New Nightmare

New Nightmare

I remember hearing my friend talking about hating the film when it came out. My friend bashed the film so much that it kept me from ever watching the movie. After watching it a few times recently, I’ve come to really enjoy the film. I think the film was ahead of its time.

I don’t like some of the FX shots, as they come across as being cheap. I also felt they should have pushed the Hollywood perspective a bit more. One has to wonder if this was going to be a start to a new franchise set outside the normal continuity. This was not the case when they released Freddy vs. Jason.

~The New Freddy Krueger design is pretty creepy. He now wears a black leather jacket and his makeup is different. He also has a green hat instead of the black hat. He doesn’t really joke as much as in the sequels. His glove is organic in this one. I kind of wished they kept this design for Freddy vs. Jason.

~Heather Langenkamp acting ranges from dreadful to passable. Even though I loved the first Freddy movie, Langenkamp wasn’t good in that movie either. However, I do like that they didn’t “sex her up” for the role, which many of the other Nightmare on Elm Streets did with the female leads.

~Haunting of Hollywood: They should have really played up that many producers and studio runners were being haunting by this Freddy Demon. There are hints of it throughout. There is even a scene where it is implied that the studio New Line was in fact getting phones calls from the Demon Freddy.

~Reality Twisting: The best part about the movie is the Demon Freddy changes the real world into the world of Nightmare on Elm Street. Some of the characters start behaving as their movie counterparts. The best part is when Freddy completely changes Heather’s world and forces her back into the Elm Street world.

Grade: B-

Tracy Middendorf: This was one of her early roles. I remember seeing her on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" playing Ziyal. She was the second actress out of three that played the role on the show. She has gone to be in a lot of popular TV shows and a few movies.