Did You Know?
This was the first Freddy movie not filmed in the United States, and the filmmakers had to search for a new house that would resemble the famous Freddy Krueger/Elm Street house from the first seven "Nightmare" films.
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The two stunt performers who doubled for Monica Keena and Jason Ritter melted their wigs because of high heat of fire on the set.
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According to writer Mark Swift, producer Robert Shaye seemed a bit more interested in the Freddy side of things which made a huge elimination in their screenplay (and in the film) from the Crystal Lake/Jason side of things.
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Standing six feet, five inches (1.96 meters) tall, Ken Kirzinger is the tallest actor to date to play Jason Voorhees.
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Several endings were considered for the film:
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- Originally shot was a scene in which Lori and Will begin to have sex for the first time. However, Will starts acting like a maniac and eventually sprouts a Freddy Krueger claw, then proceeds to slash at his girlfriend. This was cut due to miserable test scores, in which the audience thought the acting was terrible and asked, "Does this mean Freddy won? Where's Jason? Is this a dream? Is Will turning evil and is now some sort of Son-of-Freddy?"
- Another ending that was considered had Freddy and Jason battling to the death on the dock. After the explosion, they end up in the fiery lake, and then something strange starts to happen. The water begins to move, churning... and the lake begins to drain. Within the water, there is a hole that has opened at the bottom of the lake bed, glowing red. Freddy tries to swim away, but Jason puts a death lock on his ankle, and they're both dragged down. The next day, Crystal Lake is completely dry. And Lori is reunited with her father. Then they walk down into the dry lake. Dr. Campbell sees Freddy's claw on the ground and he picks it up, vowing to destroy it for good. Then a red and green striped arm bursts through the earth, grabs Dr. Campbell's leg and pulls him down. With one leg buried in the ground, he screams for Lori, but is yanked again, his other leg breaking against his chest at an impossible angle. Then he's gone. Lori claws at the dirt for him, screaming, and then there is a scene that takes place somewhere very dark. Freddy puts his claw back on his hand. He sees Jason near him, machete gleaming. They go at each other...but then, chains shoot out, slicing into both of them. They're separated, struggling to go at each other...when out from the darkness comes Pinhead and he says "Now, what seems to be the problem?" However, New Line didn't like the idea because they didn't like the fact that they'd have to buy the rights to use the character, and they thought Pinhead was too low rent.
- Then there was a similar ending considered in hell that involved a shot of something sitting high atop a stone throne, only eyes and the tips of two horns visible in the darkness. Below it, Freddy and Jason battle in a Gladiator style pit, but that idea was also dropped.
- There was also another idea of a giant red hand coming out of Crystal Lake at the end of the film, grabbing both Freddy and Jason in one enormous palm, and yanking them both down into hell, but that too was dumped. In the script's final draft, the epilogue ended with Freddy and Jason battling in a dark pit, surrounded by the eyes of a thousand dark demons and a million tortured souls. The writers wanted to suggest that the fight would continue for all eternity, but that idea was also dropped.
The following scenes were cut from the film:
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- An alternate opening scene which has Billy, a camper, telling Heather, a counselor, that he had a bad dream. He asks her to stay with him until he can fall asleep again but she refuses and leaves. She goes skinny dipping but hears something and gets scared so she runs back to the cabin. The door is locked however so she asks Billy to open it for her but he gives her the finger.(Part of this scene can be seen in the theatrical cut.)
- Trey telling Gibb that the sheets are probably filthy so she should just pull back the comforter and they'll lie on top of it.
- A scene at the institution where a guard shines a flashlight into a patients eyes to see if he'll react.
- Lori's father picking her up from the police station.
- Lori scratching paint off of her front door with her keys in a dream sequence.
- Gibb at school yelling "Stop staring at me!" in the hallway. This is followed by Marc and Will arriving at the school looking for Lori.
- Principal Shaye trying to convince Marc and Will to return to the institution.
- Lori, Kia and Gibb leaving for the party.
- Lori, Kia and Gibb arriving at the party followed by scenes of the party itself.
- A broken bodied Trey walking towards Gibb in a dream sequence.
- Marc, in a dream sequence, sees his brother commit suicide on his computer monitor.
- Marc throwing up eels.
- Lori, Kia, Freeburg, Linderman, Will and the cop splitting up into two groups to look for the Hypnocil.
- Linderman apologizing to Kia for what he said to her at the party.
- Will telling Lori that if she promises to come back he promises to never leave her again.
- A bit more of the Freddy and Jason fight inside the burning cabin. Lori utters the line "Freddy vs. Jason. Place your bets."(Part of this scene can be seen in the trailer and tv spots.)
- Kia telling Linderman that he better be there when she gets back so she can kick his ass in case he tells anyone that she kissed him. She then kisses him.
- An alternate ending which has Will and Lori in bed together. Will then starts to choke Lori and his right hand turns into Freddy's glove.
Betsy Palmer, who played Jason's mother in previous Friday The 13th movies, was asked to reprise her role of Mrs. Pamela Voorhees, but turned it down because she felt the role was too small of a part for her.
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Katharine Isabelle was originally cast as Jenny, while Lauren Lee Smith was cast as Gibb. In the rewrite process, Jenny was eliminated, and all of her lines were given to Gibb. Eventually, Katharine Isabelle took over the part of Gibb, and Lauren Lee Smith was no longer in the film.
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When the original script proved to be too long, the characters of Tommy, Jarvis and Kelly were eliminated. Jarvis was to have been played Jason Bateman, and Jenny by Katharine Isabelle. The producers felt Isabelle had the makings of a scream queen with a horror-loaded resume, so her part was then switched with Lauren Lee Smith. So Katherine Isabelle became Gibb and Lauren Lee Smith became Jenny, who unfortunately was no longer in the script.
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Brad Renfro was originally cast as Will, but had to be replaced less than a week before shooting began. Jason Ritter, who actually got the part, had initially tested but they hadn't felt he was right for the role.
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During test and advance screenings, the ending was not added to the film. Instead, the following text appeared: "On August 15th, 2003 see the final sixty seconds and see who has survived...and what is left of them." This is a direct reference to the tagline for the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which is "Who will survive and what will be left of them?"
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The call letters of the news station shown on the TV in the hospital are KRGR, obviously a reference to Freddy Krueger. It is also the name of the radio station that Glenn (Johnny Depp) is listening to right before he dies in A Nightmare on Elm Street.
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The goat seen in Blake's early nightmare sequence is a reference to Tina's nightmare involving a goat in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street.
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In the beginning of the movie, as Freddy Krueger gives his monologue there are clips from A Nightmare on Elm Street, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare.
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Freddy's "how sweet, dark meat" line is a variation on the line "how sweet, fresh meat" in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.
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Jason's regeneration at the start of the film is very similar to Freddy Krueger's regeneration in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.
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Westin Hills is Freddy's birthplace and was featured in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.
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The kids go to Westin Hills to look for the experimental drug Hypnocil. Hypnocil was the drug that Neil Gordon (Craig Wasson) discovered was being taken by Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) when they first met in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. Nancy was also the one who suggested that Westin Hills prescribe Hypnocil to the patients.
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During the montage of past Elm Street films Alice can be heard saying "Die, motherfucker!" before impaling Freddy with a pool skimmer. When this scene was first shown in A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child, her original line was "Where is she?" while the line in the original draft of the script was, "Why don't you just SHUT UP!"
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Ronny Yu originally turned down the directing job because the script didn't indicate who won. He agreed to take the job when Robert Shaye told him he could make that decision himself.
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New Line first attempted to make this film several times in the 1980's when they tried to team up with Paramount Pictures, but there was never an agreement made.
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Actor Kyle Labine who played Freedburg in the movie, was a teenage partygoer in Halloween: Resurrection, making him the first person to appear in a Freddy, a Jason *and* a Michael Myers film.
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The bag placed over Jason's head in the Crystal Lake nightmare is a reference to the bag Jason wears in Friday the 13th Part 2 before he started wearing his trademark hockey mask.
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When Jason impales Frisell and Gibb is a reference to Friday the 13th Part 2 where he does the exact same thing to Jeff and Sandra.
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Gibb (Katharine Isabelle) is always shown wearing a red baseball hat. This is an reference from Carrie, where P.J. Soles' character always wore a red baseball cap. Isabelle co-starred in the TV remake of Carrie.
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One early version of the script called for the beginning of the film to take place in medieval times, while another called for the beginning to start out at camp crystal lake, with Jason getting arrested. Another script was to have the beginning of the film take place at the eve of the millennium.
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The way Jason looks at his hand after Freddy cuts off his fingers is a nod to Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter when Trish stabs him in the hand between his fingers. He stops what he's doing and looks at his hand the same way.
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The scene in which Jason knocks down the two different doors at Westin Hills is a reference to Jason X where he knocks down multiple doors aboard the Grendal.
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When Jason is impaled on his own machete, Freddy uses some iron plates to push the machete in deeper. The last three plates that fly through the air form the New Line Cinema logo.
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David S. Goyer did an uncredited rewrite of the script to make it shorter. One of his contributions to the script was the combination of the two characters of Gibb and Jenny.
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While filming the scene in the fiery cabin where Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees confront each other, actor Ken Kirzinger (Jason) actually caught on fire. A stuntman for over twenty years, Kirzinger remained calm while stage hands rushed in with fire extinguishers to put him out. This incident is discussed in the DVD commentary for the film.
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During an interview before the movie's release Ronny Yu made a confusing comment stating that the film had a "triple ending". Initially, most believed that film had three different, separate endings and people would be able to see three different endings in theaters. Most likely one where Freddy wins, one where Jason wins, and a third where neither wins (aka "a draw"). This turned out not to be the case.
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According to director Ronny Yu one of his Hong Kong film making styles he incorporated into this movie was using different camera speeds during the fight sequences in order to get the "action impact".
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In the first interview concerning about the film, Ken Kirzinger did the whole video interview in Jason's costume wearing the mask, clothes and make-up, in order to make the viewers more confident in him and his loyalty to the character.
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According to director Ronny Yu the special effects team used 300 gallons of fake blood for the movie.
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Ken Kirzinger had to undergo some dental work during filming, but it would have taken too much time to remove his makeup and costume and reapply them. When he arrived at the dentist's office still dressed as Jason (without the hockey mask), people were afraid he was an escaped psychopath and almost called the police.
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Although Ken Kirzinger was chosen to play Jason, many re-shoots were made late in the production process and Ken was not available to work. The producers used their next choice for Jason, actor Douglas Tait. The most notable scene shot with Mr. Tait is the very last scene in the movie, just before the credits.
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The scene which featured Jason's bed kill was originally rejected by New Line studio executives, but writers Mark Swift and Damian Shannon fought hard for filming it. They acted it out on the floor to convince director Ronny Yu. After he liked the idea, the scene was filmed and it turns out to be the biggest reaction of audience during the test screening.
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Writers Mark Swift and Damian Shannon were disturbed by the homophobic insult Kelly Rowland's character directed at Freddy Krueger and both writers pointed out in interviews that this was not something they had written in their script.
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'Brendan Fletcher' and Katharine Isabelle starred in this film together, and later, both were on Supernatural playing "special children" created by The Yellow-Eyed Demon.
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Rob Zombie was offered to direct, but turned it down to work on his pet project House of 1000 Corpses_.
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Katharine Isabelle was quite upset with director Ronny Yu when she learned that by accepting the role of Gibb, something Yu suggested, she was expected to do a nude shower scene. She refused to do so so Tammy Morris replaced her as a body double for the scene. There was great friction between Isabelle and Yu for the rest of the shoot because of this incident.
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17 scripts were submitted which eventually turned into one script. The producers decided for some time to go ahead with this script but changed their mind as they could not agree with the ideas proposed. Eventually, Damian Shannon and Mark Swift came in and created their own script which the producers felt were much more closer to the Freddy and Jason back stories. Most of the earlier scripts dealt with Cults that were attempting to resurrect Freddy and Jason to come back and fight.
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The final script was clocked in at over two and half hours. The producers brought in David S. Goyer to tighten it up a bit and reduce the time.
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The first film since Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood not to feature Kane Hodder as Jason Voorhees.
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Chronologically, the film is set after the events of Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare and Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday but before Jason X which was released beforehand as Freddy vs. Jason spent so long in development hell.
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Ken Kirzinger reckons he was hired because at 6'5", he is considerably taller than Robert Englund's 5'10". The previous Jason, Kane Hodder, stands at 6'2".
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A sequel was planned but never materialized. Wildstorm did publish a six issue comic series in late 2007/ early 2008. This added "The Evil Dead"'s Ash Williams to the mix.
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Ken Kirzinger is the only actor besides Kane Hodder to have played Jason Voorhees more then once. Long before he took over the role of Jason from Hodder, Kirzinger wore the hockey mask when he doubled for Hodder in Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. He was also one of the stunt coordinators for that film.
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Director Ronny Yu and the producers tried to limit Ken Kirzinger from doing his own stunts as much as possible for legal reasons.
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Ken Kirzinger got the part of Jason when he went to New Line Cinema for an interview for the stunt coordinating job. The producers noticed his physical looks, and asked him to audition for the role of Jason.
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Freddy's boiler room in the movie was not a built set; it was actually an old boiler room redressed by the crew.
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Veteran Friday the 13th actor Kane Hodder, who played the part of Jason Voorhees in the last four Friday the 13th movies offered to reprise the role for this film, but was turned down for the part because New Line Cinema envisioned the Jason character to be tall and large so they could create a David and Goliath sort of visual imagery between Freddy and Jason. New Line felt that Kane Hodder was too short and bulky to be Jason.
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According to Ken Kirzinger the hardest thing he went through for performing as Jason was sinking into the lake. Director Ronny Yu shot the scene in a tank which was highly chlorinated and had debris to make it look like lake water. Ronny Yu needed the close-up of Ken's left eye and needed him to sink into the water keeping his eye open. Then also he couldn't breathe because it would be visible on film. So Kirzinger was lying on top of the water and had to let himself sink down to the bottom of the tank without breathing, keeping his left eye open. Kirzinger really held his breath, and the chlorine in the water burned both of his eyes.
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According to writers Mark Swift and Damian Shannon several endings were considered for the film and finally director Ronny Yu and producer Robert Shaye came up with an idea which was acceptable for everyone.
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According to Robert Englund his Freddy makeup was so thick that he didn't really know how hot it was from the fires during the filming. When he got in to have his makeup removed, it had literally bonded itself to the side of his face.
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Spoilers
According to writer Mark Swift the ending delivered the effect that he originally was going for (he personally thinks Jason won the war).
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In the documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, screenwriter Mark Swift revealed Kia's original final stand involved her telling Jason she wasn't afraid of him anymore in the way Nancy stood up to Freddy at the end of the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, not realizing this would have no effect on him. Freddy then taunted her by saying "Wrong one, bitch" before killing her.
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Because the ending had to be reshot, and Ken Kirzinger was not available, Douglas Tait was cast in the role of Jason. His few days on the film were largely spent underwater. The crew discovered that when Tait was submerged, his clothes would cling to him and make him look less bulky. Tait had to be bulked up with pads and extra clothing. He also had to walk along the lake floor so he had to hold onto a rope tied under the water.
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