Movie Review: You're Next

 

 

 

Finally I get to see this movie. Though it's a been a while and I only watched it once, so my memory might be a little foggy. But just to start things off, to be honest this movie was a mixed bag.  I get why they were trying to pay homage to the home invasion movies of the 70's and 80's, though I'm not a big fan of those movies, I appreciate the effort.

The Story: College Student Erin and her boyfriend Crispan, who's her professor by the way, goes to visit his family at their Missouri vacation home. Along with the parents, Crispan's siblings also pays a visit with their significant others. During a heated argument between Crispan and his Waspy brother Drake, an arrow, out of nowhere, hits Drake in the back while another hits their younger sister's boyfriend fatally in the head. This......is when all hell breaks loose. Now the family has to find various ways to survive the night while being under surveillance by a group of intruders invading their home....

 

   

The acting was great for the most part but I thought the characters were kind of bland. With the exception of the female lead of course. First let me start off with the family: Crispan is a whiny, insecure emotional sponge, Drake is a selfish, arrogant, and overall asshole, and Felix is a lazy, careless hipster-wannabe loser. Mr. and Mrs. Davison and younger sister Aimee are the only decent people in the family. There's not much to say about their spouses either: Aimee's boyfriend barely gets a word of dialogue before getting the ax, Drake's wife is a frosty bitch, and Zee is a sort of quiet, weird Goth girl. I pretty much went through all the characters and their characterizations, nothing to write about really. But again, the actors brought more to the characters than the writers could.

 

I thought AJ Bowen was kind of charming in most parts and dare I say that he's a very handsome man, maybe it's the beard.

It's good to see Barbra Crampton is still fabulous in her fifties and did a good job for the most part, playing the role of the paranoid matriarch. Although her part was pretty minimal, it's kind of great to see her back in a mainstream movie again.

Even though his character was jerk for most of the time, Joe Swanberg was kind of funny and witty with his line delivery. And from what I hear, he's pretty good indie director, so I might check out his material sometime.

Now I have to save the best for last. The best character in the movie by far is Erin played by the awesome Sharni Vision. She is sort of a mix of Ripley and Nancy Thompson and is the only character that has an interesting backstory. Her father was an extreme survivalist....which means she spent most of her childhood on a survivalist camp. Once things start going apeshit, Erin is the one who is calm and collected, practically taking over the situation while everyone else starts freaking out.

It's been a long while since I seen a kickass heroine in a horror film and it's kind of refreshing. Erin is in control and that's why my focus is on her most of the time. She is by far the coolest character in this movie.
Now onto the story. The only problem I have with this is that I've heard it before. But I can see that the filmmakers were going for a retro feel which is why the went with a more simple, run of the mill plot. But what they lack in story and characters, they make for everything else. The scenes in the film are actually suspenseful. And When the violence hits you, it hits you hard. Don't think I'm giving this movie too much credit. I'm not saying it's scary, it's just well-crafted in the more tense moments.

But I will give credit to the cool animal masks. I don't know, it's just something about animal masks that are creepy and awesome. It also works for the tone of the movie, having the ominous onlookers appear in dark shadows and open windows.
The other thing I give praise to is the twist. Yes, There is a twist in the movie. Now for those of you who haven't seen the movie, I advise you to skip this at your own risk. Okay let's begin:

Felix and Zee are the ones who set up the whole thing. They a hired a trio of hitmen to kill their parents (and most of the rest of the family) to inherit their lump sum of life insurance. I always thought there was something sketchy about those two, especially Zee, who gets her kicks off of having sex with a dead body laying around. Ugh, weirdo. But that's not the thick of it, there is an unlikely third accomplice who's in on it too.....

And that's Crispan. And all this time he came off like a loveable dork when he was the true villain after all.  Though I don't think I liked Crispan in the first place. Thankfully, Erin takes care of all of them.
So it had a pretty cool twist along with the slick directing, charismatic actors and atmospheric tone. But I wish there was more to offer with the characters and whatever black humor there was in the film, I couldn't find. It just felt uneven. It's enjoyable to watch but noting special really. Sure, it has all the positive reviews now but in another 10 or 20 years or so, people would go "meh, been there, done that."
My Last word: A cool slick slasher but with just a little icing on the cake would make the film a bit more memorable.

 

Top Ten Guilty Pleasures

Top Ten Guilty Pleasures

I'm back bitches! And I'm here to rank up my Top Ten guiltiest pleasures. Now these are not considered good movies or could be in the lines of mediocre but for me these movies either had a special place in my childhood,  to watch for a good laugh, or something to watch on a rainy day. Now you don't have to agree with me here, some these movies are silly, intentionally or unintentionally, but you know what, I had a good time watching them and so should you.

To start this off let's  go with the honorable mentions:

Showgirls

This movie had to come on this list somehow but the reason it isn't because of how incredibly sleazy it is. Sure, that's the movie's charm, however, it goes out of it's way to get an NC-17. The supposed characters in the movies aren't characters, there more like caricatures. Some of them don't even act like human beings. The main heroine is not particularly likeable once you see how she is introduced and has shitty morals. Lastly, Joe Eszterhas is not the greatest screenwriter. The way he portrays woman, how the story is set up, how the setting is set up....is all just wrong. Maybe I should do a full depth analysis on this but for all the times I watched this movie, it just doesn't make this list.

Ben and Arthur

Oh my gosh, this movie is hilarious. It tries to teach us a serious message but it fails at execution. It also have terrible production values, stupid character motivations, terrible acting, terrible directing, the list goes on. But I will give this movie at least one positive feedback for recognizing gay marriage but please don't think I'm giving this movie TOO much credit otherwise. Why isn't it on the list? I'm just too ashamed for it to be on the list at all.

Friday The 13th part 8,9, and 10

Sure, I've already reviewed these movies before and they could be easy to watch if you wouldn't put too much thought on them but the reason they aren't on the list is because all the plot holes and inconsistences  prevent them from being watchable, sure these movies could be so bad it's good. However, these just don't cut it really.

A Nightmare On Elm Street 5 and 6

These could be watchable movies if  you take the time to be invested in them. But on the downside, these are the two movies that made the series into a total joke. It dose have some interesting plots but it fails at execution. So the bottom line is these are quite forgettable.

Bride of Chucky/Seed of Chucky

These movies could work well as comedies. That's it....I just don't see these as horror films. It's like I'm watching stupid family sitcoms with a few dead bodies in it's wake. The movies wouldn't be a waste of your time however these aren't the best Child's Play movies.

Let's begin the list shall we:

10. The Room

This has got to be one of the most unintentionally hilarious movies I have ever seen. From what I heard this was a production mess which explains the final result of the movie. I first watched this on adult swim and to be honest, I thought this was a failed pilot for a TV show. From Canada, at least. But then I found out this was an actual movie that was in theaters for a while. Wow...just wow. This movie could be considered a parody of a soap opera. The melodrama is laughable, we have supporting characters we don't know, and the main storyline is contrived. I would say one thing though, At least the actors tried. I'm not saying they're by no means good but at least they tried to act their way through the bad dialogue. The only bad actor in this, unfortunately, is Tommy Wiseau himself, who lack of emotion and bad line delivering  really is the worst aspect of the movie. This would  be fun for a good laugh, so it would be good for any bad movie lover.

9. Batman and Robin

Don't get me wrong, this is one of the worst comic book movies ever but if you look at this as a comedy, it's definitely a riot. The over-the-top acting, The ridiculous costumes, and the endless hurricane of puns. It all adds up to this glorious mess of a movie. The hype was insane but nobody knew the crap that was coming their way. To be truthful I watch this for nostalgic purposes. I first seen this in theaters and to explain myself I was only six years old, so you don't have to judge me. Even though it's the worst comic book movie ever, it's still the most guiltiest pleasure ever.

8. Earth Girls Are Easy

This is a totally cheesy movie and it's so....80's. However, I watched this movie so many times more than my all time classic movies. I don't know it just has a certain charm to it. And this made me laugh more than any other Jim Carrey movie. Yes, he is really hilarious in this. Then there is Geena Davis playing the role of the adorable girl next door, a very attractive Jeff Goldblum , The always cool Damon Wayans, and the ever funny Julie Brown to round out the cast. And did I mention this was a musical? Yes, it surely is. The musical numbers are quite catchy actually. This movie is definitely a blast for an 80's fan.

7. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Sequel

Again, this is another nostalgic favorite of mine. I loved, loved, loved the ninja turtles and when I saw the first movie on USA in the nineties, I was completely in awe. But I think I watched the sequel more times than the first one because that's the only ninja turtles movie my dad owned. And boy was it a good time. The second sequel maybe silly and stupid but I had so much fun watching it. When I was a kid I popped this in every Friday and Saturday night for my special movie time. It was that awesome. My favorite scene was at the dance club which is technically the movie's climax and that "Go Ninja Go" song cannot get out of my head. These movies are not considered classics but at least they are a reflection of our childhood. And I'm not talking about the third movie. It's a boring piece of crap that I'll probably review some other time.

6. Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Sure it might be in the shadow of the more darker, edgier, and more popular TV series. Sure, it's nothing more than a campy teen flick that's quite obscure, but I can't help but love this movie for some reason. Yeah, the story feels rushed and although Kristy Swanson is a decent actress, she would done a much better performance. And yet, I like for what it is. It deviates what should be a much more darker film and prefers to be high camp. I was a sucker for movies like this and I'm still kind of am(for the least part). Though I would love to talk about what happened behind the scenes But I'll save that for another analysis. On the plus side, this was pretty fun movie to watch. It's not good, though at least it will be something to watch on a rainy day.

5. Charlie's Angels and The Sequel

You know what? I really like the Charlie's Angels movies. Although it was highly successful and people couldn't stop talking about it, it wasn't considered that good. Even Roger Ebert took a snipe at it. Some people these days would pass it off as another dumb mindless action flick. And you know what else? That's why I love this series so much. They are just fun action flicks that don't take themselves too seriously. I also liked the chemistry between Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu. You can tell they seem like really good friends and are having the time of their lives. I would think the fans of the television show could flock to this too because it does capture the feel of the TV series in a new modern way. Now just to say this I do love the TV series and probably watched it every morning before school when I was a kid but it's not what quality television and it is it's own guilty pleasure at best. Which some would say for the movie series, however, I like fun stupid action flicks and I would probably rank this as my favorite action movies beside Kill Bill.

4. Mommie Dearest

Just to let you know I don't think Child Abuse is funny. It's kind of sad and depressing when it's depicted on film, So much so it's kind of hard to watch. However, this movie has such a failed attempt at drama, it's almost hilarious to watch. It tries so hard to be this Oscar-worthy movie but it just crashes in it's own convoluted mess. Now I don't know the whole complete backstory of Joan Crawford and she may have been looney tunes but this movie is so apart from reality that it had me thinking most of the scenes that happened in the movie never happened in the book and was just put in for some shock value. Which boils down to Faye Dunaway's performance. I don't think she's a bad actress and she really tries though there are moments where she literally comes off like a cartoon character. Most of the time, she reminds me of certain Disney villains: First, she the wicked queen from Snow White, Then She's Lady Tremaine from Cinderella, and little bit of the wicked witch from the west from The Wizard Of Oz. Faye Dunaway's performance alone is the reason why I crave this movie so much and if given much more thought with a couple of rewrites and reshoots maybe, it could've been a really good movie. Oh well at least it's a cult classic for good or bad reasons.

3. Jawbreaker

I love, love, love this movie. Maybe it's because it's not your typical teen movie and it has much more different take on high school since certain high school movies back then were kind of cheesy and predictable. Some would like to compare this to the movie Heathers. But where Heathers dive more into the darker side of things, Jawbreaker is much more campier in it's terms of black comedy. I also enjoyed Rose McGowan's devious performance as the calculating and manipulative Courtney Shane. This role was made for her. There are also other decent actresses that I enjoy as well including Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz, and Judy Greer, which was her first big movie role. It's not your typical bubblegum teen fare, it's sort of a satire of it, which I really enjoy. And may I say the theme song is earwormy? This movie is an underrated classic in my opinion, especially for those who enjoy 90's teen movies.

2. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

I watched this movie more times just as any other horror movie. Every time it comes on TV, I just have this certain need to watch it. If you ignore the stupid plot, the lame twist, and the idiocy of certain characters, you might have a good time. Unlike most characters in a horror movie these days, the cast is really likeable and the acting is actually good. I don't know, I just think Jennifer Love Hewitt and Brandy are just so charming together. This is also a lot more action-packed than the last movie where the first one was more of a mystery-thriller, this one is more of a high-seas type of adventure movie. That's why I'm so invested the stakes are much higher and there is actual suspense. Although, this is nothing more than a cash-in sequel, it's still entertaining to watch.

1. Josie and The Pussycats

I know what you're going to say but I just had to rank this at the top of my list. During my childhood, I watched a lot of Cartoon Network and often so, I would catch an episode of Josie and The Pussycats cartoon. I was hooked. Sure, it was a knock-off of Scooby-doo but I enjoyed it otherwise. Especially the theme song. Plus I had the Archie comics for good measure. So when I heard that a movie adaptation was coming to theaters, I was psyched. I was only ten years old and all over this movie. I was determined to get that front row seat. Unfortunately, there wasn't that many people in the movie theater. Maybe the people in my town was never familiar about a trio of girls dressed as cats playing a rock band. But the movie experience was unforgettable. I thought the casting was spot-on. I was a fan of Rachel Leigh Cook during her She's All That phase and I was happy to see her in this role. She was very believable as this laid back girl-next-door. I didn't know who Rasiro Dawson was at the time and this was the first mainstream movie I saw her in. And you know what, she was great. She too was believable as the smart, mature cool big sis type. But the showstopper for me was Tara Reid, who was a bit too believable as the happy-go lucky dumb blonde. I was laughing my ass off every time she said a stupid line. Though the supporting cast makes up for this movie as well. Here you have the awesome Parker Posey and Alan Cumming. They are a comedic team and they have really good chemistry together. Maybe in a lifetime I would see these two in a movie again. The soundtrack was certified gold at the time and rightfully so. The songs are so catchy, so fun to listen, I just have this good feeling every time it plays. I know, I know, I'm being too sentimental. But whenever I look at movies like this it just give me this euphoria of nostalgia. The late 90's and early 2000's were happy times and this movie was a testament to that. Sure the whole mind control thing with pop music seemed tacked on but It's not like we think the whole mind control still works now. I mean the pop music that we listen today is such crap I can see how anybody pull that out of a drop of a hat. But anywho, The movie actually feels like an episode from the series just with a modern spin to it. And this was at a time where movies, bad or good, were entertaining. they didn't have to be great or anything, just a blast to watch. I don't know.....this movie has a special place in my heart for some reason. And I'm not ashamed one bit.

P.S. I love this song. Sue Me!

So there is my top ten guiltiest pleasures. Maybe some of the movies in this list may make your day a little better but if you have your guilty pleasure to admit. Don't be afraid to say it. :)

Movie Review: Freddy Vs. Jason

Finally after 15 years of development hell, Freddy Vs. Jason is now in the works. Years during script rewrites, promotional stunts, jumping from writer to writer, and overseeing the hype of it all, it has finally come to this. Was it worth it? Well, first let's have a little overview of the ideas that was put under the chopping block.
In the first script, there was a group of Freddy cult members who tries to summon Freddy by bringing in a virgin to sacrifice. So they plan to kidnap the main character's sister while the main character and her friends flee from the clutches of Jason Voorhees and Freddy Kruger. This script was so cheesy and stupid, I barely could read all of it.
Another one involved a girl who tries to get the heart of her dead boyfriend Jason (get it) and embedded into Jason Voorhees' body, all the while, she and her friends are escaping the grips of Freddy and the newly reborn Jason. It was okay at first bit still fell short because of the cheesy concept.
The Braga and Moore script was much better than the previous two, taking the same elements from New Nightmare and also having the main character being a distant relative of Tommy Jarvis. But I have problems with this as well. They sort of revision the whole Jason and Freddy mythology into the real world, which works but would've been executed better. The whole Jason on trial scenario sounds even more cheesy on paper, and then the climax, which takes place in a mall. A mall of all places. This had so much potential. SO much potential in fact, but most of the elements to this fell flat.
The Peter Briggs script is actually one of my favorites and will share my thoughts later into this review.
So what do I think of this overall movie?......I just think it's mediocre to be honest. Before anybody rips my head off, I do think this is an entertaining movie. Though, I do want to point the flaws and inconsisties with it, mostly with the plot and main characters. Writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift are not to blame for the movie's flaws, even though they aren't the greatest writers in the world. It's really the producers Stokely Chaffin and Ronny Yu's involvement as well by hiring scriptwriter David Goyer, which is why the writing is so cluttered. Not only that but Stokely along with producer Doug Curtis decided to recast the role of Jason to Ken Krizenger because they felt Kane Hodder wasn't imposing or scary enough, even though the guy was in four previous movies. The controversy over this is the he said, they said debacle which is ridiculous. They won't be adults and admit to what really happened. Now all the writing isn't that bad. Freddy's introduction was actually well-made if you ignore the cheesy voiceover. It shows that Freddy used to be this immoral, child molesting, child killing sociopath with no qualms on human life, instead of the wise-cracking unfunny caricature. You were never supposed to root for him or laugh with him, he is the embodiment of fear and that's how it should be.
Although he doesn't have his fair share as Freddy, Jason also is written well as he is seen as this tragic monster. Some of the fans don't agree with this concept of him, but he was this misunderstood kid who happen to die by unnecessary circumstance turning him to the killing machine that he will soon become.
The plot is pretty by the basics. At least in the scripts it build up the connection between Freddy and Jason, which were (although some) interesting concepts. But in this one, they have no connection and Jason is nothing but a pawn in Freddy's scheme to put fear in Springwood again. Freddy just so happens to put into Jason's psyche without knowing who he really is. This is my main problems with the script, it just rushes the plot too quickly without any build up or development. And then so you know it, all hell breaks loose, you have random teens caught in the crossfire and Freddy gets all jealous that Jason is taking all his victims and he's destined to get rid of him once and for all. There's not much to go further with it really.

The cast and characters were the worst. They pretty much brought down the movie for me. Most of the fans would say it's really not about the characters but they are the ones who drive the story forward. They are pretty much full front and center in 80% of the movie. Which gets me to this. What I liked about both of the franchises was how engaging the characters were. The Friday The 13th Cast were likeable and relatable. The Nightmare On Elm Street Cast were interesting and sympathetic. And if you think they would have a group of teens with similar qualities in this movie, it would make a compelling cast. Unfortunately, there is not anything remotely noteworthy about these characters in Freddy Vs. Jason. By the early 2000's, they had the never-ending trend of making young adults or teens in horror films to be unlikeable douchebags and regrettably, this trend lives on. The cast is no different from this really. There either bland, shallow, hallow, one-note, or unlikeable. That is all.

Now I said in my last review that Monica Kenna did a good performance. I really want to punch myself in the face for that. She is horrible in this movie and maybe I said all those things because she seems like a nice person in real life but her acting is just so over-the-top and forced it almost seemed unnatural. Though, I don't think it's really her fault because I've seen her do so much better. The one at fault here is Ronny Yu, who kept pushing the actors to use more energy, which explains how the actors are really bad. As far as the character of Lori, she is so useless I wanted to punch her sometimes. The Friday and Nightmare heroines always had an inner strength about them that gave them layers. For example: You had Nancy Thompson, Alice Johnson, Ginny Field, Tina Shepard. Sadly, we have Lori to look forward to. All she does through half of the movie is whine and scream. It's quite irritating actually. Lori shares none of the qualities of those characters.

She manages to get some at the end but it's a little too late, it never pays off. The other annoying thing about this character is how the movie beats us over the head about Lori being a virgin. We get it! We already know she has a 100% chance of surviving, so the movie didn't have to try so hard to be that obvious.  Though I would say the tight shirts (which displays her cleavage), the tattoo on her backside, and having a boy sneaking into your room at night? Yeah I would second guess that. AND another thing, her last name seems to be based on a certain actress and character. Laurie Strode. Neve Campbell. Get it. Though I would hardly regard Lori in the special league of the final girls, as Laurie Strode and Sidney Prescott are definitive ones. It seems more like an insult if you ask me.

Let's talk about Will....Well to be honest, there really isn't anything to say about him. He's just THERE for the most part and the only reason why he's even relevant to the plot because he's Lori's boyfriend but before I can continue, let's get to Jason Ritter's acting. He's just so wooden in this. He cannot convey any type of emotion, which doesn't make him that believable. I understand that this is his first major role but I have seen him do better and it's a shame that this was his first try. He has the good looks but not the talent to pull this movie through. Again, the character of Will just didn't do it for me. His only purpose in the movie is how he falsely accused Lori's father in the murder of her mother (which was a ridiculous plot point in the first place) and is just an obvious love interest for the heroine. Dan Jordan from Nightmare 4 have more personality than him and he's blander than a cardboard box. Sorry to say but Will just doesn't cut it as our hero of the movie.

Kelly Rowland could be a good actress, it's just she plays one of the most despicable characters in the movie. Kia is a shallow, rude, obnoxious, annoying bitch. I was just counting the hours for her screen time to be over. unfortunately, she gets to live through the climax of the movie. They try to make her the likeable comic relief but it just doesn't work for me.

Her little so-called speech is what pissed me off about this character. Originally, Swift and Shannon wanted to copy the same speech Nancy recited in the first Nightmare movie but Stokely and Goyer decided to make the speech hip and edgy by putting in a penis joke and a certain F word in there. To be honest, I really don't like this Stokely person. If she ever had a sense of  understanding teenagers and their slang terms, I wish she would use some knowledge and interview one. As for David Goyer, he can go fuck himself.

To continue on Kia's character, all she does is complain half of the time and through all her crap, she finally gets a big o'l machete whack by Jason. It was definitely worth it.

Linderman played by Chris Marquete is actually the most least unpleasant character. Chris Marquete did an okay performance and played the nerd character well. However, Linderman is anything but the stereotypical nerd though that doesn't mean he can be tough if he wants to be. Even tougher than Lori and Will. Hell, he's probably the most toughest character I know in this movie.

If you take in that pivotal moment where he stands up to a seven foot giant with a machete, it shows that he is the best character in this movie.

And when he goes out, he goes out like a badass. Why didn't HE be the hero of the film?

It's a shame that Katherine Isabelle from the critically-acclaimed and compelling Ginger Snaps is wasted in this movie. Her character Gibb is a useless hallow shell of a drunken bimbo that it almost makes me feel sad for her.

It's just cruel how they write this character and never put any thought into her personality or what she goes through. And as for Katherine Isabelle, she cashed in her paycheck.

Brendan Fletcher actually did a great performance. He had the right intensity for the role and actually would make a much more better than Jason Ritter. His character Mark is easily the only person I sympathize. What makes him stand out is that he has layers, human flaws, and not some cardboard cutout. He is actually a character we can relate to.

Mark's best moments is when he sees his dead brother and it showcases Brendan Fletcher's emotional range. But then again, the character has less screen time than the bland and annoying cast. He becomes the only victim of Freddy Krueger and it was kind of a cop out to kill off his character.
As for the rest of the disposable teens you have:

Trey, who is probably the biggest douchebag in the film and gets the first in one of the most outrageous and memorable death scenes.

Blake, a typical horny teen who was supposed to be a replacement for Will. He gets killed along with his dad.

The two annoying jerk jock stereotypes. One fat, one skinny. Gets the special treatment from Jason.

And last but not least, Freeburg, an annoying, useless stoner stereotype who gets stupidly high during a crisis and gets possessed by Freddy while being sliced in half by Jason.

And now to relay on the two main villains and also the two heavyweights of the slasher genre: Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees.

First, let's start of with Freddy who seemed to be the star of the movie. He is...a mixed bag for me. He still has that menacing edge from the first three films but still is the over-the-top cartoon villain New Line has made him out to be. On the good side of things, his thirst for malice is quite relevant, especially involving the scene where he plans to rape Lori because that's who Freddy is. He is this soul-sucking dream demon with no signs of humanity whatsoever. On the bad side of things, he is still quite talkative, so much so, it's really unnecessarily hammy. In the original script, he was given less dialogue and his personality was more in tune of how he was in the 1984 film. You know the dark and mysterious Freddy, which could've worked well but STOKELY wanted to merge in the dark Freddy and the comical Freddy, which doesn't mix well in my opinion. We really didn't need that voiceover, it's more a show and don't tell thing actually. And most of Freddy's dialogue consists of the word bitch all the time. It worked well the first go-around but it just gets annoying half of the time. Here's where it's demonstrated:

Again, Robert England does what he does best in his iconic role and it shows that only he can master the character of the maniacal Freddy Krueger.

The good parts of this movie is how they make Jason Voorhees a sympathetic character. I like how the camera focuses on his eyes to elude some type of emotion. Some people tend to forget that Jason was this misunderstood young boy who hid away from society because of his disorder. It's kind of sad when you think about it. And how he died at the summer camp is even sadder. I like how the movie emphasize on that, making him into a tragic monster instead of this hulking ball of rage. This will also lead me to the flawed end of the scale. It almost seems that Jason is put in the back burner. Most of the time, he comes like this big ogreish monster with a big machete. But that doesn't mean he still is the well-know slasher of them all as demonstrated here:

To continue on with the discussion here, Ronny Yu openly said he wanted Jason to channel Frankstein's monster. Of course, this is coming from a guy who haven't watched any of the films. This is why they should've never replaced Kane Hodder. He was the one who actually gave Jason a personality. He didn't portray him as some hulking monster with a huge knife, he made him into a human being who just happens to be immortal. He still has emotions like rage, alienation, and confusion and Kane Hodder convey those emotions well. To be fair, Ken Krizenger did fine. He did emote how Jason was feeling and did certain movements that were humanlike but lethal at the same time.

And can I say one thing, I think Ken Krizenger is smokin', I certainly love me a tall man. Plus, he can fit in a mesh shirt pretty well.

Now to the directing and special effects. I thought the visuals were good, although I really didn't like the overuse of CGI but there were cool moments like the bed-bending death scene and the bloody rave party scene...and most importantly, the climax involving Freddy and Jason tearing each other apart in a bloody battle. I also like how the visuals tell the personalities of the main villains by representing a particular color. Jason represents the color blue, illuminating his loneliness and melancholy. Freddy represents the color red for his bloodlust and psychotic rage.
But what I mostly want to talk about director Ronny Yu, who is a bit of a mix bag for me. This is also a mishap on New Line's part because they were so eager to hire him off his money run from Bride Of Chucky, since they really seem to like it. First of all, I don't think Bride Of Chucky is a classic and it's more of a guilty pleasure than anything. Second, They hired a guy who never watched any of the Friday or Nightmare films and New Line was so anxious to hire him because they wanted an 'Asian perspective' or whatever that means. Ronny Yu refused at least four or five times but New Line just kept begging him. It just comes to show that the film company were so hooked on making money at the box office rather than focusing on the history and much needed story structure of the two horror icons. On top of that, you have Ronny Yu and David Goyer altering the script and his bad direction of the actors alongside Stokely, who pretty much took over half of the production. But the biggest issue is how they write the movie, which was originally supposed to be dark and edgy but turned into a cartoon show instead. Also the focus on Lori's father was distracting, possibly making him turn out like he's the bad guy, even though you have Freddy and Jason in the same movie. Freddy afraid of fire and Jason afraid of water? Really? and don't even get me started on how the group of teens went from Springwood, Ohio to Crystal Lake in New Jersey in just ten minutes, it's definitely a headbanger. All this big plotholes and slipups just disjointed the story if  you ask me.

But the ending is what saved the movie from being a forgettable mediocricy. The way Jason slowly comes out of the water holding Freddy's head like a trophy is a true historical moment in both the franchises.
Now on to the trivia. Speaking of the movie's ending, there's was an alternative ending as presented here:

The filmmakers decided to cut it because it was too I-know-what-you-did-last-summeresque. And you know what, I'm so glad they did. It was super cheesy and stupid.
Brad Renfro was originally casted as Will but due to his personal problems and being late on the set, he was later dropped from the role. It's disappointing he didn't went on to play the role because I think he brings the right kind of intensity for that character.
Katherine Isabelle was originally supposed to play Lori and to be honest, I felt she had the right looks for the role and was a good enough actress but for some reason they put her in the Gibb role instead which is so below her.
The first draft of the script was going to involve Tommy Jarvis in a cameo or at least a reference where the climatic scene takes place in the construction place. This would've been cool but for some reason they scrapped it. I blame Stokely and Mr. Goyer for this.
Now let's talk about the Peter Briggs script. The story is very innovative and just a few pages of the script in, I got hooked. The ideas that was put into this was handled well. Bringing back Alice From Nightmare 4 and 5, and Steven and Jessica From Jason Goes To Hell was a good contuation on both the series and was a smart move by the writer. And even though, I don't care for Jason Goes To Hell, I at least thought the main characters were interesting.  To continue on with the script, I thought there were scenes that was quite suspenseful. Once you read what was going on you really feel that the stakes are higher now. I know at first that the Christian Mythology elements is a little heavy-handed but even if that was scrapped out of the story, It still would've been a strong script.
So unfortunately, they didn't go with this one, even though I think it's one of the better scripts they gotten so far. Plus, it would've been cool to have Jacob and Stephanie as teenagers fighting against Freddy and Jason but that idea would later be in the sequel comic books.
So there's Freddy Vs. Jason. To be quite fair, it has really weak story and even weaker characters, but they have great moments to make up for it. Speaking of which, it's certain scenes from the movie that save it from being forgettable or mediocre. This movie is not a classic. It's a by-the-numbers slasher with an annoying teen cast and really bad writing when I could expected something more, especially  out of a Freddy and Jason flick. Again, it needed better characters, a better story and a much developed connection between the two villains. But oh well, it is what it is: A silly slasher movie.\
My Last Word: Yeah sure, you can watch it. It is an entertaining movie whether you get bored on a rainy day but as a fan of both of the franchises, there will always be a slight disappointment of what could've been.

P.S. Man, those were a lot of reviews. It's been a year and seven months of this and I'm pooped. So I'm going to take a break from doing reviews for a while But don't worry I'll post a special message here and there. So thanks for all the views. See you next time....