FREDDY VS. JASON: ASH FRIDAY
JD Moores
©2004
Based on Characters by Victor Miller, Sam Raimi and Wes Craven
While plans are underway for the reopening of Camp Crystal Lake two years after Freddy and Jason's showdown, FREDDY KRUGER is alive and well in the dream world. He takes on the guise of the hooker picked up in Springwood by ASH of the Evil Dead movies to convince the drunken hero to use his experience in the woods to lead the new Crystal Lake counselors. When Ash arrives, he finds LISA, MARILYN, RON and JOSE, four somewhat different counselors in their late teens and early twenties who are spooked over a nightmare Lisa has had and the reputation of the camp. They invariably come to find Ash on the odd side, but Ash, despite not wanting to be there, nevertheless tries to cut through the tension and get started preparing the camp for its reopening a week later.
The first night, though, while luxuriating in his own cabin, Ash dozes off in a rocking chair and encounters Freddy, who again comes to him first in the guise of a woman Ash is attracted to. This time, it is Lisa. Freddy reveals his plan to use the Book of the Dead Ash still has in his possession to beat Jason to the counselors' demise and then pit the Kandarian demons against the hockey-masked killer. He spares the frightened head counselor only with the threat that if he does not cooperate, Freddy will see to it that more than Ash's right arm will be missing when all is said and done. Ash awakens with a fright and joins the other counselors for dinner, but keeps his dream a secret.
At the dinner table, discussion revolves around another counselor and friend of
the group's who hasn't shown up or called. In the meantime, RENA, the counselor in question, is checking into The Christies Hotel, warned by its soothsaying attendant TOM not to proceed to the camp. Ignoring that advice, Rena takes a room, calls the camp to say she will arrive the next morning then goes to bed. Thanks to local unstoppable killer JASON VOORHEES, though, she will be late the next morning in more ways than one.
The next morning, the counselors are concerned about Rena's absence, especially Marilyn, a close friend of the girl's. Tom, the hotel attendant, who has come via bicycle to warn the counselors, startles Ash and Ron while Ash is chopping wood. Since they know about Jason, the counselors are all somewhat receptive to the warning. After Tom leaves, they try to do so in Ash's Oldsmobile, but to no avail. The car isn't working, and Ash knows why. He shows them the book in the trunk, and says it's not likely Tom made it back. While the others think the only threat is Jason, Ash knows otherwise, and Tom's fate bears out his fears.
That afternoon, they debate the scenario, their knowledge of Jason and Freddy and now, thanks to Ash, Kandarian demons. Ultimately, they decide not to change anything, but that someone should keep watch outside at night. Jose, disbelieving of any real threat, takes first shift. While smoking a joint, though, he becomes the first counselor to fall victim not just to Freddy. In Freddy's nightmarish dream world, he is turned into a Spanish Matador to face the vicious Freddy Bull while scores of Kandarian demons watch and chant in the stands. Afterwards, Freddy appears in his true form and tells Jose that he's handing him over for the Kandarian demons to possess in order that they may take on Jason. When Jose wakes up, the deed is done, and Jose is possessed.
Meanwhile, Ash and Lisa are getting acquainted in the cabin, where she recounts meeting Marilyn and her family's recent move to a small Illinois town with its OWN bogeyman legend. She comes to put aside her earlier notions about Ash as he listens to her, and they almost sleep together when Ron and Marilyn intervene, bringing up Jose's absence and insisting that Ash take the first shift. Ash tries to get out of it, but can't, so he goes out with Ron to get a chainsaw from the generator shed, retrieves an S-Mart hunting rifle from the backseat of his Oldsmobile, and goes out looking for Jose.
A little ways into the woods, Ash sees someone in the distance. He thinks it's Jose, so he calls out to him. When the individual comes out of the shadows, it is indeed Jose, but not the one Ash remembers. He is possessed by the Kandarian demons. He points directly at Ash and cries, "I'll swallow your soul," then, like an animal, leaps into the air and tackles Ash to the ground. The two fight it out for a few moments until, out of nowhere, another figure attacks Jose, and the two begin fighting each other, exchanging threats and each claiming that Ash is theirs for the killing. Ash reorients himself and when he looks, he sees that the other figure is Tom, who is also possessed. Ash starts to hurry away, but when he realizes they are preoccupied with each other, he hides behind a tree and watches.
A few moments later, though, the two demon possessed men decide to share their prey, and both chase Ash until Ash can run no more, then attack him to the ground again. No sooner does that happen than Tom is lifted off Ash and goes flying away and Jose stops, in pain, a machete blade through his torso. Ash looks up and sees, for the first time, JASON, literally lifting Jose off of Ash by the end of his machete blade, then grabbing Jose by the throat to yank him off and throw him face-first into a nearby tree.
Jason and Ash look each other over curiously, as if they both know something or share something. Then, Jason's machete moves and Ash goes running, faster than before, through the woods and back to the cabin, where he literally flies through the wooden door.
Before anyone else in the cabin can say anything, Ash catches his breath and says, "We've got a problem." He then looks around and notices Marilyn missing. He asks where she is and they all say she wasn't feeling well and went to lie down on Ash's bed. Ash then goes into his bedroom and sees Marilyn lying there. At first he's afraid she's having a nightmare or is possessed, but then notices her sleeping peacefully and relaxes. As he starts to turn around to leave the room, he hears her sit up and say his name. He turns around and just as he does, a possessed Marilyn lunges towards him, her eyes white, screaming. She wraps her legs around him and claws at him as he quickly tries to step backwards out of the room into the main part of the cabin without losing his balance. When the others see what is going on, Ron pulls Marilyn off of Ash, but then literally gets picked up at the crotch and thrown against a wall. Lisa is in a corner, frightened, and as Ron and Ash try to recover themselves, they see Marilyn floating in mid-air. She says, "We, the ones who were and shall be again, come at the behest of the dream demon, who seeks the Book of the Dead."
Ash says he doesn't have it, but it doesn't work.
"You will surrender to us the power of the Book," Marilyn begins, "so that we may live again to share it with the dream demon and use its power to conquer the immortal one they call Voorhees."
Then, Marilyn begins to attack anyone in the way. Eventually, Ash defeats her, but not without a bloody fight that results in her dismemberment. Afterwards, Lisa and Ron are in shock. Ron, angry, asks Ash why he brought the Book of the Dead to begin with. Ash says that after his adventure in Kandar, he returned to the original cabin to retrieve it, fearing it would get into the hands of someone who didn't know how to handle it. He, however, says he does know how, but that he did not anticipate the current flow of events. He then says that while Freddy can quote the book, he must have the book itself in his possession to do the most damage and, specifically, to destroy Jason.
After hearing this, Lisa chimes in with the suggestion that they let Freddy have the book so that he'll leave them alone, especially considering the fact that it was Jason who killed Rena. We now see a palpable need for vengeance in the heretofore-virtuous Lisa, which sends shivers down the spine of both Ash and Ron.
After a moment or two of deliberation, Ash steadfastly refuses to do so, but before the others can argue or complain, there comes a loud BANG on the door. Startled and not knowing what to do, the three immediately begin looking around for a hiding place. In a hushed voice, Ron suggests they sneak out the back and go to the main office again, where there exists an old bomb shelter.
They do as Ron suggests, but before they reach the office, Jason spots them and comes charging forth. Ron, foolishly wanting to look heroic in front of Lisa, tries to take on Jason. Ash and Lisa watch for a moment or two, but when it seems Ron's effort is futile, Ash takes Lisa by the arm and pulls her away towards the office. Lisa tries to resist, yells for Ron, but Ash is stronger. Then, right before he is killed by Jason and seeing what Ash is trying to do, he calls to Lisa to "go," which she does, but not before seeing Ron struck down by the hockey-masked mongoloid.
Once he's done with Ron, Jason comes after Ash and Lisa, who then speed up their pace. When they reach the office, they have a little trouble trying to find the bomb shelter, which they thought was outside. Losing time, they wind up having to go back and forth around the building to avoid Jason, but finally, Ash has an idea. He tries to get inside through the door, but it's locked, so with the bunt of his rifle, he breaks the glass and reaches inside to open it, getting cut by the shards. Once inside, they find the rather inconspicuous entrance to the shelter on the floor, covered by a rug and beneath, with a covering the same material as the wooden floor, with only a metal lock to give it away.
Ash doesn't waste time. He shoots the lock, then opens the door and lets Lisa down, going in after her. Once they're in, Lisa protests that since Ash broke the lock, there's no way to keep Jason from getting in there. With no other idea, Ash finally relents to giving Freddy the book, but only in the dream world. Lisa then asks how he could take the book with him, and Ash has to digress a moment. While he's thinking, they hear loud noises upstairs, signaling that Jason is getting close. Finally, Ash says the only thing he can do is try to defeat Freddy himself, either in the dream world or by bringing him back into the real one. Reluctantly, Lisa agrees. He has Lisa knock Ash out, and no sooner does that happen than Ash finds himself in…
S-MART! It's not the S-Mart we remember. It's darker, with red fog all around, and the customers are all demons. From the Com speakers comes Freddy's voice.
"Attention shoppers!" comesFreddy over the store's com system. "The sale of your nightmares is going on now in Houseware / Hardware! Act now and thanks for shopping F-Mart."
On the alert, Ash notices that he's come to the dream world much the same way he was in the real world, with his chainsaw on his arm and his rifle in its shoulder-strapped holster. He grabs the rifle out and prepares for battle. He calls for Freddy, but nothing happens. Momentarily, the demon shoppers stop, as does the elevator music over the speakers. The demons look back at Ash curiously, but then, surprisingly, go back to their "shopping," at which time the elevator music continues. Ash sighs in relief, but then is startled by Freddy approaching from behind, his claws suddenly grazing Ash's neck. Freddy asks where his book is, and Ash says that if Freddy wants it, he'll have to come into the real world. Remembering what happened last time, Freddy refuses, and says he'll kill Ash. The two fight, and then just when Ash seems about to lose, Lisa appears, grabbing Freddy and shouting for them to wake up.
When Ash and Lisa awaken, Freddy is on top of Lisa. Realizing where he is, Freddy jumps up, startled, slashing Lisa on the face with his claw and calling her a "bitch." Then, the wooden roof suddenly caves in and in drops Jason, machete and all. Ash, Lisa and Freddy, now seemingly in the same boat, just stand there in silent face off with Jason. Without turning to face them, Freddy whispers to Ash that he should have cooperated and given him the book. Then, Jason slowly raises his machete. But before Jason attacks, he raises up his mask to reveal his ugly face, and for the first time EVER, points to Freddy and shouts in a demonic voice: "I'LL SWALLOW YOUR SOUL, BITCH!"
Jason hurls himself at Freddy and starts beating up on the dream demon. Desperate, Freddy tries to stop Jason by reminding the demons that possess him that they had a deal and that now that he's in the real world, he can get them the book. It works, and the two turn towards where they think Ash and Lisa are, but they're too late. The two are gone.
Meanwhile, Ash and Lisa board themselves up in Ash's cabin, knowing they'll be found anyhow. To Lisa's shock and dismay, Ash says he has a plan and it includes giving Freddy the Book. Lisa protests, but Ash just says to trust them. A moment later, the door is smashed through and in steps the possessed Jason Voorhees, with Freddy in tow. Freddy demands that Ash surrenders the book, so Ash does. Gleefully Freddy takes it and starts flipping through its pages, but to his shock and dismay, it's a fake! The cover looks right, but the pages are an old PORNO MAGAZINE!
Ash grins and cocks his gun. He chuckles and says, "Suckas!" Freddy and Jason look up at Ash just as Ash fires off two shots, one knocking the book out of Freddy's hand, the other aimed at Jason, who naturally takes the shot a little better than Freddy. Ash then starts beating up on Freddy while he's still cradling his hand. The fight moves outside, and Ash seems to be winning when despite being bloodied and almost beaten, Freddy asks if Ash has forgotten something. Ash looks back and realizes that Lisa is still inside, with the possessed Jason.
That's when Freddy attacks. He jams his claws into the back of Ash's thigh, bringing the blue-collar hero to the ground. Ash does his best to fend Freddy off while just trying to get to the cabin to help Lisa. By the time he manages to crawl to the door and push it open, he finds Lisa, bloodied and unconscious on the floor, with no sign of the demented Jason.
Sad and enraged, Ash yells, "NOOOO," then summons all of his strength, throws Freddy off of him and gets back to his feet. Furious to the max, Ash looks at Freddy as Freddy is getting up and dusting himself off and says, "Come get some, dream bitch."
With that, Ash opens up a tremendous can of whoop-ass on Freddy, shooting Freddy in the torso, then kicking the demon back, over and over and over again, until Freddy is finally on the ground and unable to defend himself. Once that has happened, Ash puts his foot on Freddy's clawed hand and revs up his chainsaw. Then, for some reason, despite being bloodied and fatigued and short of breath, Freddy starts laughing. Ash asks what is so funny, and Freddy says: "Just who the hell do you think you are, anyway?"
Ash then uses his free foot to kick Freddy in the head, then says: "I'm your worst nightmare."
Ash pulls the momentarily unconscious Freddy up by the arm his claws are on and with the chainsaw, cuts it off at the elbow. Freddy, now fully awake and reeling in pain, gets up off the ground and says, "I'll see you in hell, bitch."
Ash says, "I don't think so," then whacks Freddy's head off with the chainsaw. After catching his breath and feeling momentarily victorious, Ash then goes back to the cabin to check up on Lisa, awake but just barely hanging in there. Ash asks what happened and Lisa says that Jason stabbed her with the machete, and then ran off into the woods. Ash looks down at Lisa's waist and sees the ever-expanding pool of blood. Ash holds her hand tight and tells her to hang in there, but it's too late. Lisa dies in Ash's arms.
A moment passes and Ash finds himself deeper in grief than he anticipated. He picks himself up and carries Lisa outside into the darkened woods, where he digs a shallow grave and buries her. Going back into the cabin afterwards to get his things, he spots Jason's hockey mask in a corner on the floor, and the rage comes back. Reminded of Lisa, he takes the mask and heads back out into the woods to find the possessed, misshapen mongoloid.
As it turns out, Jason finds him first, attacking Ash from behind. Seeing that Ash has dropped the mask, Jason leans down, picks it up and puts it on. He's still possessed, though, so he can still talk, which he does as Ash stands up and dusts himself off. To Ash's surprise, the demon possessing Jason actually talks in a reasonable tone. Their exchange goes something like this:
"So this is how it is," says the possessed Jason. "You and us, forever fighting, forever at a draw. Indeed, you are the chosen one spoken of in the Necronomicon."
"I may be the chosen one," Ash says, "but I didn't choose this.
"Nobody chooses who they are, not you, not us, and certainly not this forsaken lump of flesh they call Jason."
"No more double-talk,"says Ash. "We've been through this before. Just what the hell do you want? You know I don't have the Necronomicon and I've freed you from your obligation by killing Kruger."
"We want what is yours - life."
You've got it already! It's not our fault you destroy every body you inhabit."
"Without the Book," possessed Jason says, "we cannot take any human body for long."
"So now what? Kill me? Inhabit me like you tried to before? And where will you go when the sun comes up? Face it. You've lost. You'll always lose. As long as I'm alive, you don't have a snowball's chance in Miami."
Just then, as if on cue, the sun starts to break through the clouds, and just as swiftly, Jason begins reeling in pain. After a few moments, the demons leave him, and Jason is back to his old self again. After taking a moment to reorient himself, the simple-minded brute raises his machete and starts towards Ash, who looks scared again and starts backing up. As he's doing so, he then tells Jason that his "friends," the demons, should have stuck around longer, and then pulls out the crumpled pages from the REAL Necronomicon from his pocket. He smiles, saying he has the passage to destroy Jason, but Jason swipes the machete at Ash's good hand and knocks the pages out of them. Ash, fearing he's lost his other hand, looks real quick, but sees it's still there, albeit bloody.
Jason beats up on Ash pretty good, but Ash gets angry again and dishes the same kind action on Jason as he did Freddy. Though Jason can take more of it, he still reaches the point where he is momentarily disabled. That's when Ash leaps to the ground and grabs up the pages, immediately reading it off. As he does, the skies darken the wind comes up and lightning flashes. Jason, taken off guard by what is going on, looks around as if scared. Then, of all things, lightning strikes Ash! After a moment, though, everything stops, and nothing has happened to either Ash or Jason.
Ash, however, seems to know exactly what's going on, and this time when Jason advances, he doesn't back away. Instead, Ash reels back and throws a supernaturally power-filled punch that sends Jason flying through several trees. Now, a cool glow envelops Ash, and he strides over to where Jason is getting up. "That was just a little ditty I found one night while flipping over to see how the book ends," Ash says, "one that gives me the power of the underworld without submitting me to those damned dirty demons." Ash then bends over, and literally picks Jason off the ground with his hand. "And to think," Ash begins, then yanks Jason closer to his face, "I never liked to read in school." With that, Ash swings the larger Jason back and throws him clear into Crystal Lake itself on the other side of the woods.
After Ash is sure that nothing is coming back at him, he takes a hero's stance, then slowly turns around, rubs his fist on his other sleeve, then holding up in front of his face, says, "Groovy."
END CREDITS