Freddy Krueger invades Jason Voorhees' dreams in order to bring him to Elm Street and unleash him on the local teenage population while Freddy awaits the moment when he will be strong enough to kill again on his own.
But Jason just can't help himself and continues his rampage, encroaching on Freddy's turf and sparking a show down between two of the most infamous slasher villains of all time. Meanwhile, local teenager Lori Campbell (Monica Keena) is caught in the middle of the deadly battle between two contestants who both have one ultimate objective; to kill her and her friends.
Freddy vs. Jason marks the final film in both the original Nightmare on Elm Street series, as well as the original Friday the 13th franchise. The movie starts out strong, seeming like it could return to the darker, grittier side of the two series, both of which ultimately had declined towards the cheesy side during several of their later sequels.
Unfortunately this strong start doesn't last all the way through. Freddy is less cheesy than he is during the Dream sequels, or Freddy's Dead, but still has his campy moments. Jason is his usual silent, but deadly, machete wielding self. The effects are modern, but nothing phenomenal. The acting is a mixed bag, with highlights being Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, and (of course), Katherine Isabelle.
There are some major plot holes and questionable story progressions. For example, when Jason carries out a murderous rampage against a group of douche-bag ravers, the survivors decide to escape and drive home to get some sleep before discussing their next move. Calling the police? An ambulance? Nah...
Also, if Freddy could manipulate Jason's dreams to get him to come to Elm Street, why couldn't he do the same to get him to leave? I suppose because they would then have no reason to fight and that would defeat the purpose of the action packed second half of the movie. Admittedly, this part is kind of cool in terms of getting to watch the two of them fight it out. Any slightly scary moments are long over by the half way mark though because its all just slicing and dicing from there on.
All in all, Freddy vs. Jason mostly fails in terms of returning to the suspenseful, scary roots of the two series. But it does succeed in being entertaining.
3 bed foldings out of 5
Rated R for pervasive strong horror violence/gore, gruesome images, nudity/sexuality, drug use and language
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