154. Listener Request | FREDDY VS. JASON (2003) dir. Ronny Yu

FREDDY VS. JASON brings together two titans of '80s horror: Freddy Kreuger (Robert Englund) and Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger). In a bid to regain his strength through surging fear through the souls of Elm Street, Freddy manipulates Jason to doing some killing on his behalf. However, when Jason starts taking the credit and hacking through more of the available body count, Freddy grows jealous and petty. The fight is on, with a group of teenagers caught in the middle.This movie underwent 17 years of development hell before arriving in theaters. That's 17 years of studios losing and gaining rights to the franchises, installments developed on both sides in lieu of a team-up, a carousel of writers and directors pitching their ideas and ditching the project, and a replacement of one of the most iconic actors to ever don a horror villain's mask. Kane Hodder, you deserve the world.With all this being said, should FREDDY VS. JASON be regarded as a hallmark of the genre? No. It serves best as a sampler of what both franchises have to offer: Freddy's surrealism & sarcasm and Jason's massacring lumbering boogeyman. The CGI effects, emblematic of the time, don't always work. They often elicit a laugh. But given that FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V and FREDDY'S DEAD exist? We could've gotten much worse. The fact this exists in this form is a mini-miracle.A massive thanks to Dakota (To quote Tarantino, he's "a buddy who's more than a brother and a little less than a wife.") for requesting this episode. You've supported the podcast and me from the very beginning.Dustin McNeill's SLASH OF THE TITANS book: https://bookshop.org/a/108651/9780692033494 (This is an affiliate link. If you buy the book here, I get some cash. It pays for gas, movie tickets and my Coca-Cola addiction. Maybe a bill or two if enough books are bought?)---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠& ⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠Financially support the podcast via the ⁠⁠tip jar!