“Freddy vs. Jason”, the long-awaited showdown between the iconic titans of the “Friday the 13th” and “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchises, delivers exactly what they want. And, considering most of the fans are likely to cream their pants at the mere sight of these two horror heavyweights sharing the screen, it’s an added bonus that director Ronny Yu (who I’m beginning to call the schlockmaster, after such high camp as “Formula 51” and “Bride of Chucky”) brings a sense of style and energy to the table.

Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), the scarred child murderer who invades the dreams of teenagers and claws them to confetti with a taloned glove, is powered by the nightmares of his victims and relies on their fear to strike at them. But the inhabitants of Springwood have gotten wise, keeping their teens on a steady intake of dream suppressant medication and making sure the legend of Freddy Krueger remains silenced. All but forgotten, Freddy resurrects Camp Crystal Lake stalker Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger) and sends him to Elm Street to start slaughtering teens. A new murder spree triggers dormant memories of Krueger, and soon local the youth are once again being haunted by the old “one, two, Freddy’s coming for you” jump-rope rhyme. But Jason, the unstoppable killing machine that he is, refuses to bow out and starts killing Freddy’s intended victims. Freddy is pissed. Cue the bell for round one.

“Freddy vs. Jason” successfully merges some of the cannier elements from both series’. “Friday” fans are treated to some gory kills early on and a hilarious cornfield rave sequence in which Jason casually swats his way through a group of party-goers with his trusty machete. Yu has no qualms about honoring the shallow appeal of this proudly uncreative and methodical franchise; a chick is naked, and then skewered, even before the opening credits roll. Meanwhile, I don’t think I have ever enjoyed Englund this much as Freddy Krueger. Freddy has some of his all-time funniest wisecracks courtesy of Damian Shannon and Mark Swift’s screenplay (“Man the torpedoes!”), but (unlike in recent sequels) the menace and presence of Wes Craven’s original creation remain thankfully intact. In his eighth outing as the perverted, mean-spirited maniac, Englund seems to be having a total gas. And so are we.

Fans love Krueger and Voorhees because they take solace in knowing exactly what they are going to get with each outing. The basic formula includes a cast of teenagers getting butchered. “Freddy vs. Jason” complies, and its teenagers (including Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Christopher George Marquette, Katharine Isabelle from “Ginger Snaps” and Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child) draw far too much focus. You haven’t been the same since your mom passed away? Do I look like I care? You’re a nerd and you can’t get laid? Shut up and die already. Some of these young actors (like Isabelle) have skills that exceed the material, but the script dwells on their existence for longer than it needs to. We want Jason! We want Freddy! We want them in a giant smackdown, together!

The climax gives us just that, and it’s an awesome and inventive show of blood-spurting brutality, powered by the sheer giddy delight of what we are witnessing: Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees beating the tar out of each other. When “Freddy vs. Jason” is on - and it certainly is during this climactic showdown - it’s a real sick kick, and one of the most entertaining films of the summer. And everything else is worth sitting through to get to the best bits. What should matter to fans is that “Freddy vs. Jason” is far more fun than the other supposed sendoffs in the respective franchises (such as “Jason X”, “Jason Goes to Hell” and “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare”.... I’ll disregard the superior “New Nightmare”, because it technically wasn’t a Freddy movie). Here’s hoping they bring Michael Myers into the fray for the sequel. That guy needs to be smacked around a little bit.