9. Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
After the frightfully low box-office draw of Jason Takes Manhattan, Sean S. Cunningham once again acquired the rights to Jason in an attempt to spin an Elm Street crossover. The result, Jason Goes to Hell, saw Jason’s hockey mask pulled down into the soil by a certain menacing glove.
After a casting controversy saw Hodder replaced with a taller yet tamer Ken Kirzinger (the guy Jason tossed across the diner in Manhattan) and languishing in developmental hell for years – Jason X only being released to keep the series fresh and relevant – Freddy and Jason finally stepped into the ring. What came of it was one of the goofiest, unapologetic and downright manic entries in both the franchises.
Mixing equal parts boiler room sweat with Crystal Lake’s raging hormones, Freddy vs. Jason acts as that bong-rip of a slasher flick; a crossover that feels like a boxing match between two vastly different weight classes. At times it feels weak in the knees more than it would like, as the dreamlike qualities of the Nightmare series clash with the methodical reality of Friday the 13th.
Still, Freddy vs. Jason continually picks itself up and deftly dusts its flaws off, working as that bare-knuckle brawl that puts the Elm in street fight.