Directed by: Wes Craven
Premise: The seventh film in the Nightmare on Elm Street series takes place outside of the world of
the films and in the “real” world of Hollywood as the cast and crew of the
original Nightmare film play themselves. Actress Heather Langenkamp, who
played the heroine of the first film, is haunted by a demon that looks and acts
like Freddy Krueger.
What Works: New
Nightmare is a smart and scary send up of the Nightmare on Elm Street series and of horror films as a whole. There
are lots of in-jokes and references to the other films in the series but it’s
not a parody. The film returns Wes Craven to the writing and directing duties,
and New Nightmare has a sarcastic edge
about it, as Craven vents his frustrations with the cartoonish turn that the Nightmare
on Elm Street series had taken and the way horror has been ghettoized by
critics. In New Nightmare, a demon
that lives for the murder of the innocent has been captured by the story of
Freddy Krueger and now that the films have ended the demon is free to roam at
will. This is a metaphor for the way horror stories capture the dark parts of
human nature and make them understandable. It is also a warning to those who
would stop these stories; losing them would render the culture unable to deal
with or understand its own violence. Making the point even clearer, New Nightmare also references fairy tales like “Hansel and Gretel”
and the comparison between the Grimm’s
Fairy Tales and the Nightmare on Elm
Street series is made clear. Aside from the thematic content, New
Nightmare is also impressive as a horror film. It has a lot of jump scares
and mixes that with a frightening atmosphere. Robert Englund returns as Freddy,
and in this film he is allowed to unleash a cruelty and psychotic black humor
not seen since the original film. New Nightmare also returns the focus of the film from Freddy and
back to the heroine as she solves the mystery and protects her son (Miko
Hughes).
What Doesn’t: The film is a bit heavy handed in
its message and plays fast and loose with the Nightmare
on Elm Street rules, as the demon of Freddy intervenes without being inside
of a dream.
DVD extras: Commentary track, DVD-ROM features.
Bottom Line: New Nightmare is one of Wes Craven’s best films and an important precursor to later post-modern horror like Scream. This is a frightening film that also indulges the subversive qualities of the original Nightmare film.