Just when you thought it was safe to fall a sleep or go camping in the woods, they come out with a movie like Freddy vs. Jason.

On Friday, Aug. 15, both Freddy Kruger and Jason Voorhees proved to the American audience that there is still some life in both of these horror icons.

With the release of New Line’s highly anticipated horror film Freddy vs. Jason, the ultimate fight between two of the most famous horror icons is finally brought to life.

Why such high anticipation for a horror film?

The credit goes to New Line Cinema, the studio that brought us the original 1984 horror hit A Nightmare On Elm Street, also bought the copyrights to Paramount’s slasher series Friday the 13th in 1993.

It was when Freddy’s legendary claw made a cameo appearance in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday that audiences everywhere screamed for a WWE type match-up between Freddy and Jason.

The process to get Freddy vs. Jason to the local theatre near you can be easily be compared to the children’s classic storybook “ The Little Engine That Could”.

Because of this, it did take nearly 10 years of many script rewrites, recasting and many rumors to get this awesome flick made.

With so many setbacks and a backlash to horror films in the 1990’s, it seemed like it would take a miracle to see Freddy and Jason go one on one.

Thanks the Scream series, the later installments to the Halloween series e.g. Halloween: H20 and Resurrection a few copycats, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legends, and not to mention a film that we would all rather forget 2001’s Jason X to help this film get reinforcement that it needed.

That reinforcement was the public backing and the potential of having a FX bonanza of a film. It was these crucial elements that gave it the push it needed to get the film green-lighted. This film will either make or break the chance for New Line Cinema to produce another Freddy or Jason film.

So does it deliver all the goods? You bet your $6.50 it does! But how are our two favorite horror icons brought together for a match made in horror history?

The teenagers of Springwood have no clue who Freddy Kruger is or about his history.

Thanks to their parents and the dream suppresser drug, Hyprocil, which was first introduced to the Elm Street citizens in Nightmare 3, no bad dreams, no fear of Freddy and no premature deaths.

Since Freddy uses fear to get to his victims, he is stuck in his hellish purgatory that he was sent to via 1991’s Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare.

So with Freddy already weak from his previous outings, he looks up another force of evil down in Hell.

Look no further than the machete wielding hockey mask maniac Jason Voorhees from Camp Crystal Lake. Freddy needs and uses Jason to put fear back into the town of Springwood.

With reportedly the largest budget to use in either movie franchise, it clearly shows and this movie delivers!

The dispatching of Springwood’s teens is creepy and inventive. The dialogue is not too shabby, and the pivotal characters actually have a story. You actually find yourself caring for the characters in their time of need.

Another treat is the fact that this Freddy is more evil and sinister than he was in previous films, but he still has time to deliver his famous one-liners.

Like Freddy, Jason makes a long needed comeback. He is like the great white shark in Jaws that has no mercy when finding a kill.

Another interesting aspect of this film is that many plot holes from previous films in both franchises are filled.

The audience is also introduced to the fears of Jason and Freddy for the first time. The fighting sequence between the maniacs is just as cool as Yoda’s fight in Star Wars: Episode 2.

The ensemble cast of both Canadian and American actors is terrific. Destiny Child’s Kelly Rowland makes her feature film début as Kia. Jason Ritter, who starred in Swimfan, comes in as Will. Christopher George Marquette, who only has one film to his credit, comes in as Linderman.

The story is both interesting and inventive for both franchises. It keeps you at the edge of your seat.

So who wins the fight of century? Well after many twists and creative turns in the plot the winner is …

Did you actually think I was going to spoil the ending of the movie? Go see the movie and find out for yourself.