Monday, May 25, 2020

Freddy vs. Jason


Runtime: 97 minutes

Directed by: Ronnie Yu

Starring: Robert Englund, Ken Kerzinger, random characters that are usually fodder and are played by the likes of Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, and Kelly Rowland

From: New Line Cinema

I understand why many horror fans have a mixed at best reception to this film. It was first proposed way back in the late 80's and an entire documentary could probably be done on the protracted development process, all the different scripts/ideas, the starts and stops, etc. The nuttiest ideas include Jason on trial, the two characters in hell, time travel... nuttiness. It can be said that Freddy doesn't kill enough people, that it's more a Nightmare on Elm Street joint w/ special guest star Jason Voorhees, it would have been better if this was done years before as it meant there'd be no CG that has aged poorly in 2020... all that said, this was fine.

Personally, I was fine with the basic story of Freddy using Jason as a conduit to make people remember him and regain his powers; currently it is eerie to hear the characters discuss Fred as if he was an infectious disease, and even “the Q word” was used. Some plot points and moments were “borrowed” from previous entries and griping about that is valid. Even then, at least this was slick entertainment with some laughs, gory moments, a stylish flair due to director Ronnie Yu, and a final showdown which thankfully delivered. It does show how times have changed these past 17 years... thank goodness it's as rare as hen's teeth now for one of the heroes in a movie to use homophobic slurs against the bad guys. If only Kane Hodder would have been Jason... him not in the role after he was one of the main proponents for the movie to be made-that is poppycock.

Anyhow, some characters I did remember: the guy who looks like YouTube film reviewer Film Brain, Bootleg Jason Mewes... but the 2003 version of McLovin I had no memory of. Personally, this is better than a decent number of Voorhees or Krueger sequels; of course your mileage may vary.

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