JASON VS. THE PUNISHER
Cunningham, having regained control of the series in the early 90s before the move to New Line Cinema, was ultimately disappointed with how Jason Goes To Hell turned out and especially how fans had reacted to it. While he had never been a fans of the Turtles team-up, he toyed with the idea of teaming up Jason with another property to boost the franchise. He managed to pick up the rights to the Marvel Comics character The Punisher on the cheap.
Marvel was selling off everything back then and Cunningham took full advantage of the fact that they were more concerned with quick cash than long-term deals. While New Line initially pushed for a star to portray Frank Castle, Cunningham chose to save some money and managed to secure Dolph Lundgren to reprise his role from the earlier 1989 Punisher adaptation. Lundgren convinced Sean to hire his I Come In Peace director Craig R. Baxley to helm the film and Cunningham complied, given that Baxley wasn’t an expensive choice either. Ultimately, the project fell apart because New Line, after looking at the project’s pedigree at the time, wanted to spend less and take it direct-to-video. Cunningham refused to agree to what he viewed as a nail in the franchise’s coffin, so the project collapsed.
The script saw an occult-obsessed NYC mob boss coming to Crystal Lake to obtain secrets texts rumored to be hidden within the basement of the rotting Voorhees mansion. Don Mancuso wants to use black magic powers to gain immortality and rebuild his criminal empire in the Big Apple. Frank Castle, having wiped out all other crime syndicates, follows Don Mancuso. In addition to granting him supernatural powers, The Don’s dark magic tinkerings also revive Jason. Voorhees goes on a killing spree, wiping out townspeople and the mob alike. The finale saw Mancuso taking a children’s camp hostage while Jason rampages through the Don’s goons and the Punisher tries to hold Voorhees at bay. The finale culminated in a supernatural explosion that left the Don dead and blew Jason back to the bottom of the lake.
Best Scene:
The insane finale. Don Mancuso is firing black magic lightning bolts at The Punisher, while Frank unloads a heavy machine gun into Jason. The Don conjures up too much power and explodes when shot in the head by Frank, causing a supernatural shockwave of power that lights Jason ablaze and sends him rocketing back into Crystal Lake.
