The story of one film, two horror icons, and an army of screenwriters.
Released in 1993, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday teased an epic battle that whet the appetites of horror fans. At the end of the film, Freddy Krueger’s glove appeared out of the ground and pulled Jason’s iconic hockey mask straight into Hell, promising a mashup film that would bring the two horror icons together. Of course, that battle didn’t come until 10 years later.
Freddy vs. Jason hit theaters in 2003, and the tumultuous ten years between Jason Goes to Hell and the mashup it promised have been well documented over the years. But if you’re looking for the ultimate, be-all, end-all account of the road to Freddy vs. Jason, you need look no further than Phantasm: Exhumed scribe Dustin McNeill’s upcoming book “Slash of the Titans.”
McNeill revealed the project exclusively to us:
Slash of the Titans: The Road to Freddy vs. Jason is not specifically about the 2003 film, but rather about the ten years the project spent in development hell. As I like to say, it’s the story of one film, two horror icons and an army of screenwriters. My book explores ten wildly different directions considered for Freddy vs Jason with comments from many of the people involved. I’m currently shooting for a February release.
The book notes he sent our way dig further into what you can expect:
Learn about surprising twists that never made it into the finished film. Depending on the draft, Freddy was variously a camper and counselor at Camp Crystal Lake before becoming the Springwood Slasher. Another script charged that Jason was actually one of the original Elm Street kids, his parents among the vigilante mob that burned Freddy alive.
Learn how screenwriters sought to include other genre baddies such as Dracula, the Frankenstein monster, Pinhead, Leatherface, Satan and even Hitler!
Slash of the Titans contains answers to these questions and more…
– Who did Steven Spielberg personally talk out of helming Freddy vs Jason as their directorial debut?
– Which Friday the 13th filmmaker pitched Cheech & Chong Meet Jason to Paramount?
– Whose abandoned draft prompted New Line to begin pre-production on prior to being finished?
– Which future Oscar-winning filmmaker turned down the chance to direct Freddy vs Jason?
– Why did New Line choose the script draft that became the eventual 2003 film?
Check out the “Slash of the Titans” trailer and cover art below!
