HOLLYWOOD - The release of the horror flick Freddy vs. Jason, which sees Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees leave Camp Crystal Lake for Elm Street to battle A Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger, has left many moviegoers speculating what other possible iconic horror collaborations Hollywood has up its sleeve.The possibilities are endless. The winged Creeper from Jeepers Creepers, for example, could be a good foe for the cannibalistic mountain men from Wrong Turn. Or how about House of 1,000 Corpses's lunatic torturer Otis taking on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's chainsaw-wielding Leatherface?
But there is more to Freddy vs. Jason's appeal than a random villainous matchup. After all, fans have been waiting for the film, which has been in development since 1994, for almost 10 years now. Sean Cunningham, the film's producer, told The Associated Press Tuesday that the key to success is innovation.
"I think a lot of people will be talking about different kinds of 'Somebody vs. Somebody,'" Cunningham told reporters. "And the trick will be to try to stay ahead of the curve; not try to imitate what we've done but to try to anticipate something newer and fresher."
A third horror icon, he suggested, could join Freddy and Jason but added that the dream master might not necessarily get top billing again.
"There was a lot of investment in trying to figure out: 'Is this a Freddy movie with Jason in it? Is it a Jason movie with Freddy in it?'" Cunningham told the AP. "How can you get a balance? How can you satisfy the fan base for both franchises? It quite possibly could have been something that got over-intellectualized along the way. But it was a long time coming."
Freddy vs. Jason, which was released Aug. 15, earned $36.4 million in its opening weekend and became the first summer film since X2: X-Men United to spend two consecutive weekends at the top of the box office. So far, the fright flick has grossed $61.1 million.