Synopsis
Freddy has been rendered powerless by being forgotten. In order to revive his memory, andthus his power, he impersonates Jason’s mother (work with me, here) and sends the hulkingkiller down Elm Street way, hoping that he will be blamed for Jason’s murders. His plan beginsto work, but Jason is so relentless in his slaughter that he starts nailing teens that Freddy hadreserved for himself, and thus the two monsters are set on a collision course.
Enormous fun, even tho…gh it has more than its share of warts. While not as good as the bestof the Nightmare on Elm Street sequels (Wes Craven’s New Nightmare would bethe best of that lot), and not quite as wittily gory as Jason X, Freddy Vs. Jasonnevertheless boasts plenty of exhilarating gore and rattles along at a fine old rate. Carefulattention has been paid to pleasing the fans of both characters, even if Freddy’s mythology isn’tperfectly observed (Jason’s has always been so, uh, flexible that there aren’t really any problemshere). Is this a classic? No. But then, an objective appraisal would similarly dismissFrankenstein Meets The Wolfman, and there’s plenty to love in that film too.
Audio
Boo! Huge, loud, powerful sound, with enormous reverberations and blasting, startling FXfrom all sides. From the moment the film begins, the horror environment is close to total.Freddy’s sinister voice-over travels from speaker to speaker. The audio is as spooky and gleefullyunsubtle as the movie itself. Crank that knob to 11.
Video
An excellent picture too, offered in both fullscreen and 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreenformats. Much of the film takes place at night, and contrasts here are crucial. Happily, all is well.There is no bleaching, the blacks are profound, but the picture is never murky. Flesh tones areexcellent too, the image is sharp, and there is no visible edge enhancement.
Special Features
Disc 1 has that Friday the 13th favorite feature: the jump-to-a-death option (whichalso gives you “Kill All” and “Random Death” choices). The commentary is by director RonnyYu and monster stars Robert Englund and Ken Kirzinger. The three guys seem to be having fun,but the commentary isn’t particularly enlightening.
Disc 2 has 20 (count ‘em) deleted/alternate scenes, with optional commentary from Yu,Englund and Kirzinger. Two reprinted Fangoria articles chronicle the long and windingroad through development hell that led finally to this film. Five production featurettes, thoughlargely promotional, are not uninformative. FX supervisor Ariel Velasco-Shaw and FX producerKevin Elam Take guide us through 12 separate FX higlights. There are 6 storyboard and 5production galleries, 8 TV spots, the WEF-style pre-fight press conference with our villains, IllNino’s video for “How Can I Live”, footage of the outdoor summer camp world premiere of thefilm, and theatrical trailers for Freddy Vs. Jason, The Butterfly Effect, theTexas Chainsaw Massacre remake, Jason Goes to Hell and Freddy’sDead. The menu on both discs is has scored and animated main screen and transitions, andsome of the secondary screen are scored as well.
Closing Thoughts
The long-awaited match-up could have been better, but let’s face it (given the track record ofthe other movies), it could also have been so much worse. And it is a lot of loud, stupid, goryfun.
Special Features List
- Audio Commentary
- Jump-to-a-Death Option
- Deleted/Alternate Scenes with Optional Commentary
- Fangoria Articles
- 5 Production Featurettes
- 12 Visual FX Featurettes
- Storyboard and Production Galleries
- Pre-Fight Press Conference
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
- Ill Nino “How Can I Live” Video
- “My Summer Vacation: A Visit to Camp Hacknslash” World Premiere
