''Freddy vs. Jason'' is a 2003 American
slasher film
A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a ...
directed by
Ronny Yu
Ronny is a given name, sometimes a short form (hypocorism) of Ryan. It may refer to:
* Ronny (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Ronny Heberson Furtado de Araújo
* Ronny (footballer, born 1991), Brazilian footballer Ronieri da Silva Pi ...
and written by
Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
between the
''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' and
''Friday the 13th'' series, being the eighth installment in the former and the eleventh in the latter. The film joins the two series in a
shared universe
A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...
and pits their respective antagonists,
Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. He was created by Wes Craven and made his debut in Craven's ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as the malevolent spirit ...
and
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...
, against each other. Freddy is weakened and forgotten because the citizens of his home town Springwood have defeated him by using medications that repress dreams. Freddy awakens Jason to stir up fear and grow his powers so that he may return and kill again. Jason turns out to not be as easily controlled as Freddy initially thought, and the two supernatural mass murderers come into conflict. The crossover film is chronologically set after ''
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare'' (1991) and ''
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'' (1993), and is the last film in each franchise before their respective
reboots.
''Freddy vs. Jason'' was released in the United States on August 15, 2003. The film received mixed reviews from critics but grossed over $116 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film in each series. The film marks
Robert Englund
Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise), Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. Class ...
's final cinematic appearance as Freddy Krueger. A sequel and crossover with the ''
Evil Dead
''Evil Dead'' is an American horror film franchise created by Sam Raimi consisting of four feature films and a television series. The series revolves around the ''Necronomicon Ex-Mortis'', an ancient Sumerian text that wreaks havoc upon a gro ...
'' franchise was planned, but it was ultimately scrapped and turned into a
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
limited series Limited series may refer to:
*Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series
*Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered
*Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
, ''
Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash''.
Plot
Since
his last defeat,
Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. He was created by Wes Craven and made his debut in Craven's ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as the malevolent spirit ...
has been in Hell and unable to invade children's
dream
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...
s, as the adults of Springwood have gone to extremes to make sure their children have forgotten him. Using his remaining power, Freddy resurrects
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...
. Appearing as Jason's mother,
Pamela Voorhees
Pamela Voorhees () is a character (arts), fictional character and the overarching antagonists, antagonist of the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series of horror films. She was created by Victor Miller (writer), Victor Miller, ...
, he manipulates Jason into killing the teens of Springwood to create fear in the townsfolk that Freddy has returned, which would allow him to regain his strength.
Meanwhile, Lori Campbell, who lives with her widowed father, has a sleepover with her friends Kia and Gibb. They are later joined by Trey, Gibb's emotionally abusive boyfriend, and his friend Blake. Jason enters the house and murders Trey, and the police suspect Freddy. After a
nightmare
A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of d ...
, Blake awakens to find his father
decapitated
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the au ...
by Jason, who then kills Blake himself. The police call it a
murder–suicide
A murder-suicide is an act in which an individual murder, kills one or more persons either before or while suicide, killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms:
* Murder linked with suicide of a person with a ...
the following day, hoping to conceal Freddy's return from the rest of the town.
Elsewhere, Lori's ex-boyfriend Will Rollins and his friend Mark Davis, forcibly institutionalized at the Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital, are made to take Hypnocil to suppress their dreams because of their previous contact with Freddy. A news report about the killings prompts them to escape and return to Springwood to warn Lori about Freddy. That night, Lori and the others attend a
rave
A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
in a cornfield. Freddy tries to kill Gibb in a nightmare, but Jason kills her first in the real world along with others at the rave, angering Freddy, who realizes that Jason’s killing spree will deny him victims.
Will, Lori, and Kia escape the rave with school nerd Charlie Linderman and stoner Bill Freeburg. After dropping off the latter three and a confrontation with Dr. Campbell (who was responsible for having Will and Mark committed to Westin Hills) over Will's certainty that he saw Lori's father murder her mother, Will and Lori head to Mark’s house, only to see him get killed by Freddy. Deputy Scott Stubbs, believing Jason is a
copycat killer
A copycat crime is a criminal act that is modelled after or inspired by a previous crime. It notably occurs after exposure to media content depicted said crimes, and/or a live criminal model.
Copycat effect
The copycat effect is the alleged tende ...
, makes contact with Lori and her friends, who deduce Freddy's plan. Learning about Hypnocil, they try to get it from Westin Hills; however, Freddy possesses Freeburg, using him to dispose of the medicine. Jason arrives and
electrocutes Stubbs. Freddy uses the possessed Freeburg to
tranquilize
"Tranquilize" is a song by Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers, featuring Lou Reed. Written by Brandon Flowers, it is featured on the compilation album ''Sawdust (album), Sawdust''. The song was made available for downloa ...
Jason, causing him to fall asleep after slashing Freeburg in half.
The teens devise a plan to pull Freddy from the dream world into reality and force him to fight Jason, bringing the unconscious Jason back home to Camp Crystal Lake, where the real estate is in development. Freddy fights Jason in the dream world, where he discovers that Jason has a subconscious
fear of drowning. Freddy uses this to his advantage and Jason becomes afraid, reverting to his younger self. Lori goes to sleep to pull Freddy out and save Jason. As Freddy tortures Lori in the dream world, revealing that he murdered her mother, Jason awakens at the real Camp Crystal Lake and pursues the teens, killing Linderman. Lori is awakened and pulls Freddy into the physical world, where he is confronted by Jason.
Freddy and Jason fight throughout the campgrounds, during which Jason kills Kia. Freddy uses the construction site to gain the upper hand and cuts off Jason's fingers, allowing Freddy to take his
machete
Older machete from Latin America
Gerber machete/saw combo
AgustÃn Cruz Tinoco of San AgustÃn de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_AgustÃn_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="AgustÃn Cruz Tinoco of San AgustÃn de las Juntas">AgustÃn Cruz Tinoco of San ...
. As Freddy is slicing away at Jason, Lori distracts him before Jason punches his fingerless hand through Freddy's
torso
The torso or trunk is an anatomical term for the central part, or the core, of the body of many animals (including humans), from which the head, neck, limbs, tail and other appendages extend. The tetrapod torso — including that of a human â ...
. Freddy retaliates by plunging Jason's machete into his side and Jason rips Freddy's gloved arm off. Lori and Will set the dock on fire, causing numerous
propane
Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used a ...
tanks to explode and throwing Freddy and Jason into the lake. Lori and Will embrace as Freddy makes his way to them on the dock and is about to kill the couple with Jason's machete, but he is impaled by Jason with his clawed arm, allowing Lori to behead Freddy with the machete. Jason falls off the dock and Freddy's head and body sink into the lake, both seemingly dead. After dropping the machete where Jason submerged, Lori and Will leave.
The following morning, Jason emerges from the water, holding his machete and Freddy's severed head. Freddy winks and his laughter is heard in the background, leaving the winner ambiguous.
Cast
*
Robert Englund
Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise), Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. Class ...
as
Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. He was created by Wes Craven and made his debut in Craven's ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as the malevolent spirit ...
*
Ken Kirzinger
Kenneth Kirzinger (born November 4, 1959) is a Canadian actor and stuntman best known for his portrayals of Jason Voorhees in ''Freddy vs. Jason'' (2003), Pa in '' Wrong Turn 2: Dead End'' (2007) and Rusty Nail in '' Joy Ride 3: Roadkill'' (2014) ...
as
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...
** Spencer Stump as young Jason Voorhees
*
Monica Keena
Monica Keena (born May 28, 1979) is an American actress. She made her film debut in '' While You Were Sleeping'' (1995), and a lead role as Lilliana "Lilli" Hoffman in '' Snow White: A Tale of Terror'' (1997).
She later starred as Lori Campbe ...
as
Lori Campbell
Lori Campbell is a Two-Spirit Cree-Métis educator and advocate from Treaty 6 territory in Northern Saskatchewan and a member of Montreal Lake First Nation. She was appointed the inaugural Associate Vice-President Indigenous Engagement in 2021 a ...
*
Kelly Rowland
Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl ...
as Kia Waterson
*
Jason Ritter
Jason Morgan Ritter (born February 17, 1980) is an American actor and producer. He is known for his roles as Kevin Girardi in the television series '' Joan of Arcadia'', Ethan Haas in '' The Class'', Sean Walker in the NBC series ''The Event'', ...
as
Will Rollins
*
Chris Marquette
Chris Marquette (born October 3, 1984) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in such films as ''The Tic Code'', ''Freddy vs. Jason'', '' The Girl Next Door'', ''Just Friends'', '' Alpha Dog'' and '' Fanboys''. He is also known for his ...
as Charlie Linderman
*
Lochlyn Munro
Lochlyn Munro (born February 12, 1966) is a Canadian actor. His most notable film roles include ''A Night at the Roxbury'' (1998), ''Scary Movie'' (2000), ''Freddy vs. Jason'' (2003), ''White Chicks'' (2004), '' The Predator'' (2018) and ''Cosm ...
as Deputy Scott Stubbs
*
Katharine Isabelle
Katharine Isobel Murray (born November 2, 1981), known professionally as Katharine Isabelle, is a Canadian actress. She has been described as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror films. She started her acting career in 1989, playing ...
as Gibb Smith
*
Brendan Fletcher
Brendan Fletcher (born December 15, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He first gained recognition as a child actor, winning a Leo Award and being nominated for a Gemini Award his acting debut in the made-for-television film ''Little Criminals''. He ...
as Mark Davis
*
Zack Ward
Zacharias Ward (born August 31, 1970) is a Canadian actor.
Early life
Ward was born on August 31, 1970, in Toronto, Ontario, the son of actress Pam Hyatt.
Career
He is best known for his character Dave Scovil (Titus's stoner half-brother) on the ...
as Bobby Davis, Mark's older brother
*
Kyle Labine
Jonathan Kyle Labine (born April 7, 1983) is a Canadian actor. His brothers Tyler Labine
Tyler Sean Labine (born April 29, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He is best known for starring in the television series ''Breaker High'', ...
as Bill Freeburg
*
Chris Gauthier
Christopher Gauthier (born 27 January 1976) is an English-born Canadian actor best known for his work in '' Need for Speed: Carbon''.
He had a recurring role on the SyFy Channel series ''Eureka'', as Café Diem owner Vincent. While filming the fi ...
as Shack
* David Kopp as Blake
*
Jesse Hutch
Jesse Hutch (born February 12, 1981) is a Canadian-born American film and television actor. He spends his time travelling between the USA and Canada. He worked on the television show ''American Dreams'' as Jimmy Riley, romantic interest of main c ...
as Trey Cooper
*
Tom Butler as Dr. Campbell
*
Garry Chalk
Garry Chalk is a British-born Canadian actor. He has provided the voices for Optimus Primal of '' Beast Wars: Transformers'' and '' Beast Machines'', as well as Optimus Prime in the anime English dubs of '' Transformers: Armada'', '' Transform ...
as Sheriff Williams
*
Paula Shaw
Paula Shaw (born July 17, 1941) is an American actress. A life member of the Actors Studio, Shaw has portrayed characters in numerous films and on television (including a role as prostitute on ''Barney Miller'', season three, "Quarantine", and se ...
as
Pamela Voorhees
Pamela Voorhees () is a character (arts), fictional character and the overarching antagonists, antagonist of the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series of horror films. She was created by Victor Miller (writer), Victor Miller, ...
Additionally,
Evangeline Lilly
Nicole Evangeline Lilly (born 3 August 1979) is a Canadian actress and author. She is the recipient of various accolades including a Screen Actors Guild Award and an MTV Movie Award. She has also received nominations for a Golden Globe Award, ...
had a walk-on role as a high-school student. Professional wrestler
Óscar Gutiérrez, better known by his
ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
Rey Mysterio, was Englund's stunt double for a scene in Freddy's boiler room lair.
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
studio chief
Robert Shaye
Robert Kenneth Shaye (born March 4, 1939) is an American businessman, film producer, actor, director, and writer. He is the founder of New Line Cinema, a film production studio that distributed films such as ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'', ''Tee ...
, who produced every preceding ''Nightmare on Elm Street'' film, played the school principal (credited as L.E. Moko).
Production
Development
Influenced by fan desire for a crossover film with a fight between Freddy and Jason,
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
and
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
tried to make a ''Freddy vs. Jason'' movie in 1987.
Frank Mancuso Jr.
Frank G. Mancuso Jr. (born October 9, 1958) is an American film producer.
Mancuso, the son of the former Paramount Pictures president Frank Mancuso Sr., was born in Buffalo, New York. Mancuso produced sequels to '' Friday the 13th'' and co-cr ...
enlisted
Tom McLoughlin
Thomas Maurice "Tom" McLoughlin (born July 19, 1950) is an American screenwriter, film/television director and former mime who is most notable for directing '' Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives'' and ''One Dark Night''. His other credits inc ...
to unite the studios, but no agreement could be made. When ''
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan'' failed at the box office,
Sean S. Cunningham wanted to reacquire the rights to ''Friday the 13th'' and begin working with New Line Cinema on ''Freddy vs. Jason''. Paramount and New Line wanted the license to the other's character so they could control a crossover film. Negotiations on the project collapsed, and Paramount made ''Jason Takes Manhattan''. After ''
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan'' was released in 1989, the rights reverted to Scuderi, Minasian, and Barsamianto (who sold them to New Line). Two years after initial talks fell apart, director
Joseph Zito
Joseph Zito (born May 14, 1946) is an American film director and producer, best known for directing several cult and genre films throughout the 1980s, such as ''Missing in Action'', '' Invasion U.S.A.'', ''Red Scorpion'', '' The Prowler'', and ' ...
attempted to revive the project, but neither Mancuso or
Robert Shaye
Robert Kenneth Shaye (born March 4, 1939) is an American businessman, film producer, actor, director, and writer. He is the founder of New Line Cinema, a film production studio that distributed films such as ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'', ''Tee ...
were interested in pursuing the project. Before Cunningham could begin to work on ''Freddy vs. Jason'',
Wes Craven
Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...
returned to New Line to make ''
New Nightmare''. This put ''Freddy vs. Jason'' on hold, but allowed Cunningham to bring Jason back with ''
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday''.
[Bracke, Peter, pp.218–219] The ninth installment "turned a healthy profit". In a 1995 interview with ''
Fangoria
''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr.
The magazine was originally released i ...
'', Craven was dismissive of the idea of ''Freddy vs. Jason'', saying it was taking "something that had a lot of impact and dignity and dragging it down to another level." Cunningham's "frustration" with the delayed development of ''Freddy vs. Jason'' led him to create ''
Jason X
''Jason X'' is a 2001 American science fiction slasher film directed by Jim Isaac, written by Todd Farmer and starring Lexa Doig, Lisa Ryder, Chuck Campbell, and Kane Hodder in his fourth and final cinematic appearance as Jason Voorhees. It is ...
'' to keep the series alive. Based on ''Jason Takes Manhattan''s concept of taking Jason away from Crystal Lake, the tenth film put the titular character in space.
[Bracke, Peter, pp.242–243] The film lost its biggest supporter with the resignation of president of production
Michael De Luca
Michael De Luca (born August 13, 1965) is an American film studio executive, film producer and screenwriter. The former president of production at both New Line Cinema and DreamWorks, De Luca has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best ...
. Lack of support let the finished film sit for two years before it was released on April 26, 2002. It was the series' lowest-grossing film at the domestic box office, and had the largest budget of any of the films to date. ''Jason Goes to Hell'' duo
Adam Marcus and
Dean Lorey
Dean Lorey (born November 17, 1967) is an American writer and producer whose projects include films such as ''Major Payne'' and '' Animal Crackers'', and television series which include ''My Wife and Kids'', ''Arrested Development'', ''The Crazy O ...
were courted early on, but no official deal was finalized.
New Line spent a reported $6 million on script development alone from several different writers.
Lewis Abernathy, writer of ''
Deepstar Six
''DeepStar Six '' (released in the Philippines as ''Alien from the Deep'') is a 1989 American science-fiction horror film about the struggles of the crew of an underwater military outpost to defend their base against the attacks of a sea monster ...
'' and ''
House IV
''House IV: The Repossession'' (also known simply as ''House IV''), is a 1992 direct-to-video comedy horror film directed by Lewis Abernathy, from a script co-written by Geoff Miller and Deidre Higgins. Produced by Sean S. Cunningham and Debbie ...
'', was the first screenwriter attached to the film. Abernathy sought to direct his script, entitled ''Nightmare 13: Freddy Meets Jason'', but his limited directing experience prohibited him from doing so.
David J. Schow
David J. Schow (born July 13, 1955) is an American author of horror novels, short stories, and screenplays.
His credits include films such as '' Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III'', ''The Crow'' and '' The Hills Run Red''. Most of ...
was given an offer to write the script because he just happened to walk by De Luca's office one day.
Schow revised Abernathy's script, expanding upon a cult that worships Freddy Krueger. In 1994, De Luca passed on the draft and turned to
Brannon Braga
Brannon Braga (; born August 14, 1965) is an American television producer, director and screenwriter. Best known for his work in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, Braga was a key creative force behind three of the franchise's live action series. He la ...
and
Ronald D. Moore
Ronald Dowl Moore (born July 5, 1964) is an American screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for his work on ''Star Trek''; on the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series, for which he won a Peabody Award and an Em ...
, who wrote ''Jason vs. Freddy'', which had a more "adult tone" than previous entries. The writing duo would depart the film and would be replaced by
Peter Briggs, who impressed the studio with his previous
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
attempt, ''
Alien vs. Predator
''Alien vs. Predator'' (also known as ''Aliens versus Predator'' and ''AVP'') is a science-fiction action horror
media franchise created by comic book writers Randy Stradley and Chris Warner. The series is a crossover between, and part of, th ...
''. Briggs' draft saw numerous returning characters across several films. By 1996, ''
Demon Knight
''Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight'' is a 1995 American horror comedy film directed by Ernest Dickerson, starring Billy Zane, William Sadler, and Jada Pinkett. Brenda Bakke, C. C. H. Pounder, Dick Miller and Thomas Haden Church co- ...
'' scribes Cyrus Voris and Ethan Reiff were commissioned by Cunningham to write a new script, under the title ''Freddy vs. Jason: Millennium Massacre'', with
Rob Bottin
Robin R. Bottin (born April 1, 1959) is an American special make-up effects creator. Known for his collaborations with directors John Carpenter, Paul Verhoeven and David Fincher, Bottin worked with Carpenter on both ''The Fog'' and '' The Thing ...
, known for his make-up work on ''
The Thing'' and ''
Total Recall'', directing.
New Line previously offered the spot to
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...
and
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
to no avail. Bottin opted to drop the current draft of the script and penned his own
treatment.
David S. Goyer
David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including ''Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (film), Nick Fury: Agent ...
and his writing partner
James Dale Robinson
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
were subsequently hired to flesh out Bottin's treatment into a screenplay. No parties involved were happy with the script, leading to Goyer and Robinson exiting the film. Bottin and his treatment were retained despite clashing with the studio over the film's budget. Screenwriting duo
Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger
Jonathan Robert Aibel (born August 6, 1969 in Demarest, New Jersey) and Glenn Todd Berger (born August 26, 1969 in Smithtown, New York) are American screenwriters and producers, who are best known for writing the ''Kung Fu Panda'' movies, '' The ...
, known for their work on ''
King of the Hill
''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...
'', were selected by the director to write a new script. The draft was widely disliked at Cunningham Productions. Bottin initially considered revising the script himself, but ultimately left the film altogether.
In 1999,
Mark Verheiden
Mark Verheiden (born March 26, 1956) is an American television, movie, and comic-book writer. He was a co-executive producer for the television series '' Falling Skies'' for DreamWorks Television and the TNT network.
Career
Comics and comic-r ...
entered the project and proposed releasing the film with two different endings; one with Freddy winning and one with Jason winning. The next year, De Luca hired
Mark Protosevich
Mark David Protosevich (born August 24, 1961) is an American screenwriter. He wrote the screenplays for the films ''Poseidon'' and '' I Am Legend''.
Protosevich was born in Chicago, Illinois and is an alumnus of Columbia College Chicago.
Protos ...
to write an entirely new script. ''Jason X'' writer
Todd Farmer
Todd Farmer (born November 21, 1968) is an American screenwriter and actor known for his work in the horror film, horror genre. He wrote or co-wrote the story or screenplay for ''Jason X'' (2001), ''The Messengers (film), The Messengers'' (2007), ...
wrote for the film as well. Newcomers
Mark Swift & Damian Shannon were hired after delivering a pitch that De Luca was happy with in March 2002. Goyer returned to the project once again in an effort to trim "every ounce of fat" from Swift and Shannon's 120-page script. Wes Craven, Guillermo del Toro, and
Ronny Yu
Ronny is a given name, sometimes a short form (hypocorism) of Ryan. It may refer to:
* Ronny (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Ronny Heberson Furtado de Araújo
* Ronny (footballer, born 1991), Brazilian footballer Ronieri da Silva Pi ...
all declined the opportunity to direct the film.
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...
turned the film down in favor to helm ''
House of 1000 Corpses
''House of 1000 Corpses'' is a 2003 American black comedy horror film written, co-scored, and directed by Rob Zombie in his directorial debut, and the first film in the ''Firefly'' film series. It stars Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon, Ka ...
''. Then up-and-coming filmmaker
Jaume Balagueró
Jaume Balagueró Bernat (; born 2 November 1968) is a Spanish film director widely known for his horror films, most notably the acclaimed ''REC'' series.
Early life
Balagueró was born in Lleida, Spain, and grew up in Barcelona. He studied ...
campaigned to direct the film. Yu would ultimately sign on to direct the film in May 2002 after being given an "enormous" amount of creative freedom.
According to Swift and Shannon, several endings were considered for the film; one involved
Pinhead of the ''
Hellraiser
''Hellraiser'' is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, and produced by Christopher Figg, based on Barker's 1986 novella ''The Hellbound Heart''. The film marked Barker's directorial debut. Its plot invol ...
'' franchise, but New Line did not want to secure the rights for the character.
Casting
In 1999,
Robert Englund
Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise), Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. Class ...
officially signed onto the film, marking his eighth appearance as the character of Freddy Krueger.
In August 2002, ''Entertainment Weekly'' revealed
Kelly Rowland
Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl ...
and
Brad Renfro
Brad Barron Renfro (July 25, 1982 – January 15, 2008) was an American actor. He made his film debut at the age of 11 with a starring role in ''The Client'' (1994). He went on to appear in 21 feature films and won several awards.
Prior to bein ...
were cast in the film, while
Kane Hodder
Kane Warren Hodder (born April 8, 1955)According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905–1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com is an Americ ...
would reprise his role as Jason Voorhees. However, conflicting reports emerged with ''IGN'' stating that the film was looking to reinvent the character, thus ditching Hodder.
Monica Keena
Monica Keena (born May 28, 1979) is an American actress. She made her film debut in '' While You Were Sleeping'' (1995), and a lead role as Lilliana "Lilli" Hoffman in '' Snow White: A Tale of Terror'' (1997).
She later starred as Lori Campbe ...
was selected to portray the film's lead after an "extensive search", while the supporting cast were made up of Canadian actors, including
Katharine Isabelle
Katharine Isobel Murray (born November 2, 1981), known professionally as Katharine Isabelle, is a Canadian actress. She has been described as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror films. She started her acting career in 1989, playing ...
,
Lochlyn Munro
Lochlyn Munro (born February 12, 1966) is a Canadian actor. His most notable film roles include ''A Night at the Roxbury'' (1998), ''Scary Movie'' (2000), ''Freddy vs. Jason'' (2003), ''White Chicks'' (2004), '' The Predator'' (2018) and ''Cosm ...
,
Brendan Fletcher
Brendan Fletcher (born December 15, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He first gained recognition as a child actor, winning a Leo Award and being nominated for a Gemini Award his acting debut in the made-for-television film ''Little Criminals''. He ...
,
Tom Butler, David Kopp,
Jesse Hutch
Jesse Hutch (born February 12, 1981) is a Canadian-born American film and television actor. He spends his time travelling between the USA and Canada. He worked on the television show ''American Dreams'' as Jimmy Riley, romantic interest of main c ...
,
Kyle Labine
Jonathan Kyle Labine (born April 7, 1983) is a Canadian actor. His brothers Tyler Labine
Tyler Sean Labine (born April 29, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He is best known for starring in the television series ''Breaker High'', ...
and
Zack Ward
Zacharias Ward (born August 31, 1970) is a Canadian actor.
Early life
Ward was born on August 31, 1970, in Toronto, Ontario, the son of actress Pam Hyatt.
Career
He is best known for his character Dave Scovil (Titus's stoner half-brother) on the ...
.
Betsy Palmer
Betsy Palmer (born Patricia Betsy Hrunek; November 1, 1926 – May 29, 2015) was an American actress, who was known as a regular supporting film and Broadway actress and television guest star, as a panelist on the game show ''I've Got a Secret'' ...
was courted to reprise her role as Pamela Voorhees from ''
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. ...
'', but declined due to salary disputes. Actress
Paula Shaw
Paula Shaw (born July 17, 1941) is an American actress. A life member of the Actors Studio, Shaw has portrayed characters in numerous films and on television (including a role as prostitute on ''Barney Miller'', season three, "Quarantine", and se ...
would assume the role from Palmer. Just one week before production commenced,
Jason Ritter
Jason Morgan Ritter (born February 17, 1980) is an American actor and producer. He is known for his roles as Kevin Girardi in the television series '' Joan of Arcadia'', Ethan Haas in '' The Class'', Sean Walker in the NBC series ''The Event'', ...
was cast in place of Renfro.
Casting Jason
New Line, thinking that ''Freddy vs. Jason'' needed a fresh start, chose a different actor to play Jason. Cunningham disagreed with their decision, believing that
Kane Hodder
Kane Warren Hodder (born April 8, 1955)According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905–1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com is an Americ ...
, who had played Jason in the previous four films, was the best choice for the role.
[Bracke, Peter, pp. 280–286] Although Hodder received a script for ''Freddy vs. Jason'' and met with director
Ronny Yu
Ronny is a given name, sometimes a short form (hypocorism) of Ryan. It may refer to:
* Ronny (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Ronny Heberson Furtado de Araújo
* Ronny (footballer, born 1991), Brazilian footballer Ronieri da Silva Pi ...
and New Line executives, Yu and Matthew Barry felt that the role should be recast to fit Yu's image of Jason.
Hodder said that New Line did not give him a reason for the recasting; according to Yu, however, he wanted a taller, slower and more-deliberate Jason.
[Grove, David, p. 217] The role went to
Ken Kirzinger
Kenneth Kirzinger (born November 4, 1959) is a Canadian actor and stuntman best known for his portrayals of Jason Voorhees in ''Freddy vs. Jason'' (2003), Pa in '' Wrong Turn 2: Dead End'' (2007) and Rusty Nail in '' Joy Ride 3: Roadkill'' (2014) ...
, a Canadian stuntman who worked on ''Jason Takes Manhattan''. Yu said that Kirzinger was hired because he was taller than Robert Englund, who played Freddy Krueger. Kirzinger is tall, compared to the Hodder, and Yu wanted a much taller actor than the Englund. Kirzinger believed that his experience on ''Part VIII'' (doubling for Hodder in two scenes) and his height helped him land the part.
New Line did not cast Kirzinger until they saw him on film, and his first scene was Jason walking down Elm Street.
Douglas Tait played Jason in a re-shot ending:
Filming
Filming for ''Freddy vs. Jason'' began on September 9, 2002 in Vancouver and ended on December 10, 2002.
Release
The film was released on VHS and DVD as part of New Line's
Platinum Series on January 13, 2004. The DVD release contained a second disc of bonus content with audio commentary by
Ronny Yu
Ronny is a given name, sometimes a short form (hypocorism) of Ryan. It may refer to:
* Ronny (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Ronny Heberson Furtado de Araújo
* Ronny (footballer, born 1991), Brazilian footballer Ronieri da Silva Pi ...
,
Ken Kirzinger
Kenneth Kirzinger (born November 4, 1959) is a Canadian actor and stuntman best known for his portrayals of Jason Voorhees in ''Freddy vs. Jason'' (2003), Pa in '' Wrong Turn 2: Dead End'' (2007) and Rusty Nail in '' Joy Ride 3: Roadkill'' (2014) ...
and
Robert Englund
Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise), Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. Class ...
, and deleted and alternate scenes with commentary.
Ill Niño
Ill Niño (stylized as ill niño) is an American metal band formed in Union City, New Jersey, in 1998 by drummer and percussionist Dave Chavarri. They have released seven studio albums, two EPs and one compilation album, totaling in over 1.3 mi ...
's music video for "
How Can I Live
"How Can I Live" is a song by American alternative metal band Ill Niño. The song was released as the lead single from the band's second album '' Confession''. The song originally appeared on the soundtrack for the slasher film ''Freddy vs. Jason ...
"; trailers and TV ads, soundtrack promotion and behind-the-scenes featurettes. The film was released on October 4, 2005 on
Universal Media Disc
The Universal Media Disc (UMD) is a discontinued optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on its PlayStation Portable handheld gaming and multimedia platform. It can hold up to 1.8 gigabytes of data and is capable of storing video games, ...
and September 8, 2009 on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
; the Blu-ray release had the same content as the Platinum Series DVD.
Reception
Box office
''Freddy vs. Jason'' has grossed $82.6 million in the United States and Canada and $34 million in other territories for a total of $116.6 million, against a production budget of $30 million.
The film earned $36.4 million in its opening weekend at 3,014 theaters in North America, topping the box office. It remained number one in its second weekend grossing $13.4 million, and dropped to sixth place in its third weekend with $7.1 million.
Critical response
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''Freddy vs. Jason'' has an approval rating of 42% based on 162 reviews and an average rating of 4.98/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Fans of the two horror franchises will enjoy this showdown. But for everyone else, it's the same old slice and dice."
On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
the film has a weighted average score of 37 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave it an average grade of "B+" on an A+-to-F scale.
Kim Newman of
''Empire'' gave the film three stars out of five, writing: "FVJ ignores any attempts at cleverness and picks up storylines dropped in ''
Freddy's Dead'' and ''
Jason Goes To Hell''." Sacha Molitorisz of ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' wrote: "this is a solid effort, with enough frights, humour, blood, surprises and killer dialogue to entertain consistently." Robert K. Elder of the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying that it "succeeds as a guilty pleasure, a monster mash that clobbers the recent lackluster sequels plaguing both legacies."
Accolades
Doug Chapman and Glenn Ennis were nominated for the Best Fire Stunt award at the Taurus World Stunt Awards 2004 for the double full-body burn and wire stunt. Chapman doubled for Robert Englund as Freddy and Ennis doubled for Ken Kirzinger as Jason in the stunt. The film was also nominated for
Best Horror Film at the
Saturn Awards
The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...
.
Novelization
Black Flame published a
novelization
A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
of the film on July 29, 2003.
See also
*
''Freddy vs. Jason'' (soundtrack)
*
''Freddy vs. Jason'' (score)
References
Sources
*
*
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
Film page at the ''Camp Crystal Lake'' web site(archive link)
(archive link)
''Freddy vs. Jason''at Nightmare on Elm Street Companion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freddy Vs. Jason
2003 films
2003 horror films
2000s action horror films
2000s supernatural horror films
2000s monster movies
2000s slasher films
American action horror films
American sequel films
American supernatural horror films
American slasher films
Adaptations of works by Wes Craven
A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise) films
Casting controversies in film
2000s English-language films
Films about nightmares
American films about revenge
Alternative sequel films
Films directed by Ronny Yu
Films scored by Graeme Revell
Films set in 2003
Films set in hell
Films set in New Jersey
American teen horror films
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Films shot in Vancouver
Friday the 13th (franchise) films
Insomnia in film
Interquel films
New Line Cinema films
Supernatural slasher films
Resurrection in film
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Films with screenplays by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon
2000s American films