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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, August 15, 2003

'Freddy vs. Jason' showdown doesn't quite cut it

By Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

Freddy (Robert Englund) discusses his finer points with Jason (Ken Kirzinger) in New Line Cinema's showdown, "Freddy vs. Jason."

Gannett News Service

'Freddy vs. Jason'

R, for sex, drug abuse, crude talk, violence, gore

98 minutes

For the ultimate slasher movie, "Freddy vs. Jason" just isn't sharp enough.

You'd think that such a battle royal — between the stars, respectively, of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" and the "Friday the 13th" film franchises — would rise above the average horror-series entry, with a juiced-up plot and more than a few memorable moments.

But besides the marquee matchup, "Freddy vs. Jason" offers up the usual gang of huddling teens, picked off one by one in predictably gruesome fashion, as first Jason and then Freddy wreak havoc in and around not-so-idyllic Elm Street.

Once the novelty wears off, the latest movie feels just like every other — an unrepentant gore fest with little personality or flavor. Then again, for some fans, just seeing these two icons on screen together is worth the price of admission.

With 17 movies between them, Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) and Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger) seem a bit weary chasing the usual knuckleheads, who are thankfully mowed down before their bad acting can become too onerous.

As the movie opens, "Nightmare on Elm Street" dream stalker Freddy has been consigned to hell. He's helpless to return to his hometown because the kids there have forgotten his name, with the help of a powerful drug that keeps them from dreaming.

Bored with playing Parcheesi with Hitler, Freddy hatches a scheme. He uses his metamorphic powers to transform into an image of Jason's mom and orders the hockey-masked slasher to rise from his grave and begin hooking and slashing along Elm Street, paving the way for Freddy's return.

Jason's spree soon has people talking about Freddy again, and he's ready to dust off his finger knives.

Unfortunately, Jason is getting back into the swing of things with a little too much gusto, and Freddy decides he needs to send him back into limbo. Meanwhile, panicky teens try to unravel the mystery, including the comely Lori (Monica Keena), her tough-talking friend Kia (Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child) and Lori's boyfriend, Will (Jason Ritter), who escapes from a mental institution.

As Jason winnows the field, one of the most energetic sequences involves his interrupting a cornfield rave, only to be splattered with grain alcohol and set aflame. We're treated to an overhead shot of Jason chasing his quarry through the field, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. That scene aside, the movie suffers from a pedestrian pace in the first half but picks up when the title characters stop being distracted by their helpless prey and take aim at each other.

For a B-horror movie, the special effects are fairly impressive as Freddy and Jason try to turn each other into mincemeat. Clearly out-muscled by Jason, Freddy uses his particularly evil imagination to even the slashing field.

But given the iconic status of the combatants, this title fight doesn't go the distance.