Guest Author - Lisette BC Abbott
Jason Voorhees and Freddy Kruger have a lot in common: they are both pretty ugly, they are both pretty angry, they are both pretty scary, and they are both modern day mega horror icons. Being modern day folklore tales, these characters have become the 2 faces of evil in our nightmares - so it makes perfect sense that sooner or later they'd meet up.... in a blood bath.
Team-up's of horror movie monsters has been done before, it's not a new idea… most notably it was done in the 1930's with classic characters (Wolfman, Frankenstein, Dracula). Director Ronny Yu who brought us the entertaining "Bride of Chucky" has quite possibly brought it back to a whole new generation. And it's such a guilty pleasure to witness history in the making.
Horror films in the 80's were chalk full of the infamous slasher film. Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street were two independent success stories that packed people to the theatres based on word of mouth rather than glossy advertising. Slasher films are a sub-genre of horror that few admit to enjoying because it's not very politically correct. Yet the success of these two little films spawned more than 18 sequels between them.
Horror fans and curiosity seekers came to the theatre this weekend in droves to see one monster of a movie. Freddy vs. Jason grossed 36.4 million dollars and was the number 1 movie at the box office this week. It appears that a large portion of American audiences were ready for something a bit different.
I don't want to give away the story, but suffice to say it's a fun night out. The first 1/3 of the movie takes place much like a typical Friday the 13th movie, the second 1/3 belong to Freddy Kruger, and the happy ending is the fight of the century. The basic plot of the film ties their histories together in a peanut butter and jelly fashion, and it keeps the stories we already knew well intact. The audience gets to explore Jason's sympathetic side, which hasn't been mentioned in many years. There is a progressive plot involved that may seem a bit rushed - but when we see these 2 legendary anti-heroes on screen together - we easily forget all of that.
The film is what is… exactly as you would expect it to be. It makes no promises of anything else. Don't expect a deep meaning and don’t expect an exceptional script. Suspend some of your common sense and logic to enjoy this fast paced, action packed gorefest. The movie is what you might expect it to be, but seeing it with your own 2 eyes is an experience that must be had.
When big the smack down begins, you can forgive both Freddy and Jason for every little previous film sin they've committed to your wallet. The fight scenes alone make this movie worth seeing for every horror fan. Who do you root for? Who wins? That's for YOU to decide. But the real question is ... will there be a rematch soon?
