New Nightmare (1994)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

If you don't like the direction the goofier sequels of the franchise took, that's one thing, but that doesn't make this a good movie. The Nightmare on Elm Street series became famous for its incredibly creative nightmare death scenes and great effects for their time. This throws all that out the window and gives us a Freddy that's all bark and no bite. New Nightmare isn't scary, it's not anywhere near as clever as it would like you to think it is, and if you look past all the meta- contextual stuff, all you really have here is another generic slasher movie that features very little actual slashing. Hope you like really annoying child actors too, because this has a huge helping of that. Hard to believe that this was the same kid that did such a great performance in Pet Sematery, because he's just painful to watch here with his constant screeching and whining.

I never understood the praise this movie got. It just feels like some bland overly long melodramatic Lifetime movie about Heather and her lame kid. There's a lot of dull scenes that drag on and you're just wanting Freddy to show up. The movie isn't scary at all. There's a reason this movie went unnoticed and flopped at the box office when it came out. It's also the least successful Elm Street film in the franchise.The acting is horrible. Heather Lagenkamp was never a good actress. Her reaction when the police tell her husband died in a car accident is embarrassing. She has zero emotion and basically no reaction. The husband Chase was blah, Tracy Middendorf as Julie was bad, the black nurse was awful (cut this evil outta him), Wes Craven stick to directing, you're not an actor. Robert Englund always delivers. He was great as Freddy from the little screen time he had.Having the movie centered around Heather's son Dylan was a terrible idea. He pretty much ruined this movie for me. He was so ANNOYING! And Miko Hughes acting was horrible. His performance and line delivery was wooden and stiff. And anytime they tried to have act creepy or like Freddy came off hilarious instead of scary. His constant screaming was obnoxious too. He sucked! I wish Freddy ate him for dinner. I have when these horror films have a dopey wimpy little brats thrown in the mix.Speaking of Freddy, he is barely in the movie. There's only 2 death scenes and there weak and forgettable. The musical score was terrible. A lot of overly dramatic loud crescendo horns. Blech!The tired references to the original film Nancy's white pajamas, tongue phone, gooey muddy stairs, Julie's death is a repeat of Tina's death, the nurse at the hospital played Nancy's English teacher in the original film, etc.Freddy's new look is crap. The long detective looking trench coat, the skin tight leather disco pants, knee length Doc Martin combat boots. The classic glove is replaced with this skinless stupid bone glove. The new make-up too rubbery.The final showdown in Freddy's man cave was ridiculous and silly. Heather sliding down a water slide and the terrible shot of her falling into the pool. Freddy extending his arms 50 feet, tongue wrapping around Nancy's whole head, Freddy's mouth stretching 50 feet wide trying to swallow Dylan whole. The terrible special effect cgi when Freddy explodes at the end is hilariously bad. So stupid!This movie is basically Heather and her screaming brat being stalked for 90 minutes. Yawn...

Sleek, frightening update on a sagging franchise. Brilliant use of a meta concept that could have easily taken the silly route. Imaginative, jaw dropping practical effects. A darker, less flamboyant take on the iconic character Freddy Krueger. Wes Craven's New Nightmare was the best Freddy flick to come along since Dream Warriors, the third installment. After the stale and awkward sixth film, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (my ass final), there really needed to be a game changer, something fresh and solid that would shake up a routine that had been getting fairly silly for some time. Who better to facilitate that than the man who kicked the entire legacy off back in 84′, Wes Craven himself? Back with a vengeance and a whole grab bag of new ideas, Crane brought forth a new, remodeled version of the Freddy lore, with some innovative twists. This one takes place in the real world, where Heather Langenkamp is Heather Langenkamp and not Nancy, Robert Englund is actually Englund and not Freddy. Heather has a young son (Miko Hughes, the go to little tyke of the 90's), Englund is relaxing and trying out the artist's life, and Craven, also playing himself, has big bold ideas for the Nightmare franchise. The meta doesn't stop there though; Whatever Craven is cooking up has somehow awoken a very real, very serious and very scary version of Freddy who is now trying to break free from dreams and into our world, using young Hughes as a conduit, and wreaking havoc left right and center. Heather knows the only way to put a stop to the evil is to face Freddy, as Nancy, one last epic time. I love the high concept, I love that Craven conceived of this and got it made, it's one of the most inventive horrors ofnthe decade. When Freddy does show up, he's dead straight serious without a quip or wisecrack in sight. His design and attitude are way darker too, he's a suitable real world dream demon that makes the Englund of past outings look like Big Bird. The special effects crafted for the netherworld Heather ventures into are a confusing labyrinth of body horror, ornate production design and impressive imagination. A complete vision of the Elm Street legacy that does what few horror franchises attempt, let alone succeed at: It reaches beyond the tropes that have got it to where it is and pleased audiences so far, breaks new ground and reinvents the legend.

This movie was horrible. I cannot understand why so many people actually like this movie. It amazes me how this movie has a 77% on rottentomatoes. I watched this a couple days ago and I could not believe what I was watching.The whole idea of making a movie based on Heather Langenkamp's point of view as an actress, NOT as her character, was so fvcking stupid.The acting was HORRIBLE. When Heather went into a hospital to see her son and the black doctor saw her arm having very deep scratches, the black doctor was like "what happened to your arm?" as if it was nothing. There was almost no emotion at all. Dylan's babysitter and the other doctors were also sh1tty actresses. It was just painful to watch. Heather's acting wasn't much better.The fact that this movie was trying to be like the first Nightmare on Elm Street film by re-casting John Saxon and making Heather wear the same white PJs that she wore in the first Nightmare movie in this god-awful film was just dumb.Freddy's makeup looked like SH1T! Jesus Christ, I could not stand the sight of it. It looked horrible! It looked so rubbery and fake! Freddy's makeup in the older films was much better looking.The part where Heather was looking for her son in the hospital but she found out Dylan walked out of the hospital and was MILES away from the hospital ON FOOT was hilariously stupid. How did no one notice him walking outside from the hospital all by himself?! Freddy killed very few people in this film and the death scenes weren't even good. They were just boring to watch.This movie was so retarded that it hurts me to write this. I cannot believe the legendary Wes Craven actually made this pile of sh1t!