Suddard vs Frankie

Suddard vs. Frankie was a 2008 film (Originally intended to be released in 2007, but was delayed to not compete with a Suddard spin-off) written and directed by Jason Fredrickson, a newcomer to both the Suddard and Frankie franchises. This film is the 15th in the main Old Man Suddard film franchise. Commemorative cups were sold on release to mark this milestone. In 2006, SudCo obtained the rights to the popular Frankie horror franchise. They quickly fast tracked a crossover film between the haunted doll and everyone's favorite Old Man. The film depicts an epic battle between Old Man Suddard and Frankie for all the marbles.

Synopsis

The film begins with a cold open depicting Frankie's origins as a scientist enchants a child's plaything with a dark incantation. Frankie awakens and turns to the camera and says his famous catchphrase, "To be frank, I'm going to kill you." The Suddard vs. Frankie title sequence then shows.

We cut to Suddard tending his garden while cooking a souffle. When the souffle goes awry, Suddard seeks to take out his anger on the citizens of Horton. Suddard finds a good family to kill, but to his surprise, they've already been murdered! Beside a dead child, which the camera lingers on for a solid 2 minutes, is a box with the words, "New from SudCo, Frankie!" Suddard takes the box to Bing Lee to examine for clues. Bing Lee says he's heard of similar murder cases before, in the town quiet town of Hell's Ash. Suddard decides to make his way to the old abandoned SudCo factory in Hell's Ash.

Upon arriving at the factory, Suddard finds himself face to face with a dead-eyed doll. Suddard exclaims, "Waht a creepy dahl." The doll then attacks Suddard. Suddard is barely able to fend off the doll which leads him to say, "Wow, you're a worthy opponent for me." The doll then speaks and challenges Suddard to a murder competition. Frankie, who the doll has revealed himself to be, will murder as many as possible in Horton, while Suddard must rack up kills in Hell's Ash. Suddard accepts this challenge, however, once the two have gone their separate ways, Suddard learns that everyone in Hell's Ash is already dead. Barring one citizen, Frankie.

We then see Frankie as he is about to murder Bing Lee, but Suddard quickly stops Frankie with his patented kung-fu grip, as previously seen in SudCo's Old Man Suddard action-figure. Before Suddard can finish Frankie off for good, Frankie tells him to remember that night from long ago. Suddard's memory is instantly jogged, and he remembers Frankie's origins, however, this time we see that the scientist is none other than Old Man Suddard himself. Many fans believe this to be the true origin of Frankie. Suddard decides that the two should be friends and have many adventures together. Frankie accepts, but just as he does Suddard stabs Frankie in the back, and says, "To be frank, I'm gonna to kill ya." Frankie's blood then pours throughout the floorboards of Bing Lee's home.

Bing Lee and Suddard go their separate ways once again, and the credits roll. However, after the credits, a scene is shown of Frankie waking up, followed by the text, "Frankie will return."

Trivia:

Hell's Ash is the town that five of the eight Frankie films take place in, as well as the Frankie Easter and Passover Bonanza.

The line, "To be frank, I'm gonna to kill ya." is a take on Frankie's famous catchphrase, "To be frank, I'm going to kill you."

In Slovakia, where Frankie is extremely popular and all eight films are the country's highest grossing of all time, the film was released with an alternate ending where Frankie defeats Suddard. The after the credits scene, for some reason, remains the same, however, the words, "Suddard will return." replace "Frankie will return."

Despite the promise at the end of the credits, Frankie never did return. Suddard vs. Frankie was the lowest grossing Suddard film ever and universally hated by both Suddard fans and Frankie fans. Blaming the character of Frankie and first-time director/writer Jason Fredrickson, SudCo has locked the character and director/writer up in the SudCo Vault for the unforeseeable future.

The film won an award for best crossover.

Many Suddard fans held a Frankie effigy after this film's release with official Frankie dolls from SudCo.