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Happy 10th Anniversary to New Line Cinema’s ‘Freddy vs. Jason’!

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We all know that Hollywood works slow, but waiting for new Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street sequels is like waiting for rain in a drought: useless and disappointing.

New Line Cinema likes to brag that they’re the house that Freddy [Krueger] built, but just like most people I know, they forget to show any sort of appreciation.

After the 1993 Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday teased a battle between franchise icons Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees (see video below), the studio released Wes Craven’s New Nightmare in 1994 before taking several more years to get Jason X into theaters (barely). And during that time the long-promised Freddy vs. Jason remained in development hell.

After a plethora of pitches, scripts and failed starts, the movie finally happened. The two most popular horror icons in the history of cinema were actually going to duke it out the big screen.

I remember being so excited that my friend and myself had purchased a flight to Las Vegas in order to attend the World Premiere, where Freddy and Jason would weight-in before the film’s big debut. Only, it was canceled, which actually didn’t even come as a shock. It never felt like Robert Shaye or New Line was really into either franchise anymore…

The film was screened just a few times before the release, and New Line had made the bold decision not to show critics the final moments. Who won? Well, you’d have to wait to find out.

I recall sitting in the theater on August 15, 2003 in a complete state of shock. My friend and I had decided we were going to see the movie 10 times over the course of the release, since we had been talking about it since middle school. Even with a ticket in hand, I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that it was actually happening – Freddy vs. Jason was about to play right before my very eyes.

Even though the movie wasn’t the best in either franchise, I personally found it fulfilling and still enjoy it to this day (here’s my review). It felt as if this was the beginning, and not the end of both franchises. With its insane $80M box office take, it was only a matter of time before a sequel was in production, right? Wrong. It took another 6 years for New Line to decide to remake Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street, instead of continuing on with a unique new franchise they had built. And their love and dedication couldn’t be hidden anymore as they gave the Jason Voorhees rights back to Paramount Pictures in exchange for partnership in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. I mean, seriously?

So, happy 10th anniversary Freddy vs. Jason. August 15, 2003 will always be a special day in my life, where it felt like anything was possible. Who knew that ten years later I’d be shaking my head in disbelief that we have to beg the studios to make more Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween sequels…

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!

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As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.

Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:

Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.

Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.

Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.

Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.

Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?

Also check out:

The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.

Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.

And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.

These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.

Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.

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