It has been nearly 15 years sinceFreddy vs. Jasongave us all the horror showdown that fans had been waiting a very long time for. It’s hard to say if the entire movie lived up to expectations, but it remains a high point financially for both theFriday the 13thand theNightmare on Elm Street franchises. Even though the movie came out in 2003, there had been plans to makeFreddy vs. Jasonfor years before that. This is evidenced by a sales trailer from 1997 that New Line Cinema put together to try and help hype up the planned horror showdown.
The rare video was uploaded by YouTube user José Mellinas and gives us a look at how New Line envisionedFreddy vs. Jasonin the years before it actually got made. Even though the trailer is very 90s, featuring a big ominous voiceover with some cheesy text slowly crawling toward the screen, it is actually pretty effective. The whole thing culminates with a bunch of quick cut scenes of some memorable sequences from both theNightmare on Elm StreetandFriday the 13thfranchises.
At the time that this sales trailer forFreddy vs. Jasonwas put together, it had been roughly ten years since the initial idea to have the two horror legends square off against one another. In 1997, when this was released, it was actually makeup and special effects legend Rob Bottin, who worked onThe Thing, who was attached to direct. His vision ultimately didn’t come to pass as Ronny Tu was the man who finally made this movie happen. The “showdown of the millennium,” as promised in this trailer, wasn’t what many had hoped it would be. Maybe that would have been different if someone else had tackled it in the years prior.
Jason Goes to Hellinitially set up the showdown that would come to pass inFreddy vs. Jason. The 2003 horror crossover has its issues, but it is the last time to date that Robert Englund put on the sweater and took up the mantle ofFreddy Krueger. As forJason Voorhees, Ken Kirzinger had the honor of swinging his machete around inFreddy vs. Jason, which marked the first time thatKane Hodderhadn’t played the part since Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives.
Freddy vs. Jasonwas not a critical success, to say the very least. The movie currently holds a 41 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a pretty measly 50 percent audience rating.Freddy vs. Jasonwas a huge box office hit. The movie made $114.9 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossingFriday the 13thmovie and the second highest-grossingNightmare on Elm Streetentry. There was some talk of a sequel, but it never came to pass. Be sure to check out theFreddy vs. Jasonsales trailer for yourself below.
