A cult crossover decades in the making that ended up doing more harm than good to both franchises twists the knife on streaming

Giving people exactly what they want after decades of demands isn’t always guaranteed to work out, but if you’re of a superstitious nature, you could make a point of claiming that Freddy vs. Jason ended up cursing both the Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street franchises in the long-term.

The seed of the idea pitting the two titans of terror against each other first germinated in 1987, but it would be another 16 years before the two icons finally went toe-to-toe on the big screen after a quarter of a century murdering countless victims.

When they did, the result was disappointing on an artistic and creative level, but a resounding success on a financial one after it became the highest-grossing outing yet for both Mr. Krueger and Mr. Voorhees.

That being said, Freddy had appeared in seven features spread out across 19 years prior to the crossover, while Jason had been even more prolific after racking up 10 in 23. In the 20 years since they threw down, though, they’ve only headlined one feature apiece, and even at that Robert Englund wasn’t involved in the dismal Nightmare on Elm Street remake.

Is it a coincidence, a curse, or a case of tangled rights issues? That’s entirely for you to decide, but it’s nothing if not fascinating that their rampant sequelizing ground to a halt as soon as they crossed paths. Either way, we’re edging closer and closer to Halloween, so it was only inevitable that Freddy vs. Jason would make a comeback on streaming.

Sure enough, it’s one of the most-watched titles on Starz this week per FlixPatrol, tiding fans over until either one of them returns from a cinematic exile that’s stretched beyond a decade at this point.