Two pop culture icons, one movie and a blood-drenched deathmatch. Freddy Vs. Jason arrived on New Line Platinum Series DVD Tuesday after a successful theatrical run despite mixed reviews. The two-disc comes equipped with excellent audio/video transfers and numerous special features that will have horror fans salivating before tearing past the shrink-wrap.

FVJ was an unlikely blockbuster, combining two characters that seemed forgotten in the post-Scream era, but the fans showed up in full force as the film performed above and beyond industry expectations.

During the tail end of summer and amid a blackout that left most of New England without power, FVJ pulled in $36 million despite most of the mainstream press dismissing and doubting the horror titans’ ability to sell overpriced movie tickets.

The film has a paper thin plot, and, yes, the acting probably would’ve been better if high school drama students stepped in to play the leads, but that’s not what makes FVJ effective. The movie succeeds because it combines both Freddy and Jason’s mythology flawlessly without changing the rules that governed previous sequels.

Freddy has become restless and uses Jason to kill a bunch of teens in Springwood, knowing that local authorities and teens would assume he was the culprit. After a bed-side stabbing, Lori (Monica Keena) and her gal pals begin to suspect something more sinister. With each slaughter, Freddy becomes stronger and is ready to return to his reign of terror, but now Jason’s having too much fun slicing hormone-driven teens. Freddy must now find a way to get rid of this problematic goalie and finish off what is left of the Elm Street teens.

Disc one of the Platinum Series DVD contains both the widescreen and fullscreen versions of Freddy Vs. Jason. It also boast a commentary with director Ronny Yu, Robert Englund and Ken Kirzinger, in which Englund dominates with an excessive take on each scene.

A staple on all Nightmare On Elm Street DVDs is a Jump to a Death option that allows viewers to watch the gore-filled massacre rather than the dull dramatic moments.

Disc Two features 20 deleted scenes. Bundled within the menu are an alternate opening and ending along with optional commentaries from Yu. Though most of the deleted scenes are enjoyable, few merit inclusion, and the alternate ending is complete trash, not worthy of even the cutting-room wastebasket, much less its floor.

The Production menus have brief featurettes explaining some of the film’s visual action sequences. Also included is a lengthy article from Fangoria, a horror magazine, that sheds light on the 10-year hell FVJ took before hitting the big screen.

Rounding out the second disc is promotional material from the theatrical trailer, eight television spots, a documentary about Camp Hack ‘N Sack (fan screening) and the Las Vegas press conference.

The two-disc edition offers DVD-ROM features from Script-to-Screen read-along, enhanced movie playback and The Cutting Room floor edit. Cutting Room lets viewers step into the director’s chair and make a better FVJ.

New Line has been known for putting together great DVDs, and the studio has outdone itself with FVJ. Rightfully so, since the razor-fingered-trash-talking-murderer put New Line on the map.