Freddy Vs. Jason
(2003, Dir.: Ronny Yu, with Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger)
Before this, I can only think of one instance where I saw a film of the slasher subgenre in a theater, and that was Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre at a Halloween showing in college. Anything else I’ve only seen on video or DVD (in these series, only the premieres). So it was with a sense of bemused anticipation that I approached what appears to be a fairly desperate move to breathe some life into the genre. Let’s just say I wasn’t driven to rush to the video store to fill out the back story. Almost everything that happens is telegraphed to anyone who’s seen one or two of these, so all that’s left is tongue-in-cheek self-mockery, tossed-off one-liners, and, of course, breasts. None of which make for a full film experience. But I admit I was mildly entertained by the over-the-top antics often enough to give it a couple of marks. Only for the faithful or those in just the right mood.
4 January 2004