Of course, none of this means anything if the movie turns out to be crap. But, guess what? It’s a lot of fun. With a story that’s actually a little more extensive than what we’ve come to expect from the franchises, it’s thoroughly entertaining. And you have the lovely Monica Keena to look at amongst all the mayhem, as well. Others along for the ride are Jason Ritter (son of John, who coincidentally was in Bride of Chucky), the familiar Katharine Isabelle (the title character from Ginger Snaps) and singer Kelly Rowland (from Destiny’s Child). At first I thought Rowland was an odd choice, then realized she was most likely fodder, so what does it matter?

So what people have been asking me about Freddy vs. Jason all weekend is, who wins? Like I’m going to tell them, or you. Besides, anyone in the know already knows the answer. What I can tell you is that Freddy and Jason beat the living dead shit out of each other! And it’s done well too with some elaborate set pieces. I have to say I really appreciate New Line for throwing chunks of their billion-dollar surplus (from the success of LOTR) at projects that only appeal to a select group of people.

The only advice I can give you is if you don’t like movies like Bride of Chucky and Jason X, then DON’T GO! I’m seriously sick of people going to sequels when they didn’t like their predecessors and then bitching about it. For example, if you hated Charlie’s Angels, don’t walk into Full Throttle expecting something different. Bernie Mac plays Bosley, not Orson Welles; so don’t be upset when you don’t get Citizen Kane.

Freddy vs. Jason is an enjoyable romp that showcases two of Hollywood’s most prolific villains, bringing us up to date as well as touching on the origins of both legends.

Copyright© DVDwolf.com
Copyright© Written By: Tom Servo
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The DVD Review:
The amount of extra material is astounding and took me three sittings to get through it all. The ‘Jump To a Death’ feature from the Jason X DVD is present here, as well. The deleted scenes section overflows with no less than twenty with optional commentary. Most of them were cut due to length, unnecessary exposition or negative response from test screenings. There are also some alternate scenes that were redone due to problems with getting the CG to look right. I’m glad they decided not to go with the original opening and ending because they were far weaker than the ones that made it to the screen. You can thank the test audience for that, as well. Yu comments on how useful he found this American convention. In my opinion, Yu made all the right choices in terms of cuts and changes. I did find one Easter egg that features some of the crew talking about an apocalyptic ending sequence involving a giant CG hand, but due to obvious budget limitations, it was scrapped in its planning stages.

The included commentary is not especially informative, but still worthwhile for a few reasons. Director Ronny Yu and stars Robert Englund and Ken Kirzinger are always thanking the many fans that have fanned the fires through the years and motivated the powers that be to finally get this project made. Englund does most of the talking and amongst his corny jokes (whom owners of the Boogeymen DVD will be used to by now); there is some genuinely interesting stuff. The trio also reminisces about which of the Friday and Nightmare installments are their favourites.

The production section of the DVD is where it really opens up with almost eighty text screens documenting the ten-year evolution of the Freddy Vs. Jason script. There were over a dozen drafts that included storylines ranging from a Freddy cult made up of disciples called ‘Fred heads’ to Freddy being a camp counselor at Camp Crystal Lake when Jason died there. There are several production and visual effects featurettes that are not only lengthy, but also informative. What struck me about these is the amount of on-the-set footage there is. It’s a lot more than you usually get. I don’t mean footage of someone sitting on set talking about the scene they are going to do, I mean ACTUALLY filming them doing the scene. Through these featurettes, you really get an idea of how director Ronny Yu – and directors in general - works. That’s the stuff I find the most interesting and I don’t think you get enough of that usually. This is probably the DVD’s finest point. There is also a good amount of storyboard and production gallery stuff, as well.

Now, that’s enough to make a good DVD package right there. But, wait, there’s more. The Publicity and Promotion section also has some good stuff. The Las Vegas Weigh-In stunt from August 2003 is a great extra that is just dripping with cheese. There is also another featurette about the world premiere that was screened at a 70’s style summer camp after the attendees had spent a day doing basket weaving and other activities of the era. The usual trailers (including ones for past installments of both franchises) and TV spots are included, as well.

Freddy Vs. Jason is a great all-around DVD package that will satisfy the hardcore fans that this movie was made for.