In between the release of the Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash comic the 2009 remake was released. Don't worry, it'll get it's own review. But for artistic reasons, it seems a lot more fitting to review this one first. This is truly the end of the original series as far as I'm concerned. Not only is it the third and final chapter of the Vs. trilogy, but it's the 13th story in the Friday the 13th movie franchise. It is a very fitting conclusion
The final girl scenario doesn't really apply to this entry unfortunately. Tommy fits what would usually be the final girl. Tommy from parts 4-6 returns one last time. Tommy is crazy and unsympathetic this time round. He butts heads with Ash a lot. This is a problem. I know that the writer's feel that Tommy is this outstanding character...but when compared to Ash, he pales in comparison. Tommy did wonders for Friday's 4-6, but he's not the end all to be all that so many fans seem to think he is. I think there are other characters, in particular Tina, who add a lot more to the series and show a lot more depth than Tommy. Tommy, in the end, goes one-on-one with Jason and wins. He beheads Jason. Jason's soul then enters into Freddy's body which I thought was incredibly awesome, but then Freddy dies as well. However, this one act, as I said in the Freddy Vs. Jason movie review, solidifies that in the movie Freddy wins.
There's a ton of returning survivors from the Friday and Nightmare franchises. There's Ash from The Evil Dead trilogy; Maggie, Dr. Gordon, Alice, and Jacob from the Nightmare franchise; and there's Tommy, Steven, Rennie, Stephanie, and Tina from our beloved Friday franchise. I was upset by a lot of deaths of our beloved survivors in this comic book. Steven, Rennie, Maggie (who turns evil, which makes NO sense based on her character in Freddy's Dead), and Alice died. I was upset that Steven seemed to neglect his daughter, I mean come on guys, this is Ryan from The Series!!!! We can't treat his character like this! Rennie also dies. She doesn't really stand a chance. She's more memorable than anyone in the New Line years, but she's still a fairly forgettable heroine. No death, however, made me more upset than the death of Alice. You guys know I love Friday, but I also love Nightmare. Alice is my favorite heroine of all time in a horror movie, unless you count Ripley from Alien 1-3. Alice's character arc in Nightmare 4 is extraordinary. I have never seen so much character growth in a slasher movie before. She was so strong. I was super upset that she died. I didn't care so much about Maggie because they already ruined her character, but killing Alice...that's a huge crime against the Nightmare series in my book.
The deaths this time around are BEAST. People get DESTROYED. If this was a movie, it'd easily be X. However, a lot of the deaths seem similar and not very inventive. The series has always been known for it's inventive deaths, but this is a low point on that end.
As far as it being a happy ending goes, I quite enjoyed it. I thought it was fitting. Freddy's arrest warrant is signed, so he never becomes the dream stalker. Jason is dead. Ash can finally live at peace. I wouldn't change a thing apart from keeping Alice alive.
Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors was released as a six issue comic book series from August-December 2009. A collector's book edition combining all six issues was released on July 20, 2010. This was the version I read. This is very easy to come by off of amazon for those of you who search for it. Now that the original series is over...does that mean it's the end of Friday? Not by a long shot. As New Line was working on a sequel to Freddy Vs. Jason, company head Bob Shaye lost the company, the movie empire that he built. The Freddy Vs. Jason sequel was stuck in pre-production hell. With a slew of remakes including the very finacially popular Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween remakes, there was only one true way to continue the series: starting over as a remake...but how would the remake reintroduce a character who was laughable in the past four entries, and would the remake rejuvenate the franchise again...well, we'll discuss that next time.
