In 2003, fans of A Nightmare On Elm Street and Friday the 13th were curious to check out the crossover movie Freddy vs Jason. How would Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees fare when battling each other? Both villains are strong in different ways but they share one thing in common: they seem impossible to kill.
While this movie is never mentioned as one of the best in either franchise, it's definitely worth watching, and there are a lot of reasons to love this cheesy but ultimately enjoyable 2000s film.
Freddy vs. Jason starts off explaining how these iconic horror movie villains have found each other. Freddy hasn't been able to kill anyone via nightmares, and he brings Jason back to life. Freddy needs the residents of Springwood to be afraid of him so Freddy can visit them in their dreams again, and Freddy pretends to be Pamela Voorhees so Jason will do his bidding. The movie also has teenage characters Charlie Linderman (Chris Marquette), Will Rollins (Jason Ritter), Kia Waterson (Kelly Roland), Bill Freeburg (Kyle Labine) and Lori Campbell (Monica Keena) who get caught up in the battle and fight to save their lives.
For many horror fans, Freddy Krueger is a great slasher villain, which makes seeing him in any film a lot of fun and immediately makes Freddy vs. Jason feel like a good time. Jason Voorhees and his famous masks are here, too, and the film is a lot of fun. It might not be critically acclaimed and it might not have gotten the best reviews, but it was a box office success, earning $116,632,628 worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. This suggests that there was definitely an audience excited and ready to see these well-known characters fighting. It's not a very well-reviewed film, however, with a 42% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer.
Freddy vs. Jason has good characters and can be considered an underrated teen horror movie. At the end of the movie, Will and Lori light the dock on fire, and it's great seeing them work together and fight the two villains. The characters joke around and yet take the situation seriously, and horror fans can't really ask anything more from teen characters in a horrifying battle against evil.
Most of all, Freddy vs. Jason embraces its sense of humor and has some of the most hilarious and memorable quotes from a 2000s horror movie. When the friend group sees Jason Voorhees, Kia asks, " Was that him? The guy you were talking about... Freddy Krueger?" Lori says, "No, that wasn't the guy in my dream. That was somebody else." Charlie replies, "Who cares about some f*cking dream guy, okay? That psycho in the hockey mask was real" and Bill jokes, "Dude, that goalie was pissed about something." It's great that the film leans into being funny since fans love Freddy's commentary and Jason has also been a villain who leans more toward silly than terrifying.
While most of the time, horror movies need satisfying endings, it works well that audiences don't know if Freddy or Jason actually won this epic battle. Jason comes out of the lake and has Freddy's head, which might suggest that he was victorious, but then fans hear Freddy's evil and memorable laughs. This makes for an interesting ending that makes people think and also proves that Jason and Freddy can always come back in future films, which continues the massive fan interest in the two popular slasher franchises.
Robert Englund was interviewed by Too Fab and shared his thoughts on another movie about Freddy Krueger. Englund seems to like Freddy vs. Jason and think that it was the right move, as the actor explained, "I think that remakes were rushed. I know the remake on A Nightmare on Elm Street was was premature. We should have done another Freddy vs. Jason film and then waited, they should have waited for five or 10 years."
Fans of both franchises would likely be happy to see the two famous villains duking it out once again, but for now, they can rewatch Freddy vs. Jason and appreciate how entertaining it is. The movie understands that fans like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees because they seem like they can't be stopped and they are vibrant, unique villains who can never be forgotten about. It's fun seeing Freddy manipulate Jason as it suggests that Freddy is the ultimate villain who will always win, but at the same time, Freddy can't underestimate Jason. Fans who were unsure about the film when it was released might revisit it and find that they like it a lot more now.