When a movie like “Freddy Vs. Jason” grosses $40 million at the U.S. box office, many would say that Western culture is in need of a pretty big wake-up call.

“FVJ” director Ronny Yu would probably argue that this film is that wake-up call. His film is littered with as much red, white and blue symbolism as an Aaron Sorkin picture. Of course, instead of a bright-red tie on Martin Sheen, we get gallons of bright-red blood literally sprayed all over the place. You can decide which is uglier.

But all kidding aside, “FVJ” has more substance than any film in the “Friday the 13th” or “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchises combined. It has more laughs, more blood, more thrills and much more talent, on screen and off. It’s probably one of the best slashers ever made, but then again, that still doesn’t say too much.

The film begins with an angry Freddy plotting to kill as many “innocent” teens as possible. His only problem? The teens of Springwood have been secretly drugged by their parents for years. They’ve been fed pills that stop them from dreaming, which keeps Freddy from killing them.

Obviously, Freddy needs to resurrect a dead Jason. This way, the overwhelming fear Jason will instill in the teens will give Freddy the energy he needs to kill again. But when Freddy gets his mojo back, Jason won’t share the slasher spotlight with Freddy, and this just won’t do! You know those pesky burnt-up serial killers and how they share their spotlights.

Yes, the plot is incredibly stupid, but it should be. Writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift know how stupid a movie like “FVJ” should be and by taking such a light-hearted hack at such gruesome material, they should be attributed with much of the film’s success. They import cliched characters from other teen comedies (there’s the over-acted, annoying Jack Black character, Jay from “Jay and Silent Bob,” and even a rip at “Varsity Blues'” James Van Der Beek) only to have our two villains mow them down.

Ronny Yu seems to have lots of fun tearing apart western culture, and why shouldn’t he? So much of our culture is based on gratuitousness, and Yu’s excessive amounts of blood and gore definitely reinforce that. While movies like “Scream” elevated the slasher genre, “Freddy Vs. Jason” seems to stab directly at the U.S., the nation that gave birth to the genre, which has seen it flourish over 18 films.

These two killing machines can’t be stopped, and neither can the $40 million weekend juggernaut they represent. America has become the poster child for senseless violence, both in its pop culture, and in reality. Hong Kong native Ronny Yu knows this and his film stops at nothing to lampoon this sad, sad fact. At one point, a character even tries to impale Jason with an American flag, and of course, the attempt fails miserably.

To put the cherry on the bloody sundae, a scene in the movie has a framed photo of President Bush, a small smirk on his face stares directly at the audience. And later we hear Freddy tell one of his flailing victims, “The only thing to fear, is fear … himself!”