I've always been quite fond of the Friday the 13th franchise. I'm quick to point out that most of the sequels have been garbage, but there's something fun about them that always makes me sit down for repeated viewings. I also really enjoy the Nightmare on Elm Street series, and those films by contrast have not been met with the same kind of critical hostility. In fact, many of
the films in that franchise have been commended for their creativity.

For years, many fans of the genre have hoped for a film that would pit Friday killer Jason Vorhees against maniac Freddy Krueger of Elm Street fame. Not only has this been a horror lover's dream, but a topic that has caused much debate; "Who the hell would win this battle?"

After nearly ten years in development, and following a well intentioned but lackluster Friday sequel (Jason X), New Line Cinema put this battle for the horror ages on the fast track, and the end result is a picture that feels like it was put on the fast track.

Numerous screenplays had been written to bring these two iconic killers face to face, but the story New Line went with involves a forgotten Freddy tricking Jason into picking off Elm Street teenagers so that Krueger's legacy would once again be instilled into the minds of all those on Elm Street. You see, Freddy is only able to thrive off fear and if he isn't remembered, he can't wreak havoc. Jason, meanwhile, begins a new killing spree on Elm Street (who knew that Elm Street and Camp Crystal Lake were so close together) under the notion that he's following his dead mother's orders. When teenagers begin winding up dead, the adults of Elm Street
assume that Freddy's back (even though Freddy has never taken a victim with a machete). There's also a subplot involving a psychiatric hospital in which all the patients are forced to take a dream suppressant drug. The real fun
begins when Freddy becomes distraught over the fact that Jason is slaying his would-be victims before he has a chance to do it himself.

First and foremost, the Friday the 13th film have never been about strong writing. It's about getting wild teenagers together and then having them slaughtered like cattle. The Elm Street series has always been a little classier in terms of story. Freddy Vs. Jason puts an emphasis on Freddy but the film is written like a Friday the 13th picture. Meaning that all the characters are disposable and don't have a brain between them. The acting in this picture is beyond awful. Lead heroine Monica Keena overplays the sweet virgin every step of the way and Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland doesn't fare much better. While it could be argued that the acting in Jason
X wasn't much better (or any other Friday for that matter), at least in that picture it all felt intentional. Here, it feels accidental. The dialogue in Freddy Vs. Jason isn't worth mentioning either, so I won't. But then criticizing a film of this nature because of awful dialogue and poor character development hardly seems fair. After all, this is a slasher flick in every sense of the word.

Director Ronny Yu certainly has a keen eye for great camera angles and vibrant colors. He should also be commended for a brisk running time. However, Freddy Vs. Jason has some of the worst continuity I've seen in a movie in quite some time. This movie doesn't flow at all. While watching Freddy Vs. Jason, I also got the sense that Yu and his team of screenwriters had no concept of either franchise that they were trying to bring together. Clearly, Freddy is made out to be the villain while Jason is supposed to be some kind of sympathetic victim. And since when is Jason afraid of water? Sure, he drowned as a boy, but Vorhees isn't scared of anything. Fans of his repspective series will, no doubt, recall that he's walked into water in past installments. I guess I'm knitpicking but even in something as ridiculous as a Friday the 13th film, you have to follow rules.

I don't want to give the impression that Freddy Vs. Jason doesn't have anything going for it. People will flock to see this movie because they want to see these two heavyweights battle it out. In the final twenty minutes of this picture, they do beat each other to a bloody pulp and the violence is downright cartoonish. As they stab one another, the blood squirts from their bodies as if it were spray paint. Before squaring off against each other, the two killers also earn some points for some pretty decent killings. But
it is their death match that will have people talking. While their climactic battle brings to mind simialr duels in Frankenstein Vs. The Wolfman and King Kong Vs. Godzilla, I was really reminded of The Terminator and the T-X's
final match in T3. Coincidentally, the battle does not end in a draw. There is a winner. It's all in good fun, but it isn't enough to salvage this
rushed picture.

Robert Englund doesn't miss a beat as Freddy. At this point in his career, he could do this stuff in his sleep. Still, I yearn for scary Freddy as
opposed to funny Freddy. In the first Elm Street, this was a horrifying character. Through several sequels, he became more comical until retiring
the glove in the best of the entire series, the truly creative New
Nightmare, in which he was once again, very frightening. Kane Hodder (who expertly played Jason in the last four Friday films) is nowhere to be found in this picture, and despite what many might think, his presence could have made a huge difference. Stuntman Ken Kirzinger has taken over the role (it has been reported that they wanted someone closer to Mr. Englund's height so that the final fight would feel more evenly matched). Readers are probably thinking that there's nothing to this role anyway. Acutally, Mr. Hodder did bring something menacing to the table, and he was able to convey terror thorugh great body movement.

In the end, Freddy Vs. Jason blew a world of golden opportunities. Why didn't Tommy Jarivs (played by Corey Feldman in The Final Chapter) make an appearance? Or what about Nancy ( played by Heather Langenkamp in Nightmares 1, 3 and 7). This picture would have greatly benefited from someone with more knowledge of the Vorhees and Krueger legends. Rather than
being innovative, the story here feels disposable. An early draft of a different Freddy Vs. Jason screenply suggested that maybe Freddy had been one of Jason's counselors at Camp Crystal Lake. That would have been interesting. At the very least, that would have been an intriuging way to bring these characters together. No such luck. Instead, we get a boring set-up capped off by an amusing clash of the titans.

As it stands, my favortie Fridays are 3 (with it's cheeseball 3-D effects and the introduction of the hockey mask), 4 (featuring a great Jason death as well as early performances from Corey Feldman and Crispin Glover), 6 (with it's hilarious homage to Frankenstein and an even funnier ode to James Bond), and 7 (featuring a goofy telekinetic subplot). The best Elm Street
pictures remain 1 (a truly scary picture that got the ball rolling), 3 (written by Shawshank Redemption director Frank Darabont), and the best in the series, the highly creative New Nightmare (featuring a performance by Freddy creator Wes Craven brilliantly playing himself).

Freddy Vs. Jason wasn't the heavyweight match I was hoping for, but at least it moved along at a breezy pace, displaying some great gore every chance it got. And props to the film makers for their go for broke attitude when it came to the main event.

Readers out there are probably wondering why the hell am I being so long winded on a review for a silly Nightmare/Friday film. The truth is, this is a big moment in the world of horror. Sadly, it wasn't as big as it should have been.