The Six Versions Of Jason Voorhees We Almost Saw In 'Freddy vs Jason'
The film's box office success catapulted New Line Cinema and parent company Warner Bros. to begin anew with both Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger properties. However, before all of that success happened, the road to getting Jason and Freddy together on the big screen was painful and an almost seemed impossible. We have all heard the stories in Crystal Lake Memories the book and documentary, but now author Dustin McNeill is bringing the fans the whole truth behind the development hell of the horror team up with his book Slash Of The Titans.
Dustin recently contacted us to promote the book and offered up some very interesting tidbits about the direction New Line was willing to take the Jason character in order to have him face off against Freddy Kreuger.
Six Alternate Jason’s We Almost Saw in FvsJ
Of the ten official screenplays considered for Freddy vs Jason, more than half would try to re-tool the hockey-masked titan for his fight against the Springwood Slasher. Some writers attempted to change his appearance while others tweaked his characterization. Collected here are six alternate takes on Crystal Lake’s most famous son we almost saw in Freddy vs Jason.
Phantom of the Opera Jason
In this draft, the teenagers are running around Camp Crystal Lake high on a powerful dream drug. One boy encounters Jason, whom he dismisses as a hallucination. He taunts the hulking slasher, even pulling back his mask to reveal the grisly visage beneath. This is enough to scare the kid into thinking he may not be dreaming. The script reads: “Todd is finally taken over the edge. He's not sure whether this is a dream or not. All he knows is it scares the living shit out of him! He lets go of the hockey mask. It rockets back toward Jason's face, propelled by its elastic band, and -- CRACK! Pieces of the old mask shatter away on impact, leaving Jason's most grotesque features exposed.”
(From Freddy vs Jason ‘98)
Human Jason
This draft takes the Wes Craven’s New Nightmare approach by unfolding in our reality where the Friday the 13th movies actually exist as movies. The story then focuses upon the REAL Jason Voorhees, whom we’ve never actually seen before. The differences are immediately noticeable. For one, his mother died of ovarian cancer in 1969 having never killed any counselors. This means the earliest murders at Camp Crystal Lake were strictly Jason’s. This slasher is also quite human. As the script notes, “This is not the hideously deformed mutant seen in the other Jason movies, but a real man. He's no less frightening,
however, and he bears the scars of countless fights and wounds.”
(From Freddy vs Jason ‘94)
Jason X’s Uber-Jason
The finale for this draft takes place inside the Elm Street Shopping Mall where Freddy is causing “waking nightmares.” As Human Jason passes by the mall’s cineplex, he notices a standee advertising a fictitious Friday the 13th sequel called JASON 2010. This display, which depicts a futuristic robo-Jason with glowing red eyes, suddenly comes to life and attacks the real slasher. This results in a bloody Jason vs Uber-Jason showdown. Noel Cunningham later revealed in Peter M. Bracke’s Crystal Lake Memories that the concept of a futuristic Jason originated with this unused crossover script.
(From Freddy vs Jason ‘94)
Hellscape Jason
This story sees a satanic cult resurrecting Jason Voorhees from hell. Emerging from a swirling red-and-green vortex, he appears different than we last saw in Jason Goes to Hell. He still sports a hockey mask, though it is “dark chrome with angular facets,” not unlike that sequel’s teaser poster. The script charges that he is “still terrifying - a regular slasher Darth Vader.” Although his mask was upgraded in hell, his body was seemingly not and is far more rotted looking. A character later manages to nick Jason with a chainsaw. Maggots and green bile pour from his wound.
(From Freddy vs Jason ‘95)
Franken-Jason
The very first Freddy vs Jason script picked up straight from Jason Goes to Hell. Recall that Jason’s original body was blown apart by a SWAT team in that film’s opening. This crossover’s protagonists recover his remains and crudely reassemble them using barbed wire and fishing line. They reinforce the slasher’s arms and legs with steel braces. They even repair his hockey mask using baling wire. Of his sewn-back together appearance, the script notes, “Jason looks nineties... and butch.” Putting Jason back together again was the easy part. The teenagers must next find a new heart for transplantation and electrocute him back to life.
(From Freddy vs Jason ‘93)
Nightmare Rage Jason
Near draft’s end, things are looking badly for Jason and the heroine. They are both trapped in the dreamscape and seemingly helpless against Freddy. This is where the heroine decides that she should be able to exert some control over her own dream. “This is my nightmare. And in my nightmare, Freddy does feel pain. In my nightmare, Freddy bleeds! And in my nightmare, JASON WINS! This is where my nightmare ends and yours begins!”
With this, Jason resurrects from near death. His body begins to tremble and shake, lettingoff plumes of steam. He roars. As the script notes, “Every fiber, vein, and muscle in his body explodes horrifically. He transforms into a hulking, seething, mutated abomination. Jason has become the embodiment of Lizzie's pure and utter rage -- a living nightmare!”
(From Freddy vs Jason ‘98)
By Dustin McNeill
From the author of Phantasm Exhumed comes SLASH OF THE TITANS, a revealing look at why it took New Line Cinema nearly ten years and four-million-dollars to find the right screenplay for Freddy vs Jason. Featuring new interviews with the original writers and filmmakers, SLASH details the production’s troubled history from the surprise ending of Jason Goes to Hell all the way to the crossover’s red carpet premiere. Read about the many rejected storylines and learn how the project was eventually able to escape from development hell. This is the story of one film, two horror icons and seventeen screenwriters!
SLASH OF THE TITANS includes:
- Comprehensive looks at ten different versions of the screenplay
- Info on early crossover attempts by Friday the 13th filmmakers
- Exclusive details on the never made Freddy vs Jason: Hell Unbound video game
- Insights from producers, executives and developers including Sean Cunningham
- An examination of why the Shannon/Swift script was finally greenlit
- Summaries of the four endings considered for the 2003 film
- Coverage of the never made Freddy vs Jason vs Ash sequel
- New comments from the titans themselves - Robert Englund and Ken Kirzinger
- Appendices full of story details including the outcomes of all ten versions
FREDDYvsJASONbook.com
BOOK STATS
Publisher: Harker Press
Book Length: 248 pages
Chapters: Thirteen (naturally)
Interviews: Twenty-four
Official Website: FreddyvsJasonBook.com
