FREDDY VERSUS JASON

US, 2003, 97 minutes, Colour.
Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keenar, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland, Chris Marquette, Brendan Fletcher, Katherine Isabelle, Lochlyn Munro.
Directed by Ronnie Yu.

This is a battle of two franchises. Jason Voorhees has been wearing his mask and bumping off young adults for over twenty years in ten Friday the 13th films. Freddy Krueger and his skeletal face and razor fingers has been in half a dozen nightmares in Elm Street. Now somebody has had the bright idea of bringing them together and pitting them against each other. Of course, the question is who will win.

The film recreates the setting for both serial killers. What one realises is just how ordinary and unimaginative Jason is. His mother might have given him enough madness and motivation for his rampages but he is still merely a horror figure stalking his victims. Freddy Kreuger, on the other hand, is far more horrible and complex and there has been a consistency in Robert Englund having played him since Wes Craven introduced him in 1984. There was even a film that drew cast and characters together to analyse what had happened in Elm Street, Wes Craven's New Nightmare.

Freddy Krueger was a child abuser and killer. He not only stalks his victims, he enters into their nightmares and terrifies them. He has an eerie past. He has an eerie cruelty. He is truly a horror bogey man.

Since he has lost some of his power to enter into dreams, he enlists the help of Jason to renew this power and start his activities all over again. But, what will he do with Jason? This is not a world-shattering dilemma for contemporary culture. On the other hand, there are many millions of fans who want to know the answer. That's the nature of cult horror movie characters.