, the film is on solid ground. It's clear that either Ronny Yu is a slasher movie aficionado or at least knows his stuff. He pushes everything just far enough over the top that it becomes amusing rather than corny. The acting is bad, yes, but I think that was intentional. The actors are clearly too old to play high schoolers and elements of the plot appear to be straight out of a soap opera. That's actually part of the joke. So are the cheesy special effects, some of which are quite inventive.
"Freddy Vs. Jason" is like that. A slasher movie parody that's not a parody. If you think of it like that, then you'll have a good time.
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