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WES CRAVEN'S
NEW NIGHTMARE
(1994, Craven)
That's how Robert Shaye (Robert Shaye) pitches a Nightmare on Elm Street sequel to Heather Langenkamp (Heather Langenkamp). The blessing and the curse of making a successful film is that fans will always want more, and the studios – being the business enterprises that they are – more often than not will bow to that, putting business interests above creative and artistic ones in the process.
New Nightmare is a bit of an exception to that. The film is set in a fictonalized version of "reality" where Langenkamp, along with other cast and crew members of the franchise, are being terrorized by Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) who is invading the real world. It is a unique meta approach that I'm sure wasn't an easy sell back in 1994, but that somehow works.
Craven does a great job of building the tension, while letting bits and pieces of the original film fall through the cracks into this "real world". There are some nice homages to most of the deaths from the original; from a character stabbed and dragged through the walls and roof to Freddy's glove sneaking next to the crotch of another character. It works perfectly to keep that tie between the original film and the "reality" of this film.
The film also gets rid of the wise-cracking Freddy that we saw in the previous 3 or 4 films, and it's obvious that Englund is having fun with the role (he has said it's his favorite). But I think Langenkamp, not only shows a lot of improvement, but overall does a pretty good job conveying the confusion, desperation, and ultimately resilience of her character in not letting this "evil" take over her life.
Like most of the films in the franchise, the last act does feel a bit weaker than the rest. As Heather gets more and more absorbed into Freddy's world, the limitations of that world that we've seen through pretty much all films also spill into this "new nightmare". Craven still manages to pull the reins a bit, but it does feel ultimately lacking and not as clever as the first two acts.
Craven managed to successfully "kill" Freddy for almost 10 years. That is until they pit him against Jason in 2003. Then, a 2010 remake brought him back to life, receiving almost universal criticism. A second remake has been allegedly in the works for the last 10 years. Even after Craven's passing in 2015, his estate has been evaluating different projects, from a sequel to TV show. I guess evil never dies, right?
Grade:
WES CRAVEN'S
NEW NIGHTMARE
(1994, Craven)
"You know, the fans, God bless them, they're clamoring for more. I guess evil never dies, right?"
That's how Robert Shaye (Robert Shaye) pitches a Nightmare on Elm Street sequel to Heather Langenkamp (Heather Langenkamp). The blessing and the curse of making a successful film is that fans will always want more, and the studios – being the business enterprises that they are – more often than not will bow to that, putting business interests above creative and artistic ones in the process.
New Nightmare is a bit of an exception to that. The film is set in a fictonalized version of "reality" where Langenkamp, along with other cast and crew members of the franchise, are being terrorized by Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) who is invading the real world. It is a unique meta approach that I'm sure wasn't an easy sell back in 1994, but that somehow works.
Craven does a great job of building the tension, while letting bits and pieces of the original film fall through the cracks into this "real world". There are some nice homages to most of the deaths from the original; from a character stabbed and dragged through the walls and roof to Freddy's glove sneaking next to the crotch of another character. It works perfectly to keep that tie between the original film and the "reality" of this film.
The film also gets rid of the wise-cracking Freddy that we saw in the previous 3 or 4 films, and it's obvious that Englund is having fun with the role (he has said it's his favorite). But I think Langenkamp, not only shows a lot of improvement, but overall does a pretty good job conveying the confusion, desperation, and ultimately resilience of her character in not letting this "evil" take over her life.
Like most of the films in the franchise, the last act does feel a bit weaker than the rest. As Heather gets more and more absorbed into Freddy's world, the limitations of that world that we've seen through pretty much all films also spill into this "new nightmare". Craven still manages to pull the reins a bit, but it does feel ultimately lacking and not as clever as the first two acts.
Craven managed to successfully "kill" Freddy for almost 10 years. That is until they pit him against Jason in 2003. Then, a 2010 remake brought him back to life, receiving almost universal criticism. A second remake has been allegedly in the works for the last 10 years. Even after Craven's passing in 2015, his estate has been evaluating different projects, from a sequel to TV show. I guess evil never dies, right?
Grade: