As the story begins, long-dormant Freddy wants to insinuate himself into the dreams of future victims but no one's scared of him anymore. "Being dead was OK," he explains, "but being forgotten was a bitch." Then Freddy meets Jason. Jason, it seems, can take human form in the real world. So Freddy takes on the persona of Jason's mother and orders Jason to materialize at 1428 Elm Street in suburban Springwood to resume his killing spree. This revives the fear of Freddy Kruger which enables him to prey on more teenagers. Problem is: Jason's now in the way.

Based on the macabre characters created by Sean S. Cunningham, Wes Craven and Victor Miller, screenwriters Damian Shannon and Mark Swift and director Ronny Yu continue the formulaic slice 'n' dice slaughter of unsuspecting adolescents, complete with grisly decapitations and gratuitous female nudity. The carnage spans Freddy's dream world and Jason's traditional Camp Crystal Lake haunt. Perhaps the most imaginative encounter involves a stoner having animated hallucinations of a hookah-smoking caterpillar, a concept lifted directly from "Alice in Wonderland." But, for the most part, it's simply an incoherent, inconsequential killing spree. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Freddy vs. Jason" is a lumbering, sinister, exploitive 3. So who wins this titans-of-terror gorefest? I'll never tell. And, besides, who cares? Indestructible demons always seem to come back when there's a booming box-office.