Freddy vs. Jason (2003) Review – Horror Icons Collide

There was a hell of a lot of excitement surrounding Freddy vs. Jason. Ever since the glove of Freddy Krueger appeared in the last moments of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, horror fans have been eagerly awaiting the chance to witness two of the genre’s icons go head-to-head.

Ten years later, their hopes were answered.

The idea of merging A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th was always going to be a tricky one. Both had their own separate mythologies, styles and fanbases, meaning the challenge was always going to be in making the combination work. Yet the obvious appeal was hard to ignore.

We all wanted to see Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees beat the living hell out of each other.

Robert Englund reprised his role as Freddy, while Ken Kirzinger took over from Kane Hodder as Jason. While it was a disappointing omission for some to see Hodder not return after his work on the previous four films, Kirzinger definitely looked the part. With his enormous musculature, he towers over Freddy in a way that brings a kind of David-and-Goliath feel to the battle between the two killers.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t too keen on the way Jason looked.

Big, bulky and imposing as he is, there’s something about the head and hockey mask Jason wears that looks incredibly fake. It almost looks like the kind of costume you’d find on display in a Halloween shop. Compared to some of the previous designs of Jason, especially the decomposing monster from The New Blood, it looks like a huge step backwards in terms of the design.

However, Kirzinger does the role justice. Jason is a powerful, brutal killer who is willing and able to take people out with some horrifyingly violent deaths. The image of him repeatedly stabbing Trey before folding him back inside the bed is particularly memorable.

It’s absolutely brutal.

The story seems to serve almost as a meeting ground between the properties rather than a true continuation. We get references to both Elm Street and Crystal Lake, along with dream sequences and mentions of the wider mythos, including Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

Unfortunately, the human characters aren’t particularly interesting. There isn’t a single one I felt any empathy for, and they all seem to serve only a single purpose: to get in the way until Jason or Freddy can kill them.

Thankfully, Robert Englund is having a whale of a time.

Freddy is as sharp, sadistic and mischievous as we’ve ever seen him; Englund slips back into the skin of the dream demon with ease, delivering the kind of performance we’ve come to expect from him in the role.

And when the two killers finally go head-to-head, the film is elevated immeasurably.

Their initial encounter takes place in the dream world, where Jason is at a severe disadvantage. Freddy uses the environment to full effect, throwing pipes and machinery at Jason as if he were playing a pinball machine before finally dropping an enormous boiler on his head.

It’s a fantastic sequence, made all the better by Freddy’s advantage in the setting. It’s not that Jason isn’t stronger, but within the dream world, Freddy has access to practically unlimited power.

The final confrontation between the two killers at Crystal Lake is the most entertaining of the film. With Freddy pulled into reality, Jason has the chance to fight the dream demon on something resembling equal footing. The resulting duel is an entertainingly over-the-top display as both monsters toss each other around like ragdolls, with each taking an absolutely ridiculous amount of damage.

Jason flings Freddy across the lake and into a cabin, entry via the roof. Freddy then proceeds to use gas cylinders and any other sharp object he can find to retaliate against the unstoppable Jason.

It’s a wildly entertaining climax that delivers in terms of spectacle and action set-pieces, which is ultimately what this film is all about.

Freddy vs Jason isn’t about scares or deeper character exploration. It’s simply an excuse to see two horror icons go at each other with gusto, and for the most part, that’s exactly what we get.

It’s not the scariest or most well-written film in either franchise, nor is it necessarily the best-looking. Jason’s design is arguably his worst in the series, and while Kirzinger shows definite promise, we were never going to get another Friday the 13th film starring him, which could have been great.

As a crossover, though, it achieves what it sets out to do. Robert Englund is on fire, Ken Kirzinger cuts an imposing figure and the action is absolutely tremendous.

Freddy vs. Jason isn’t the definitive Elm Street or Crystal Lake film.

Yet it’s a fun little look in to the career of the horror icons, who put on a show for the fans.