While films that pit notorious horror icons together to ‘face off’ are far from classic cinema, there is no denying that they can be fun if taken as the mindless entertainment they are intended to be. When Freddy vs. Jason was released, it surpassed expectations by grossing over $80 million domestically. The film almost spawned a sequel, Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash. The follow up never came to fruition, since Sam Raimi wanted to maintain the rights to the Evil Dead franchise. A year later, we saw another epic pairing with AVP: Alien vs. Predator, which also grossed an estimated $80+ million. Then, in 2007, we saw AVPR: Alien vs. Predator: Requiem hit the market. And, of course, who could forget the Oscar contender (sarcasm) that was Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys.
There are plenty of hoops to jump through in order for studios to bring icons from different franchises together to duke it out. New Line, reportedly had plans to bring Fred Krueger and Jason Voorhees together long before they actually made it happen. The final scene in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday shows a Freddy Krueger hand (Also played by Kane Hodder) reaching up from Hell in the final scene of the film. However, it was ten years from the time Jason Goes to Hell was released until we saw the machete-wielding icon face off with the son of 100 maniacs. The long delay was attributed to New Line securing the licensing rights to both franchises.
To be clear, we are not seriously suggesting that each of the pairings we have dreamt up should result in a feature film or that the film would even be good if it did come to be. However, we know as well as the next horror fanatic that it’s fun to speculate about what could be, so here we are, doing just that.
Chucky vs. Leprechaun
These two maniacs are both of smaller stature than the typical homicidal horror baddie, but that doesn’t prevent either one from raising some major hell. Seeing the two go head to head would be great fun for audiences. Getting Warwick Davis and Brad Dourif on board would be essential, if a match up ever did occur. Trying to imagine anyone other than the two of them attempting to embody the voice of Chucky or the role of Leprechaun would be blasphemous.
Michael Myers vs. Leatherface
Both of these boys are the strong silent type and both have strong family values. In a battle to the death, it’s difficult to speculate who would prevail, but we would happily go along for the ride. In a match up, we would love to see Gunnar Hansen don the skin mask, one more time. But, Michael Myers has been portrayed by so many different actors, even being played by multiple people in a single film, that in his case, we are open to suggestion for who should wear the Shatner mask in a mash up.
Pamela Voorhees vs. Angela Baker
In a fight for survival, would Pam lose her head (pun intended) or would she make an unhappy camper out of Angela? Though, Pamela Voorhees met with an unfortunate fate in Friday the 13th, she wouldn’t be the first member of the Voorhees clan to be resurrected from the dead. It would be an absolute delight for fans to get to see Betsy Palmer reprise the role of Mrs. Voorhees, one more time. As for Angela Baker, if she were to face of with Pam Voorhees, it would have to be Felissa Rose. Though, Pamela Springsteen did a fine job of taking the reigns in the second and third Sleepaway Camp films, for us, Felissa Rose is the one and only Angela. You can see more on both Pam Voorhees and Angela Baker in our Underrated Horror Killers Feature.
Candyman vs. The Creeper
It’s difficult to assess just who would come out on top if The Creeper and Candyman found themselves taking part in a showdown. The Creeper has got mad hops, but Candyman has a mean right hook (pun intended). Since the likelihood of another Candyman movie is slim, we can at least speculate what it would be like to see him square off with the likes of The Creeper.
As far as realistically seeing The Creeper on screen again, it’s hard to say if or when that will happen. Jeepers Creepers 3 is one of those films that is always rumored to be headed in to production, but every time it’s been announced that a third film was on the horizon, it’s turned out to be nothing but unsubstantiated rumors. There is an IMDb page that says Jeepers Creepers 3 is in the script is written, but the page hasn’t been updated since last year, and the last we heard, the sequel was still up in the air. So, until Victor Salva can give us another proper Jeepers Creepers film, we will have to settle for imagining what it would be like to see The Creeper face off against the ominous, hook-wielding, Candyman.
Damien vs. Rhoda Penmark
On the surface, these killer kids share similar sociopathic tendencies. But, if you look a little deeper, their motivations couldn’t be more different. Damien is evil incarnate, and Rhoda is driven by the desire to get what she wants and a lack of guilt. Damien has the whole ‘son of Satan’ thing working in his favor, but Rhoda has pizzazz, something that Damien is sorely lacking. And, while you cannot theoretically pizzazz someone to death, a little charisma goes a long way. Moreover, I would like to see Rhoda try to pizzazz Damien to death. It sounds fun.
This scenario will undoubtedly never happen, for many reasons; not the least of which being that Rhoda and the original Damien are old enough to be grandparents. Also, we wouldn’t want to see classic cinema like The Omen or The Bad Seed sullied. However, that doesn’t stop it from being a showdown about which we enjoy speculating on.
Ghostface vs. Jigsaw
Both Jigsaw and Ghostface are always up for a game. Jigsaw forces victims to answer questions of morality; Ghostface forces victims to answer questions of trivia. In both cases, the price of a wrong answer is death. Since Ghostface is multiple people and typically dies in every Scream film, it’s hard to imagine who would don the mask for a show down with Jigsaw. We know that Jigsaw died early on in the Saw franchise, but if a team of writers can resurrect nearly every other horror killer for sequel after sequel, we’re sure that something could be put together.
Both the Scream and Saw franchises have been the source of sequel speculation, but as of this moment, neither Saw 8 nor Scream 5 are being developed. While we aren’t too bummed about not getting a Saw 8, we would be open to the possibility of one more Scream film to bring closure to the franchise.
Critters vs. Gremlins
Without Gremlins, there would probably be no Critters. It’s long been said that Critters ripped off Joe Dante’s 1984 film Gremlins. However, that didn’t stop Critters from being a gory good time. It would be great fun to see the pint-sized mischief-makers pitted against one another in a battle to the death.
As far as Gremlins is concerned, Internet rumors about a remake surface every couple of years. However, all we have to say about that is: we will believe it when we see it.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Who would you like to see go head-to-head?
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Horror Killers We'd Like to See Face Off
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