Freddy vs. Jason

Freddy vs. Jason is a 2003 American slasher film featuring the characters Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street and Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th, created by Wes Craven and Victor Miller, respectively. Directed by Ronny Yu and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, the film is a crossover between the two franchises and as the eighth installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street series and the eleventh installment in the Friday the 13th series. The film stars Monica Keena, Kelly Rowland, Jason Ritter, Christopher George Marquette, Lochlyn Munro, and Robert Englund reprising his role as Krueger from previous films.

Serving as a sequel to both Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare and Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, the film brings together the titular antagonists of their respective franchises. After the residents of Springwood begin taking medication to suppress their dreams, Freddy Krueger finds himself weakened and forgotten. To regain his power, he resurrects Jason Voorhees to spread fear and restore his strength. However, Voorhees soon proves uncontrollable, setting the stage for a violent clash between the two supernatural killers.

Freddy vs. Jason was released by New Line Cinema in the United States on August 15, 2003. Despite mixed reviews from critics, the film grossed $116.6 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film in the Friday the 13th franchise, and the second highest-grossing film in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, only behind the 2010 remake. The film marks Englund's final portrayal as Krueger and was the last released film in each franchise's continuity before their respective remake and reboot. A sequel and crossover with the Evil Dead franchise, Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, was planned but later repurposed as a comic book limited series, along with a follow-up subtitled The Nightmare Warriors.

Plot

Having been trapped in hell since his last defeat, Freddy Krueger can no longer invade children's dreams, as the adults of Springwood have gone to extremes to forget about him by wiping public records and committing anyone who dreams of him to Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital where they are administered the dream suppressant Hypnocil. Using the last of his power, Freddy resurrects Jason Voorhees after his own defeat and appears as Jason's mother, Pamela Voorhees, to manipulate him into carrying out a massacre on Elm Street. The resulting fear would allow Freddy to regain his power.

Lori Campbell lives with her widowed father. During a sleepover with her friends Kia and Gibb, Gibb's emotionally abusive boyfriend Trey, and his friend Blake, Jason murders Trey and then kills Blake and his father. Lori's ex-boyfriend, Will Rollins, and his friend Mark Davis, who are patients at Westin Hills due to their previous contact with Freddy, see a news report about the killings and decide to escape to warn Lori. That night, Lori and her friends attend a rave in a cornfield. Freddy tries to kill Gibb in a nightmare, but Jason kills her first in the real world and goes on a rampage at the rave, angering Freddy, who realizes that Jason's killing spree will deny him victims.

The friends escape the rave with school nerd Charlie and stoner Bill. Will reveals to Lori that he witnessed her father killing her mother and he had him put in the hospital to keep him from revealing the truth and they soon witness Mark getting killed by Freddy. Deputy Scott Stubbs helps the teens. Learning about Hypnocil, they try to steal it from Westin Hills to suppress their dreams; however, Freddy possesses Bill and disposes of the medicine. During the search, Jason kills Stubbs. Shortly after, the possessed Bill tranquilizes Jason but before the tranquilizer takes effect, Jason slashes Bill in half and then falls asleep.

The teens devise a plan to pull Freddy from the dream world into reality and force him to fight Jason, bringing the unconscious Jason back to Camp Crystal Lake in New Jersey. Freddy fights Jason in the dream world, where he discovers that Jason has a fear of drowning. He uses this to his advantage, causing Jason to revert to his younger self. Lori goes to sleep to pull Freddy out and save Jason. Freddy tortures Lori in her dream, revealing that he murdered her mother. Jason awakens at the real Camp Crystal Lake and pursues the teens, around the same time Lori wakes up and pulls Freddy into the physical world, where Jason confronts him, during this conflict Charlie fights off Jason in an attempt to save Kia and is thrown into a wall and impaled on a shelf bracket. Kia and Charlie get to safety with Kia promising to come back with help for Charlie, but he bleeds out against a tree and dies as she runs for help.

As Freddy and Jason fight throughout the campgrounds, Kia sacrifices herself by distracting and taunting Freddy, allowing Lori and Will to escape and is killed by Jason. As Freddy gains the upper hand, Lori distracts him, allowing Jason to punch through his torso. Freddy plunges Jason's machete into his side, and Jason rips off Freddy's gloved arm. Lori and Will set the dock on fire, causing an explosion that throws Freddy and Jason into the lake. Freddy climbs out and is about to kill the pair but is impaled by Jason with his gloved arm, allowing Lori to behead Freddy with Jason's machete. Jason, Freddy's head, and his body sink into the lake, seemingly dead.

The next morning, Jason emerges from the lake, holding his machete and Freddy's head. Freddy winks at the camera, leaving the overall "winner" ambiguous.

Cast

Template:Main Template:Castlist Additionally, Evangeline Lilly had a walk-on role as a high-school student.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> New Line Cinema studio chief Robert Shaye,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> who produced every preceding Nightmare on Elm Street film, played the school principal (credited as L.E. Moko).Template:Citation needed

Production

Development

Influenced by fan desire for a crossover film with a fight between Freddy and Jason, New Line Cinema and Paramount Pictures tried to make a Freddy vs. Jason movie in 1987. Frank Mancuso Jr. enlisted Tom McLoughlin to unite the studios, but no agreement could be made.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan failed at the box office, Sean S. Cunningham wanted to reacquire the rights to Friday the 13th and begin working with New Line Cinema on Freddy vs. Jason. Paramount and New Line wanted the license to the other's character so they could control a crossover film. Negotiations on the project collapsed, and Paramount made Jason Takes Manhattan. After Jason Takes Manhattan was released in 1989, the rights reverted to Scuderi, Minasian, and Barsamianto (who sold them to New Line). Two years after initial talks fell apart, director Joseph Zito attempted to revive the project, but neither Mancuso nor Robert Shaye were interested in pursuing the project.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Before Cunningham could begin to work on Freddy vs. Jason, Wes Craven returned to New Line to make New Nightmare. This put Freddy vs. Jason on hold, but allowed Cunningham to bring Jason back with Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.<ref name="part9">Bracke, Peter, pp.218–219</ref> The ninth installment "turned a healthy profit".<ref>Bracke, Peter, pg. 238</ref> In a 1995 interview with Fangoria, Craven was dismissive of the idea of Freddy vs. Jason, saying it was taking "something that had a lot of impact and dignity and dragging it down to another level."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cunningham's "frustration" with the delayed development of Freddy vs. Jason led him to create Jason X to keep the series alive. Based on Jason Takes ManhattanTemplate:'s concept of taking Jason away from Crystal Lake, the tenth film put the titular character in space.<ref name="part 10">Bracke, Peter, pp.242–243</ref> The film lost its biggest supporter with the resignation of president of production Michael De Luca. Lack of support let the finished film sit for two years before it was released on April 26, 2002. It was the series' lowest-grossing film at the domestic box office, and had the largest budget of any of the films to date.<ref>Bracke, Peter, pp.263–264</ref> Jason Goes to Hell duo Adam Marcus and Dean Lorey were courted early on, but no official deal was finalized.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

New Line spent a reported $6 million on script development alone from several different writers.<ref name="Konda">Template:Cite web</ref> Lewis Abernathy, writer of Deepstar Six and House IV, was the first screenwriter attached to the film. Abernathy sought to direct his script, entitled Nightmare 13: Freddy Meets Jason, but his limited directing experience prohibited him from doing so.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> David J. Schow was given an offer to write the script because he just happened to walk by De Luca's office one day.<ref name="Konda"/> Schow revised Abernathy's script, expanding upon a cult that worships Freddy Krueger.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1994, De Luca passed on the draft and turned to Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore, who wrote Jason vs. Freddy, which had a more "adult tone" than previous entries.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The writing duo would depart the film and would be replaced by Peter Briggs, who impressed the studio with his previous crossover attempt, Alien vs. Predator. Briggs' draft saw numerous returning characters across several films.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1996, Demon Knight scribes Cyrus Voris and Ethan Reiff were commissioned by Cunningham to write a new script, under the title Freddy vs. Jason: Millennium Massacre, with Rob Bottin, known for his make-up work on The Thing and Total Recall, directing.<ref name="Martin">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> New Line previously offered the spot to Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson to no avail.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bottin opted to drop the current draft of the script and penned his own treatment. David S. Goyer and his writing partner James Dale Robinson were subsequently hired to flesh out Bottin's treatment into a screenplay. No parties involved were happy with the script, leading to Goyer and Robinson exiting the film.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Bottin and his treatment were retained despite clashing with the studio over the film's budget. Screenwriting duo Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, known for their work on King of the Hill, were selected by the director to write a new script. The draft was widely disliked at Cunningham Productions.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Bottin initially considered revising the script himself, but ultimately left the film altogether.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1999, Mark Verheiden entered the project and proposed releasing the film with two different endings; one with Freddy winning and one with Jason winning.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The next year, De Luca hired Mark Protosevich to write an entirely new script.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Jason X writer Todd Farmer wrote for the film as well.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Newcomers Mark Swift & Damian Shannon were hired after delivering a pitch that De Luca was happy with in March 2002.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Goyer returned to the project once again in an effort to trim "every ounce of fat" from Swift and Shannon's 120-page script.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Wes Craven, Guillermo del Toro, and Ronny Yu all declined the opportunity to direct the film.<ref name="McNeill 2017 207">Template:Cite book</ref> Rob Zombie turned the film down in favor to helm House of 1000 Corpses.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Then up-and-coming filmmaker Jaume Balagueró campaigned to direct the film. Yu would ultimately sign on to direct the film in May 2002 after being given an "enormous" amount of creative freedom.<ref name="McNeill 2017 207"/> According to Swift and Shannon, several endings were considered for the film; one involved a surprise appearance from Pinhead of the Hellraiser franchise, but New Line did not want to secure the rights for the character.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The setting of Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital and the Hypnocil drug were plot elements introduced in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Casting

In 1999, Robert Englund officially signed onto the film, marking his eighth appearance as the character of Freddy Krueger.<ref name="Martin"/> In August 2002, Entertainment Weekly revealed Kelly Rowland and Brad Renfro were cast in the film, while Kane Hodder would reprise his role as Jason Voorhees.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> However, conflicting reports emerged with IGN stating that the film was looking to reinvent the character, thus ditching Hodder.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Monica Keena was selected to portray the film's lead after an "extensive search", while the supporting cast were made up of Canadian actors, including Katharine Isabelle, Lochlyn Munro, Brendan Fletcher, Tom Butler, David Kopp, Jesse Hutch, Kyle Labine and Zack Ward.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Betsy Palmer was courted to reprise her role as Pamela Voorhees from Friday the 13th, but declined due to salary disputes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Actress Paula Shaw would assume the role from Palmer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Just one week before production commenced, Jason Ritter was cast in place of Renfro.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Recasting Jason

New Line, thinking that Freddy vs. Jason needed a fresh start, chose a different actor to play Jason. Cunningham disagreed with their decision, believing that Kane Hodder, who had played Jason in the previous four films, was the best choice for the role.<ref name="Ken">Bracke, Peter, pp. 280–286</ref> Although Hodder received a script for Freddy vs. Jason and met with director Ronny Yu and New Line executives, Yu and Matthew Barry felt that the role should be recast to fit Yu's image of Jason.<ref name="Ken"/> Hodder said that New Line did not give him a reason for the recasting; according to Yu, however, he wanted a taller, slower and more-deliberate Jason.<ref name="Hiring Ken">Grove, David, p. 217</ref> The role went to Ken Kirzinger, a Canadian stuntman who worked on Jason Takes Manhattan. Yu said that Kirzinger was hired because he was taller than Robert Englund, who played Freddy Krueger. Kirzinger is Template:Convert tall, compared to the Template:Convert Hodder, and Yu wanted a much taller actor than the Template:Convert Englund. Kirzinger believed that his experience on Part VIII (doubling for Hodder in two scenes) and his height helped him land the part.<ref name="Ken"/><ref name="Hiring Ken"/> New Line did not cast Kirzinger until they saw him on film, and his first scene was Jason walking down Elm Street.<ref name="Ken"/> Douglas Tait played Jason in a re-shot ending: Template:Blockquote

Filming

Filming for Freddy vs. Jason began on September 9, 2002 in Vancouver and ended on December 10, 2002.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Music

Freddy vs. Jason: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on August 12, 2003, by Roadrunner Records. Freddy vs. Jason: Original Motion Picture Score was released on August 19, 2003, on Varèse Sarabande.

Release

The film was released on VHS and DVD as part of New Line's Platinum Series on January 13, 2004. The DVD release contained a second disc of bonus content with audio commentary by Ronny Yu, Ken Kirzinger and Robert Englund, and deleted and alternate scenes with commentary. Ill Niño's music video for "How Can I Live"; trailers and TV ads, soundtrack promotion and behind-the-scenes featurettes.Template:Citation needed The film was released on October 4, 2005 on Universal Media Disc and September 8, 2009 on Blu-ray. The Blu-ray release had the same content as the Platinum Series DVD.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The film grossed $683,294 in home sales.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Reception

Box office

Freddy vs. Jason has grossed $82.6 million in the United States and Canada and $34 million in other territories for a total of $116.6 million, against a production budget of $30 million.

The film earned $36.4 million in its opening weekend at 3,014 theaters in North America, topping the box office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It remained number one in its second weekend grossing $13.4 million, and dropped to sixth place in its third weekend with $7.1 million.

Critical response

Template:Rotten Tomatoes prose<ref name="rt">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Metacritic film prose<ref name="meta">Template:Cite web</ref> Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an average grade of "B+" on an A+-to-F scale.<ref name="CinemaScore">Template:Cite web</ref>

Kim Newman of Empire gave the film three stars out of five, writing: "FVJ ignores any attempts at cleverness and picks up storylines dropped in Freddy's Dead and Jason Goes to Hell".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sacha Molitorisz of The Sydney Morning Herald wrote: "this is a solid effort, with enough frights, humour, blood, surprises and killer dialogue to entertain consistently."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Robert K. Elder of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying that it "succeeds as a guilty pleasure, a monster mash that clobbers the recent lackluster sequels plaguing both legacies."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly published in 2023, Robert Englund said he was proud of Freddy vs. Jason: "It took the genius of Ronny Yu. I'm really proud of that film. It's really fun to see on a nice big flat screen with the sound turned up and some cold pizza."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Accolades

Doug Chapman and Glenn Ennis were nominated for the Best Fire Stunt award at the Taurus World Stunt Awards 2004 for the double full-body burn and wire stunt. Chapman doubled for Robert Englund as Freddy and Ennis doubled for Ken Kirzinger as Jason in the stunt.<ref>Taurus Award Archive Template:Webarchive</ref> The film was also nominated for Best Horror Film at the Saturn Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Novelization

Black Flame published a novelization of the film on July 29, 2003.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Bibliography

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External links

• Film page at the Camp Crystal Lake web site (archive link)
• Film page at Fridaythe13thfilms.com (archive link)
• Freddy vs. Jason at Nightmare on Elm Street Companion
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