Movie Review: New Nightmare (1994)
Synopsis: 10 years after A Nightmare on Elm Street first became a hit at theaters, a demonic force looks to escape into the world in the form of Freddy Krueger. To do so, it first must get past Heather Lagenkamp, the actress who (as Nancy) stopped Freddy in the original film.
Who's in it? The movie stars Heather Langenkamp, Miko Hughes, Wes Craven, Robert Englund and David Newsom.
Review: Even though I liked A Nightmare on Elm Street, I admittedly have not watched too many of the sequels to that film. So, when I came across this movie on Netflix a couple nights ago, I decided to watch it with my wife for the first time.
At first, I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie, mostly because the Netflix description was a little vague. But, it turned out to be an OK film.
I think the thing I liked most about this one was the hopelessness Langenkamp had to feel throughout the movie. Not only does she have a knife-wielding killer stalking her and her son (Hughes), since Freddy (in the real world at least) is a fictional character from the movies, almost nobody believes her (and those who do, don't want to help). In fact, the second she tells someone about the dreams her son is having, people naturally assume she let him watch the movie she starred in and he's having nightmares as a result.
Even though her final battle with Freddy (Krueger) predictably had a tie-in with the Hansel and Gretel story she was reading to her son early on in the movie, it did end up being more entertaining than I thought it would be. The dream-world traps and weapons kept things interesting, as did Freddy himself. And, as always, I loved how Langenkamp actually put up a fight rather than just running. Movies like this are always better when the victims fight back.
The only thing that disappointed me about this film is I never really figured out why it bothered having Robert Englund portray himself. He was given enough screen time early on in the film to make me believe he would have more of a role later (possibly revealing himself as her stalker/Freddy). Yet, he just kind of faded away by the end of the film, making his cameo almost pointless. At least Wes Craven (who had a smaller cameo) was tasked with writing the script that would keep Freddy from entering the real world.
Final Opinion: I'm usually not a big fan of movie sequels. However, this one was actually decent enough to be worth taking the time to watch. If you haven't seen it, I do recommend it.
My Grade: B
Who's in it? The movie stars Heather Langenkamp, Miko Hughes, Wes Craven, Robert Englund and David Newsom.
Review: Even though I liked A Nightmare on Elm Street, I admittedly have not watched too many of the sequels to that film. So, when I came across this movie on Netflix a couple nights ago, I decided to watch it with my wife for the first time.
At first, I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie, mostly because the Netflix description was a little vague. But, it turned out to be an OK film.
I think the thing I liked most about this one was the hopelessness Langenkamp had to feel throughout the movie. Not only does she have a knife-wielding killer stalking her and her son (Hughes), since Freddy (in the real world at least) is a fictional character from the movies, almost nobody believes her (and those who do, don't want to help). In fact, the second she tells someone about the dreams her son is having, people naturally assume she let him watch the movie she starred in and he's having nightmares as a result.
Even though her final battle with Freddy (Krueger) predictably had a tie-in with the Hansel and Gretel story she was reading to her son early on in the movie, it did end up being more entertaining than I thought it would be. The dream-world traps and weapons kept things interesting, as did Freddy himself. And, as always, I loved how Langenkamp actually put up a fight rather than just running. Movies like this are always better when the victims fight back.
The only thing that disappointed me about this film is I never really figured out why it bothered having Robert Englund portray himself. He was given enough screen time early on in the film to make me believe he would have more of a role later (possibly revealing himself as her stalker/Freddy). Yet, he just kind of faded away by the end of the film, making his cameo almost pointless. At least Wes Craven (who had a smaller cameo) was tasked with writing the script that would keep Freddy from entering the real world.
Final Opinion: I'm usually not a big fan of movie sequels. However, this one was actually decent enough to be worth taking the time to watch. If you haven't seen it, I do recommend it.
My Grade: B
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