Connect with us

News

Freddy vs Jason: The Uphill Battle of the 2003 Slasher

Published

on

For many years a Freddy vs Jason movie has always been in the works.  It has taken many forms with various different plotlines, not to mention many, many re-writes.  Would it take place in Freddy’s world or Jason’s?  Would it be like the classic monster movies of the black and white days, or more of a blood bath reminiscent of the 1980’s when these villains rose to fame?  Perhaps the biggest question of all; how do we pull these two big bads together in one film while still staying true to their history, and even more importantly; staying true to the fans?

The obvious snag that prevented these two villains from duking it out for so long dealt with the production companies.  It is nearly impossible to make a film when the two movies you want to combine are owned by different production and distribution companies.

In this case Friday the 13th 1-8 were all distributed by Paramount Pictures, which is why you see these eight movies packaged together on the sales shelf.  Unlike Friday, the Elm Street series has always found its home at New Line Cinema.  It wasn’t until Friday the 13th part 9 when the distribution company changed from Paramount to New Line Cinema, and this is when a real opportunity arose for these two horror titans to come together on the silver screen.

This journey to the final movie released in 2003 was not an easy one.  Supposedly New Like spent 6.8 million dollars in more than a dozen screenwriters and eighteen different scripts over the course of ten years!  Talk about development hell!

Finally a director was assigned to the project; Bride of Chucky director Ronny Yu.  This was the first inkling of what type of direction the movie would take, and fans weren’t impressed.  With a director who took the scary out of Chucky and substituted it with cheesy one liners and a hokey concept of the infamous killer doll finding love, fans were skeptical where Yu would take two of the most beloved horror icons.  If you were to finally bring these villains together they wanted to see Wes Craven or Sean Cunningham at the helm.

Robert Englund, Ronny Yu,, and Ken Kirzinger,

While fans began to speculate in what direction the film would take and who would ultimately win, a shockwave of true horror rocked the internet.  Legendary actor and stuntman Kane Hodder who donned the hockey mask in Friday 7, 8, 9, and Jason X would not be redeeming his role as the machete wielding Jason Voorhees.  Even now, fourteen years later, no one really knows why Kane was canned, not even Hodder himself.  The most popular reason circulating the interwebs, whether true or not, is because the powers that be were looking for a Jason with more “expressive eyes,” which is a complete crock of shit because Jason only has one eye!

Another reason circulating the rumor mill was because Yu wanted someone taller and more imposing when standing toe to toe with Freddy.  This is also completely bogus since the actor and stuntman who replaced Hodder, Ken Kirzinger, is only one inch taller than Kane!  Whatever the reason for Kane not being able to redeem the role he has claimed to be so near and dear to his sadistic heart, fans were livid.  Like any horror loving fan would do, they hit the internet to let anyone who would listen know their extreme disappointment in this casting choice.

Unfortunately the opinions from the fans fell upon deaf ears and production moved forward.  To try and drum up support New Line hit the advertising hard, spending a whopping $25 million on advertising the movie alone!  That is more than the advertising budget for ALL of the Friday the 13th films combined!  Watch their Las Vegas promotional event here.

Despite the skepticism from fans this was still the battle they had been clamoring for since the 1980’s and ‘90s.  Upon its opening weekend Freddy vs Jason brought in a record breaking 36.4 million dollars.  At the time this was the largest sum any slasher movie had ever made during its premiere weekend.  However, with the money spent on production and advertisement this achievement did not make much of a profit from opening weekend sales.

Now that more than a decade has passed Freddy vs Jason hasn’t exactly found its place among the cult classics of its predecessors that have come before it.  While the line has been set for die-hard fans of the franchise, most of whom fall among the popular opinion of not liking the film, there has been a movement over the years from the younger crowd who find the film entertaining and acceptable when quenching their blood thirst.

What do you think?  Did you enjoy the clash of the horror titans in Freddy vs Jason?  Let us know in the comments!

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

Published

on

In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

News

Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

Published

on

Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading