Wes Craven's New Nightmare

Year: 1994
Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Wes Craven
Genre: Horror: Slasher

This is the very final Freddy movie. Even if it might not have been intended to be, with the 2010 remake any following sequels will continue on with that modernized one. So, here we are, the end of the Freddython and it's practically a return to the wonderful nature of the original.

Wes Craven took the reigns once again for this one, which he had basically let go of for all the sequels. It was apparent that maybe Wes was tired of his killer character being pushed into goofier and goofier situations. Either way, New Nightmare is a brilliant return to form that only he could have crafted.

The movie takes us out of the "Elm Street" world and away from the story of Freddy that was hammered into the citizens of the town. We are no longer in that series but in the real world. The movie follows the actress who played Nancy in the first film (Heather Langenkamp). Robert Englund talks to her and they go on a talk show together and basically this is our world. What brings this back to Freddy is the fact that apparently Wes Craven is hard at work on a new Nightmare movie. Around this time, Heather is getting harassing phone calls and letters at her house and starts to worry that Freddy is coming into real life.

It is about as fresh a take on a horror series as someone can do and Wes is near genius for creating it. It is only necessary to watch the original movie to get what is going on in this one. However, watching the sequels wouldn't damper your interest in New Nightmare. The movie almost feels like fanservice with how wonderfully it ties into the original. Almost.

Wes Craven's New Nightmare is right up there in the list of great horror films. It isn't viewed as such by the movie community at large who prefer The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, and The Shining but that doesn't make it any less. It's a sort of slasher movie but with a lot more depth than most. For that, I give it a ton of credit.