Welcome to the Ultimate Horror Smackdown!
In the red corner is Jason "Hockey Mask" Voorhees, superhuman serial killer with a 14-inch machete. Weighing in at 250 pounds, this 6' 3" monster has racked up 127 kills so far. Firm favourite at 1/3 on.
In the blue corner is Freddy "Mad Man" Krueger, wisecracking child molester previously burnt alive by the parents of Elm Street. 160 pounds, 5' 8" and with just 30 kills. Odds are a generous 2/1.
Before you place your bets, here's the history...
Freddy and Jason have been stuck together in (development) hell for a very long time. It's taken 15 years to get this tongue in cheek franchise combo onto the screen and for the army of screenwriters and producers who've shed blood, sweat and tears to give the fans what they want, it's been the stuff of nightmares.
Originally conceived in 1988, when Freddy was scheduled to make an appearance in the final reel of "Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood", the idea has been stuck in limbo ever since the lawyers at Paramount (owners of the "Friday" franchise) and New Line (owner of the "Nightmare" series) went into wrangle mode, leaving Jason to face off against a no-name teenager with ESP powers instead (and leaving the film to be cheekily dubbed "Jason Vs. Carrie" by fans). Quite a let down for the big guy.
To everyone's surprise, the prospect whetted fans' appetites for an old-fashioned showdown in the vein of the Universal creature features of the 40s (1943's "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man") or the demented Japanese cycle of films, such as "King Kong Vs. Godzilla" (1962). Eager not to disappoint, New Line started work on an alternative project, "Freddy Vs. Chucky".
For the studio, it was the movie-making equivalent of a game of Top Trumps. Get two horror stars, put them toe-to-toe and watch as fans drooled at the prospect of seeing them fight to the death. Who would win? Who would lose? How much longer would it keep the ailing franchises limping along?
Plans for Freddy meeting the two-foot doll from the "Child's Play" series never quite came off. So when New Line bought the rights to the "Friday the 13th" franchise in the early 90s, the scene was set for the ultimate smackdown, a subject hinted at in the final scene of "Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Goes to Hell".
It's a project that's claimed its fair share of victims. Original "Nightmare" director Wes Craven passed after reportedly worrying that it sounded like a bunch of "people trying to wring one more dollar out of this thing". He wasn't the only one. Stephen Norrington ("Blade") and Guillermo del Toro ("The Devil's Backbone", "Blade II") were attached as directors then dropped out, while stuntman Kane Hodder, who has played Jason more times than anyone else (and even has the word "KILL!" tattooed on the inside of his lip for good measure), was replaced in favour of newcomer Ken Kirzinger.
Fortunately, the announcement that Hong Kong director Ronny Yu - a firm horror favourite for seminal Asian ghost story "The Bride With White Hair" and his resurrection of the "Child's Play" series in "Bride of Chucky" - kept fans interested.
So who will win? Brawn or brains? Machete-carrying stalker or razor-fingered slasher? Studio coffers or horror fans' high hopes?
Time to place your bets!
"Freddy Vs. Jason" is released in UK cinemas on Friday 15th August 2003.
