FRIDAY THE 13TH VS. HALLOWEEN VS. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: A TRIPLE FRANCHISE COMPARISION (ROUND 9)

3 points

2 points

1 point

In direct comparison, Jason Goes to Hell finds itself up against two reboots in round 9. Adam Marcus' spin on The Hidden body-swapping idea cut down on Jason's actual on-screen time, upped the gore quota (in the unrated version) and ended with Freddy's glove making a (premature) appearance.

Rob Zombie divided Halloween fans with his unique take demystifying the Shape's origins before briskly and violently re-staging most of the original. I can see why some hated it, but personally I thought it was a genuinely personal and fascinating vision and it gets the 3 points from me (controversial I know!).

Speaking of controversial, I am actually the only person in the Western Hemisphere who didn't hate the Elm Street remake either (*ducks and runs for cover*). Of course, Jackie Earle Haley had an impossible task in trying to fill Robert Englund's shoes/hat/glove/sweater etc but give the guy some slack people! I thought his portrayal was dark and mean - something that Englund's Freddy was too, once upon a time...

Running scores after 9 rounds:  

Nightmare on Elm Street 20
Friday the 13th 17

Halloween 17

FRIDAY THE 13TH VS. HALLOWEEN VS. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: A TRIPLE FRANCHISE COMPARISION (ROUND 8)

3 points

2 points

1 point

I'm heading into seriously choppy waters with this round (and I'm not just talking about the questionable geography which allows Jason to sail directly from Crystal Lake to Manhattan by boat). Technically, Freddy's next cinematic outing occurs in Freddy vs. Jason, so whilst it's not exclusively an Elm Street entry, Freddy is partially riding on Jason's coattails (and collecting the 3 points this round) with the flawed but very entertaining battle of the horror icons. 

Raw deal for Kane Hodder, overlooked to play Jason for FvJ after slumming it in arguably 3 of the weakest F13 entries, of which, Jason Takes Manhattan (mostly Vancouver) is frankly lucky to even get 1 point.

Halloween: Resurrection isn't regarded highly amongst the fans of Mr. Myers, but I actually think the set-up kinda works, like a filmic version of a haunted walk-through. (I will concede that the death of Curtis' Laurie Strode is infuriatingly weak and unworthy of her character) - but Jason Takes Manhattan really is that shit. 

Running scores after 8 rounds:  

Friday the 13th 16

Nightmare on Elm Street 18

Halloween 14

FRIDAY THE 13TH VS. HALLOWEEN VS. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: A TRIPLE FRANCHISE COMPARISION (ROUND 7)

 

Wes Craven delivered a new meta-nightmare with Heather Leathankamp, Robert Englund, John Saxton and Bob Shaye playing themselves (at least to begin with) whilst a real demon tries on the glove for size. (3 points).

Jamie Lee Curtis is finally tempted back to play Laurie 20 years after the events of Halloween II, (and wisely ignoring parts 4,5 and 6). Steve Miner (Friday the 13th Part 2,3, House) delivers an uneven but serviceable entry. (2 points).  

Kane Hodder makes his debut as the Crystal Lake avenger in Carrie vs. Jason. It's largely pants, thanks in part, it has to be said, to the absolute butchering handed out to the film by the MPAA, however, the showdown between Jason and telekinetic Tina is genuinely thrilling, and Jason's look is easily the best in the entire franchise. (So for those last 20 minutes alone I am tempted to award it 2 points, but, grudgingly, have to concede. (1 point).

Running scores after 7 rounds:  

Friday the 13th 15

Nightmare on Elm Street 15

Halloween 12

FRIDAY THE 13TH VS. HALLOWEEN VS. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: A TRIPLE FRANCHISE COMPARISION (ROUND 6)

3 points

2 points

1 point

Brought back to life via lightning and the lacklustre box-office for Jason-less Part V, Tom Mcloughlin's comedic meta-take resonated with the fans, and Alice Cooper chipped in with a memorable little ditty entitled: 'He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask).  

Freddy got to ride a broomstick and wack Johnny Depp in the face with a frying pan in Rachel Talalay's entertainingly barmy 'Final Nightmare' (yeah right), even chucking in a 3-D finale to boot!

Meanwhile, poor old Mikey ends up the subject of some garbled hocus pocus known as 'The Curse of Thorn' which thankfully would be hastily forgotten in all future instalments.

Running scores after 6 rounds:  

Friday the 13th 14

Nightmare on Elm Street 12

Halloween 10 

FRIDAY THE 13TH VS. HALLOWEEN VS. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: A TRIPLE FRANCHISE COMPARISION (ROUND 5)

3 points

2 points

1 point

A candy bar acts as the deus ex machina for instigating an impressive body count at the hands of fake-Jason 'Roy' in the sleazy Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning. The fanbase wasn't sufficiently impressed enough to turn it into box-office gold, thereby persuading Paramount to resurrect old maggot face himself for Part VI. 

Back in Haddonfield Michael is given yet another godawful mask (if I were William Shatner I'd have been seriously insulted by now). At least Mikey gets to wield a pitchfork and briefly play the grim reaper with a scythe in a barn before finding himself behind bars (briefly...)

An ill-conceived (in every sense of the word) fifth instalment for Elm Street's dream demon delivers a mutant baby Freddy and an underwhelming bodycount (even in the uncut version) in the weakest entry in the franchise.

Running scores after 5 rounds:  

Friday the 13th 11

Nightmare on Elm Street 10

Halloween 9 

FRIDAY THE 13TH VS. HALLOWEEN VS. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: A TRIPLE FRANCHISE COMPARISION (ROUND 4)

3 points

2 points

1 point

After the Michael Myers-less Halloween III, the blinded in both eyes and burnt to a crisp Shape returns sporting a truly awful flattened approximation of the original mask to terrorise young Danielle Harris, whilst Donald Pleasence (also demonstrating remarkable resistance to fire) continues to pursue his nemesis all over Haddonfield. 

Freddy's skeletal remains reassemble themselves after a shot of blazing dog piss in Rennie Harlin's visually impressive Elm Street entry.  

Meanwhile, over at Crystal Lake, a nightmare confrontation between a noticeably shorter but more nimble Jason Voorhees and a shaven-headed future member of The Goonies results in a fatal (at least marketed as such) machete head slicing for Ted White's hockey-masked slaughterer. Make-up gore guru Tom Savini returns and reunites with The Prowler director Joseph Zito to up the inventive kills.  

Running scores after 4 rounds:  

Nightmare on Elm Street 9

Friday the 13th 8 

Halloween 7 

FRIDAY THE 13TH VS. HALLOWEEN VS. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: A TRIPLE FRANCHISE COMPARISION (ROUND 3)

3 points

2 points

1 point

This round is a tough one! Each franchise's third instalment deserves three points. Friday the 13th part 3 in 3D delivered unapologetic eye-opening and eye-popping third dimensional treats which I couldn't get enough of (despite the somewhat flimsy script and largely one dimensional cardboard characters) when it opened. Still to this day my favourite 3D film.

Then the truly left field third Halloween offering sans-Myers, with it's marvellously ludicrous evil toymaker plot and the most annoyingly catchy jingle ever committed to celluloid. 

And finally, Freddy's three-ring circus of (truly special) effects set-pieces, and Zsa Zsa Gabor! 

For sheer unadulterated pleasure it would have to be Friday the 13th in 3D, but for uniqueness and bold audacity I'm going to (reluctantly) place it third behind 'the bastard son of a hundred maniacs' and Conal Cochran, which still retain their respective qualities when viewed in 2D...

Running scores after 3 rounds:  

Nightmare on Elm Street 7

Halloween 6

Friday the 13th 5