Thiel-a-Vision Review: Freddy vs. Jason

The biggest problem with movie monster sequels is that fear is so dependent on the unknown. By the time Part 2 rolls around, we already understand the nature of the boogieman and the rules under which it operates. Monsters that overstay their "kill-by date" become the anti-heroes of their films, and jaded audiences attend merely to see what new tricks they'll pull out of their blood-soaked sleeves.

Both Freddy Krueger (from the Nightmare on Elm Street films) and Jason Vorhees (his country cousin from the competing Friday the 13th franchise) had seen better days. Once the twin towers of terror, they soon became little more than the punch lines of one too many sequels. What else could be done but to team them up? It worked for Frankenstein and the Wolfman. 

It took the better part of a decade to work out the details, but Freddy vs. Jason manages to deliver the goods, tying two similar yet almost entirely different characters into a shared premise that actually works within the logic of their own respective series. The plot finds Freddy depowered due to a campaign by the Springwood authorities to eradicate knowledge of his past crimes from the current population. Unable to manifest himself in the dreams of others, he seeks out Jason and sends the hockey-masked zombie on a killing spree, hoping that the murders will be linked instead to Freddy and thereby generate the fear he needs to juice up.

The scheme works, but a little too well: Jason keeps on killing, and if there's one thing that Freddy can't stand, it's another serial murderer poaching his victims. The stage is set for a showdown, and the film gives us two--one set in Freddy's nightmare landscape, and another in Jason's real world stomping grounds of Camp Crystal Lake.

There are some human characters caught in the crossfire, but they're not terribly interesting. However, one of them gets a line that's an instant classic: referring to Jason's most recent massacre, he remarks "Dude, that goalie was pissed about something!"

Freddy vs. Jason isn't scary for a moment, but that's hardly the point. This is the cinematic equivalent of the question, "Who's stronger, Superman or God?" Unlike most similar match-ups, this one actually has an answer. Granted, it's not a KO, but when one emerges holding the severed head of the other, I think that we have a winner.

The fight sequences are fast-paced and gruesomely over-the-top, with veritable geysers of blood pouring from torn-off limbs and gouged eye sockets. The direction takes into account the combatants' unique fighting styles, but then plays with our expectations, arming Freddy with Jason's favorite machete, and Jason with Freddy's...arm.

The film does a good job of pointing out the differences between the two villains: Jason is the nearly-mindless punisher of loose morals, while Freddy is the court jester of Hell. What's obvious is that Freddy is by far the more interesting and enjoyable character. Jason fans may have howled when a new actor donned the hockey mask for this film, but there's a reason that there have been multiple Jasons but only one Freddy.

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