New Nightmare: Review By Vamp

Wes Craven's "New Nightmare," much to my surprise, is a widely criticized film. I've never really understood why exactly this was, but it just is. In my opinion, "New Nightmare," is probably the best of the sequels, maybe even, dare I say it, better than the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street." There are so many different land marks that this film covers for the series, but I think the one that is most prominent among them, and many others will agree, I'm sure, is the return of Wes Craven as not only the writer, but the director, as well. Other landmarks the film has include the return of a couple of integral characters to the series, including Heather Langenkamp, who was Nancy Thompson in the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, as well as John Saxon, who played Nancy's father, Lieutenant Donald Thompson. One other important landmark this film includes, is the new portrayal of Freddy Krueger. Unlike Uber Jason in "Jason X," the new and improved Freddy Krueger actually scares, instead making you laugh. That is something that I thought was really awesome. Many said that it was Wes Craven's biggest hit, "A Nightmare on Elm Street," and I feel that I most definitely agree, although it was really "The Last House on the Left" that really jump-started his career, as well as made his debut into the directorial world. What I liked most about "New Nightmare," was the fact that it managed to bring Freddy Krueger to life, not only on screen, but in our minds as well. With "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare," we saw Freddy not only die, but also sort of peter out in terms of his fright-level. With this, Robert Englund's best character not only returns to life, but also returns to scare the living sh*t out of those who watch. Many remember that the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" was one of the most frightening movies that they'd ever seen. It is, in fact, one of the most frightening movies that have been made. It was ground-breaking on so many different levels. I think that "New Nightmare" is quite the same in regards to this level. It's probably one of the most, if not THE most, scary entries into the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, and remains to this day, one of my all time favorite horror movies, as well as probably my favorite of the entire series, though in all reality, it ties with the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" for my favorite. Wes Craven not only returns this series to it's former glory, he also modifies, reinvents, and redefines what Freddy Krueger really is. This was definitely one of Craven's best films.

Throughout the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, the directorial torch was passed around a lot, from Wes Craven to Jack Sholder, Jack Sholder to Chuck Russell, Chuck Russell to Renny Harlin, Renny Harlin to Stephen Hopkins, and Stephen Hopkins to Rachel Talalay. Well the reigns of the film seem to have gone full circle, and returned to the man who originally created and directed the series, and that is Wes Craven. Craven not only creates what this movie is all about, but he also defines how the film looks. He uses some new and advanced angles and filters that really make the movie pop out among all of the movies in the entire "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series. One of the movie's best angles is seen in the scene where Heather Langenkamp is picking up some stuff around the house, and she feels a tremor. There suddenly appears great cracks in the wall, which many will think look like claw-marks, like what Freddy would leave. They show these claw-marks with some excellently positioned angles. It really makes for one intense and interesting scene, and I'm sure that many will agree. Craven also uses some very interesting filters for the movie, as I said earlier. The best one of these that are seen, happens to be in the ending sequence, in Freddy's lair. It's so dark, dreary, and creepy, that you won't help but notice that they're in something far more than a dungeon. It's an excellent usage of filters for the movie, and really helps it to stand out as a very creepy scene. Craven's directorial skills have definitely not dropped out of touch, whatsoever. Craven not only heads the directorial department of this movie, but he's also the writer of the movie, too, using the characters that he created ten years before this movie made it's debut. What Craven really does well, is spin a story. I've always thought that among the midns in the horror movie kingdom, John Carpenter and Wes Craven were the two that really hit you hard with their films. They really know how to write movies that scare you. John Carpenter proved his talent with "Halloween," and ten years before this movie, twenty-five years before I sat here and wrote this review, Wes Craven proved his talent with "A Nightmare on Elm Street." Wes Craven proves once again that his skills as a writer are very well developed, by creating one of the most intricate, fun, interesting, scary, creepy, spoky, and intense stories that I've ever seen. He really does his job well with this movie. Wes Craven definitely does a great job of creating a movie, and "New Nightmare" only helps to prove that fact.

The visuals of this movie, just like everything else about it, are done fantastically. If there is one thing that the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series has always managed to deliver us, it is awesome, fun, creative, interesting, and intense visuals, and "New Nightmare" marks a landmark in this series, coming up with some fo the best visuals yet. First of all, we've got the point-of-view of Freddy Krueger. For the past four movies, Freddy Krueger hasn't been kept an inigma, as he was in the first two films. He's been trouncing around the screen, still pretty creepy, but able to be seen, and everyone knew exactly who, and what, he was. However, in this movie a new concept was used, meaning that Freddy is once again an inigma. If you ask me, this effect always adds a high level of creepiness to the movie, and for "New NIghtmare," this is definitely shown, as it is probably, in my opinion, the creepiest movie of the entire series. Speaking of Freddy Krueger, Freddy's got an all-new look. Before in the movies, Freddy was creepy, yes, and he scared the living hell out of many people for years and years. However, in this movie, Freddy's look gets a major update. He looks much scarier, and much more evil. He's so dark and scary, it's a wonder he's even played by the same actor. He's got his same burns, kind of. They're much more well-done, and they're a lot creepier, but they're burns all the same. He's also got his normal Christmas sweater with the red and green stripes, but it's new, it's not burned, and destroyed, which, for some reason, makes it even creeper. The same with his fedora. It's not brown anymore, or destroyed, but rather it's green and new. This doesn't take away any of the effect, but rather adds some more, as it makes Freddy look even creepier. Of course, Freddy still has his knived glove, but this is probably the most updated feature about Freddy. HIs glove is mechanical looking, and instead of just four blades on his fingers, he's got five, one on his thumb, as well. It's a really intense looking glove, too, since they aren't the normal blades. They're curved more, and they look very sinister. A lot like talons, and it really pulls the whole look together. There's one new thing for Freddy, as well, and that is a trenchcoat. Everything pulls together nicely for the movie, and really makes it one creepy ass character. Not that he wasn't before, of course. Now, the blood in this movie is also looking a lot more realistic than it has in any of the past films, which really helps the kills along nicely. Speaking of kills, the kills of this movie are a little different, since they're done differently. It's hard to explain, but there aren't as many kills as there normally are, but they don't do anything worse. On the contrary, the movie is done very well. The kill of this movie that really stands out to me, is probably the kill towards the beginning, where the glove comes to life and starts massacring the people on set. It's very basic, but it's also a very memorable scene, and it definitely works for the movie. All of the visuals are done exceptionally well for the age of the film, and they really help to make everything about it pop out, and seem a lot more freaky, which in turn, makes the whole movie that much more creepy. They definitely do their job with the visuals very well.

The storyline of this movie is one of the things about it that I like the most. If there is one thing that the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" has always managed to come up with for every sequel, it's a great story that keeps the basics of the premise of the series in tact, while at the same time, adding a nice new twist to it, that not only makes it new, but also creates a freshness to the series that definitely keeps the fans' interest in the series. I'll admit that the previous movie, "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare," though it's storyline was inventive and fun, it wasn't executed to it's fullest potential, and instead of scaring, like it was intended to, it ended up being a comedy/horror movie, and making the audiences laugh their asses off at Freddy's antics. It also failed to produce characters that the audience could feel for, ultimately making the audience yearn for Freddy to turn up, and slice them to pieces in his own and demented way. However, this movie is better than that, in every single way that the previous film failed. First of all, the story for the whole movie, as I said was masterful. The characters that this story creates are not only, non-fiction (for the most part), but they are also moving characters, and you actually find yourself on THEIR side, as they fight their way against the foe of all foes, Freddy Krueger. This movie not only manages to create a new and excellent stories to jump-start the series back into it's fullest potential, but it also does something that no other slasher movie, that I am aware of, has done before. It takes it's slasher, and it brings it into full fruition by creating a real-world scenario for it. Making the character not only non-fiction (In a way), but making it even more creepy, knowing that it's actually after the actors and haunting their dreams, as everyone else thinks they are going insane. At first it seems like everyone thinks they're going crazy, but as everything develops, it doesn't seem as if this is so, and they start to really believe that the character they once battled fictitiously has come into reality, and is now stalking them. It's one of the craziest premises for a movie, but it works wonderfully, and really makes for one of the most enjoyable, scary, and intense movies that I have ever seen. It's definitely one of the best additions to the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, as I said, if not THE best, and it really stands out amongst others in the series because of this. Wes Craven DEFINITELY knew what he was doing when he set into making this movie because it really worked for not only the movie, but for the series as well.

The movie begins with a scene of a faceless man building an animatronic-looking hand. It's got wires, and the fingers begin to move on their own, as if they cannot await what they're meant to do. Soon, the faceless man begins to craft some very sinister-looking blades for said hand, and fits them to the fingers. Then, very hesitantly, the man lays out his hand on the table he was working on, and very carefully picks up a meat cleaver, and proceeds with cutting off that appendage. From here we hear someone shouting instructions as to what to do with the blood, and then see Heather Langenkamp (Playing herself), and her son Dylan (Played by Miko Hughes of "Pet Sematary"), as they are watching the scene unfold. Heather quickly shields Dylan's eyes as the scene unfolds, and everyone around them prepares for the next scene. Heather is soon joined by her husband, Chase Porter (Played by David Newsom of "Boys"), who is the head of animatronics on the set of what is obviously a new "A Nightmare on Elm Street" movie in the making. As Heather and her husband talk with each other, the other mechanics on the set tell Chase that the hand has stopped working. He tells them to take it apart and insulate the wires, since it wasn't meant to be drowned in blood. Wes Craven (Played by himself) walks around meantime, and comments, telling everyone that they've done a good job. However, the hand starts to move again, even though the techs had turned it off. It flips over and jumps at one of the techs, cutting open his throat, and killing him. It then starts scurrying around, and slices open Chase's finger, as it lands on the ground and scuttles out of sight. Heather, meanwhile, was telling him how much that glove scared her. She tries to get Dylan out of the way, but he runs over to the bed, and jumps up on the top, but when she heads after him, someone walks past the bed, carrying something. When they pass, Dylan has disappeared. At the same time, the glove has scuttled back into view, and killed the other tech. It jumps on top of Chase and starts to stab him in the eyes, when suddenly Heather is woken from her nightmare by the terrible mass earthquake. As she is disoriented, Chase grabs her and pulls her out of bed. She suddenly knows what is going on when she hears Dylan screaming downstairs in his room. She heads down, rather shakily, since the whole house is beginning to shake, and goes into his room. She sees him on his bed freaking out. She jumps onto the bed, and Chase follows. She covers Dylan with her body, as Chase covers her with his, and they wait for the earthquake to die down. When it does, we see them look around dazed. We then see the family getting breakfast ready, and watching the news. Heather asks Chase if he really needs to watch the report on the earthquake, and he shuts it off. They both are talking about stuff, and we learn that he's got to leave for a business trip to do some work on the set of something, and that Heather has to go do an interview. We see them getting ready then, as Heather is finishing up her make-up to leave for the interview. She doesn't think she should go, but Chase tells her she has to. She hasn't been on her game since the maniac started calling her, and she needs to get back on the game if she wants to keep her job. We find out that she had been getting phone calls from some crazed fan, threatening her, and really freaking her out, but they seem to have finally stopped. Chases kisses her goodbye, and he takes his leave. As Heather goes downstairs to do her interview, she spots Dylan watching her movie, "A Nightmare on Elm Street," and as Tina is beckoning to Nancy from the body bag, she shuts off the TV. However, Dylan starts to freak out, and Heather triest to shake him out of it. However, the phone suddenly starts to ring, and as she answers it, she hears her stalker once again, as he recites the beginning of the famous poem from the "A Nightmare on Elm Street," she hangs up after he says "One, two," but the phone rings again, and when she answers it, it's the same person, and they quickly shout "Freddy's coming for you!" before she slams the phone down. Soon, though, Dylan's babysitter, Julie (Played by Tracy Middendorf of "Milestone"), shows up to watch Dylan as Heather heads to her interview. As Dylan goes off to play, Heather tells Julie about the phone call, and has her phone the police. Heather then leaves, and goes to the interview. We find out that the interview is a television interview, and she starts to talk about everything in her movie career, and then the anchorman asks the inevitable, regarding her involvement in the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series. She says that she was barely involved aside from the first and third films, and that they both really helped to jump start her career, but that's about it. The anchorman asks about her son, and she tells them about Dylan, and the anchorman asks her if she would trust her costar with him. She says that really doesn't know, but soon, Robert Englund (Played by himself), dressed in his Freddy Krueger costume from the films, makes his appearance. After the show, we see Heather standing in the hallway, and she calls Robert over. He finishes signing some autographs, and bids his fans farewell. She berates him for not telling her about the surprise, but they get along very well. Robert asks her if she had ever considered returning to the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series. She tells him know, and soon somone says that she's got a phone call. When she takes it, she is told that Robert Shaye (Played by himself) wants to speak with her. She goes to see him, and they catch up, since he's obviously made a lot of success out of the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series. He offers her a role in the new movie that Wes is dreaming up, but she respectfully declines, since she has a kid. Robert begs, since he's already got Chase working on it, but Heather is adamant. When she arrives back home, she finds that Julie is having a problem with Dylan, as he is freaking out from a dream. When they finally get him up, he tells them about Rex saving him, and when he pulls him out from under the covers, Rex has got a giant slash across his chest. Heather freaks out and calls Chase home. He says he'll be there in a few hours, and they hang up. However, that night, Chase, on his way home, starts to fall asleep at the wheel, and soon enough he crashes his car. Heather finds out that he has died, and is heartbroken. We seen her and Dylan at his funeral, but suddenly an earthquake shakes the cemetary, and the casket falls off of the lowering device. She jumps after it, but bashes her head on the guard rail. As she stumbles to coherency, we see that Dylan is in the casket, being dragged down by a real frightening and evil version of Freddy Krueger (Played by Robert Englund of "Dead & Buried"), Heather saves Dylan, but suddenly Chase comes to life and grabs at her. She starts to freak, but is shaken awake by John Saxon (Played by himself), her former co-star. After having more trouble with Dylan that night, she talks to John at the park, but something happens, and Dylan's life is in danger. Heather decides to talk to Robert, but when she tells him about her dreams, he tells her that it's just the caller and the death of her husband eating at her nerves. She tells him that the Freddy wasn't his version, and he guesses that it's darker. When Heather asks about the script that Wes is writing, Robert tells her that he's only as far as Dylan's near-death accident. They make plans to have dinner the next day, and we see that Robert has painted the evil Freddy Krueger whilst they were talking. Heather goes to see Wes, and finds out that Wes's dreams have been about Freddy, and she also finds out that he was real, and coming to life. Not the Freddy from the movies, but rather an entity whom the movies had captured. This entity was now very fond of being in the form of Freddy, and was trying to come into reality by kill Heather, since she was the first to humiliate Freddy in the movies. To do this, he's going through her son. Now Heather is faced with a foe that she thought was only fiction, but whom she knows she won't be able to defeat. However all of this relies on her playing Nancy Thompson one last time. The actors and actresses in this movie do exceptional jobs at portraying their characters, and really make them ones that you can feel for. They really get each of their respective characters' feelings, worries, emotions, and other such characteristics down, making the characters that much better. Standing out the most out of all of these are both the protagonist of the movie, and the antagonist. Heather Langenkamp's performance as herself is really quite excellent, and she makes an even better heroine than she did as Nancy Thompson, if that's even possible. Robert Englund outshines all his past performances as Freddy Krueger with his portrayal of the character in this movie. He makes him so much more creepier than the other Freddy, and it just really works out for the benefit of the movie. Both of these characters, and the rest of the cast, really made an excellent movie to add to the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series. DEFINITELY a great job on the casting of this movie.

All in all, this movie was very well done, and really outshines pretty much every "A Nightmare on Elm Street" sequel that's come out. It's one of the best movies that I've ever seen bring a character that was once fiction into reality, though to be honest, I've not seen that many. They definitely knew what they were doing when they made this movie. The Director of this movie was definitely on top of his job, creating excellent angles and filters for the scenes that really add a creepy and spooky efffect to it, and it really works out nicely for the whole, entire film. DEFINITELY a great job on the Directing of this movie. The Writer of this movie also does a great job, since it's the same person as the Director. They create an excellent story, script, and screenplay for the movie which really helps to bring everything to life and into fruition, and it really is a great story that they've created for the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, and the script and screenplay really do a great job of portraying it to the audiences. DEFINITELY a great job on the Writing of this movie. The Visuals of this movie are, of course, also done very well. They use an awesome point of view for Freddy, which was missed ever since "A NIghtmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors," they give Freddy a freaky, new, and improved look, and they make VERY realistic looking blood for kills that are REALLY done very well. All of these visuals do a great job of adding creepiness to the movie, and really making it very spooky and scary. DEFINITELY a great job on the Visuals of this movie. The Storyline of this movie does a wonderful job of bringing a fictitious character into reality, in a way, revamping it, and making it as spooky and scary as ever, if not even spookier and even scarier. They really make a great and new storyline to bring freshness into the series for the audience, and it works out to the movie's major benefit. DEFINITELY a great job on the Storyline of this movie. The Acting ties everything about this movie together. All of the Actors and Actresses deliver performances as characters that are VERY Convincing, VERY Believable, and VERY Realistic, as well as delivering performances as characters that you can REALLY feel for, although I"m not sure how well you can really RELATE TO them, on VARIOUSLY different levels. DEFINITELY a great job on the Casting of this movie. So if you loved the past six movies, and really love Freddy Krueger, and want to see the return of Freddy after his death in "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare," then I really suggest that you watch this movie. It is DEFINITELY worth the watch. So give it a try. I am almost POSITIVE that you will NOT get disappointed with it in the SLIGHTEST. I know I didn't!!!!!

THIS CONCLUDES PART 7, THE FINAL PART, IN MY REVIEW SERIES FOR THE "A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET" SERIES!!!!! THANK YOU FOR READING!!!!!