Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) #495

My second favorite entry in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" is "Wes Craven's New Nightmare"! There is so much to love about this film besides merely bringing more Freddy to the world. "New Nightmare" resets the tone back to a more serious, suspenseful slasher, foregoing the silly quips and one-liners. We get to see most of the original actors such as Robert Englund, John Saxon, and original "Nightmare" final girl Heather Langenkamp, and director Wes Craven. More so, these fine people all play a version of their real selves in the movie, creating a blur between fiction and reality.

Looking back, it's obvious that "New Nightmare" is the precursor to "Scream", two movies where Wes Craven examined horror movies in a very meta manner. The main difference between these two films is that "New Nightmare" had a finer scope, looking in at only itself while "Scream" played with all slashers that came before it. In real life, Heather had an obsessed stalker that was forced her to move out of the country; in the film she has a stalker who continuously calls her on the phone. Also in real life, her husband worked as a special effects artist, and so here movie husband is directly inspired by him. One of the producers portrays a version of themselves, attempting to convince Heather to star in one more Elm Street film.

In the world of "New Nightmare", the cast and crew have moved on from the Elm Street films and are working on various other projects. Robert Englund is still an actor but spends his free time painting. Heather is happily married and raising a young son Dylan. Heather still takes on some acting gigs and her husband works in special effects. Life is nearly normal in L.A for Heather, except for the violent earthquakes, the random phone calls, and the nightmares she's beginning to suffer from. When her son Dylan begins to become increasingly traumatized by a version of Freddy, horrible "accidents" begin to take place, starting with the death of her husband. The more Heather tries to find a reason behind the nightmares she shares with her son and Robert, the more likely it seems that the concept of Freddy Krueger is trying to force himself into the real world.

 

The blending of reality and fiction is best displayed by Heather and John Saxon's interactions. As the movie progresses, they naturally begin referring to each other as Nancy and Dad, as if they are crossing over into the fiction of the films. Another smart move with this production is in the makeup and creating a more organic, damaged looking Freddy Krueger character that is referred to as the Entity. This is the specter that is haunting Wes Craven himself, and when Heather seeks answers from him, she discovers that what he writes is coming true, much like Sutter Cane from "In the Mouth of Madness" which came out two years later.

Favorite moment - Heather is at the park with John discussing her concerns about Dylan. Dylan is off playing by himself on the park structures. Heather realizes that Dylan is standing on top of a high platform, raising his arms into the air. He falls but she's there to catch him. He looks at her and says "God didn't want me".

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) #458

 

There is no reason I can come up with to guess or explain why it took me so long before finally watching “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon”. I loved the concept and execution of this film from beginning to end. It’s look at a typical slasher movie from the inside out; a very meta experience from the perspective of the villain. It’s a well made movie with surprise cameos of some of the biggest names in horror. 

The movie follows journalist Taylor and her two cameramen Doug and Todd as they work on their newest documentary; the origin of new local “slasher” styled killer, Leslie Vernon. Leslie seems like a charismatic, intelligent young man who just happens to be ready to join the ranks of famous slasher killers like Jason, Michael, and Freddy. Leslie explains to Taylor that he is the young boy from local legend that had killed his own family before being presumably killed by his neighbors. With his origin in place, he goes on to explain all the ends and outs of becoming a great slasher killer which includes how to pick a final girl, how to orchestrate his first kill, and how to create a climatic showdown. For Leslie, it’s all a test for the final girl to see if she can survive his assault; if she does, then they both win.

Nathan Baesel plays Leslie Vernon, the charismatic killer. He plays the role full of vest and energy, someone who is fully invested in his project. Even after he makes his first kill, he still comes across as friendly, although the film crew is clearly on edge. It’s a shame that he hasn’t appeared in anything else related since this film. Angela Goethals is Taylor Gentry, the host of the documentary crew. She was a delight to watch as she interacted with Leslie, trying to get all that she could out of him and then coming to her senses and her desire to help save the final girl after he begins his killing spree. Robert Englund has a small but important role as Doc Halloran, a Dr. Loomis type character who knows about Leslie’s past and his plan, attempting to stop him before it’s too late. Zelda Rubinstein even shows up in a cameo as a librarian.

What I loved about this film is the balance it finds between being a very dark comedy in the first half before turning into a full on slasher flick. Both halves are so good at being what they are and the transition is very smooth. During the first half, Leslie explains what he plans to do during the Big Night, and the second half of the film has him doing just that. It’s such a joy to see the different aspects explored and explained from the killer’s point of view. It’s absurd and it works. I highly recommend this film, even more so to those who enjoyed “The Cabin in the Woods”.

Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors (1987) #444

Nightmare on Elm Street 3 Trailer

A total 80's classic, "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" is a solid movie that truly represents the horror genre at that time; a big name franchise with a well known villain, complete with "witty" one liners and catchphrases, a returning final girl, and numerous victims killed off in bloody and gruesome ways. Original cast members Robert Englund Heather Langenkamp reprise there roles as the unforgettable Freddy Krueger and survivor Nancy, and are joined by a new cast of potential victims including Patricia Arquette and Laurence Fishburne.

"A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" picks up right where the original left off. Nancy Thompson is now a psychologist specializing in dream therapy. She begins working with a group of teens at the local hospital, all of whom are experiencing nightmares with a common theme, Freddy Krueger. She also discovers that a new patient, Kristen, has a unique ability to bring others into her dreams. When the patients begin dying, supposedly by committing suicide, Nancy teaches the teens how to fight back within the dream world. With help from Kristen, her father, and Dr. Neal Gordon, Nancy is confident that they can finally destroy the spirit of Freddy Krueger.

While watching this film, I noticed a few details that made me truly appreciate the experience. First was the dialogue, it wasn't Oscar worthy but it wasn't as dreadful as so many teen slashers were during this time period so that's a plus. What really impressed me about the dialogue were Freddy's lines; it seemed that  he didn't really talk as much in this film as he did in the other films. He still delivered some one-liners to his victims, and these weren't too cheesy or cringe worthy yet. He felt more reserved with his speech and reminded me of Pinhead from the first two "Hellraiser" movies. 

Another aspect I appreciated were the practical and special effects used. The make-up ascetics used on Robert Englund are top notch and clean looking. Some of the special effects hold up decently well considering that the movie was produced in 1987 and look comparable to some effects used in today's movies. One scene near the end of the film uses some very outdated stop motion animation, but instead of looking horrible, I found it nostalgic and endearing; I'm sure I wouldn't have been so kind while watching this ten years ago.

Galaxy of Terror (1981)

Another film from director/producer Roger Corman is "Galaxy of Terror", a psychological slasher film set on a distant planet, where the rescue crew end of being the victims that are killed one by one. As cheesy and low budget movies can be, Roger Corman had a knack of working with young stars in the film industry and giving them the oppurtunity that they needed. For example, "Galaxy of Terror" marked the second time that James Cameron worked on a Roger Corman film, impressing everyone with his ingeunity for creating special effects with a minimal budget while working as the Production Designer and Second Unit Director. Another example is a starring role for Robert Englund, who would soon appear in the mini-series "V" before becoming world renown as Freddy Krueger in "A Nightmare On Elm Street".

"Galaxy of Terror" is both a success and a failure as a horror film. The story is about a rescue team sent out to a distant planet to rescue another ship that had sent out a distress signal. Once on the planet, the members of the rescue crew are slowly tested and killed by their deepest fears. In this respect, the film could be compared to the higher budget, glossy production of "Event Horizon". But where "Event Horizon" was slick and carefully designed, "Galaxy of Terror" is full of cardboard sets, horrible sound effects, and an even worse and annoying soundtrack. If someone took the time to restore and replace the sound effects and the occastrastion, "Galaxy of Terror" would be a solid film in it's own right rather than a cult movie favorite most recognized for a scene involving a giant maggot raping a woman.

Favorite moment - When the character played by Sid Haig finally speaks and says "I live by the crystal and I die by the crystal."

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

It's always a shame to see an obviously inferior sequel follow a ground breaking original film all for the sake of box office cash in. "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge" is such a film in which it changes the main concept of the first film about Freddy killing people in their dreams to making him want to kill people in the real world. Why? It's a nice detail that the main character has moved into the same house that Nancy Thompson had lived in, but with the lack of actual events taking place during dreams, the strange occurrences suggest that it;s more of a haunted house movie, with examples like the pet bird going crazy before it explodes or the unplugged toaster shooting out flames. While it's cool to see Freddy take over Jesse's body, it's not staying true with the mythology and ground work that was made in the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and is followed and expanded on in the other films in the series.


Jesse is new to town and has recently moved into the same house on Elm Street where Nancy Thompson lived five years earlier. It's not long before Jesse hears the stories about Nancy and how she went crazy after her seeing her boyfriend who lived across the street viciously murdered and her own mother committing suicide a short time after that. This makes Jesse connect the dots as to why he's having horrible nightmares every night and why weird things keep happening in his house; Freddy Krueger is possessing Jesse! Using Jesse's body, Freddy kills his gym coach and a high school friend before turning his attention to a neighborhood party full of lovely young teenage victims. Only Jesse's crush Lisa can save Jesse and stop Freddy from killing more innocent victims.

Freddy Vs. Jason (2003)

For years horror fans had speculated that Freddy Krueger would go toe to toe with Jason Voorhees, especially after Freddy's trademark glove came up through the floor and grabbed Jason's hockey mask at the end of "Friday the 13th part 9". That was in 1993; it wouldn't be until an additional "Friday the 13th" was made and ten full years had passed before the world was given "Freddy Vs. Jason" in 2003. The movie....is what it is. It takes elements from both franchises, dozens of teens to kill, and a story that finds a way to blend the two together easily. The best scenes are of course when the two villains are going at each other but the teens deaths are fun as well. This film is more about action and satire than horror and that's ok. This is the last appearance of both title characters before each series was rebooted.


Freddy Krueher is trapped in Hell and can't escape unless the teens on Elm Street believe in him. Since no one remembers or knows of him, he decides to trick Jason Voorhees into going to the suburbs and killing on his behalf, hoping to stir up some memories. Eventually someone does, a patient in a mental hospital, and Freddy is released. But Jason keeps on killing Freddy's victims, so the two go head to head in Freddy's dream world. During this time, some teens are able to drug Jason long enough to return him to Crystal Lake where he and Freddy have a final showdown in the real world, where Jason has the upper hand.

Hatchet (2007)

"Hatchet" dives right in without apology as a comedy/horror film that really tries to be both genres. It's full of over the top gruesome death scenes, head slapping nonsense, and a plot that would be a straight forward horror story if it wasn't for some of the comments and responses that the characters make. My favorite is easily Tony Todd's cameo as the tour guide Reverend Zombie and his reasoning as to why he can't take the two main characters on a swamp tour; perfect delivery and I'm sure he had a blast performing it!

Ben is in New Orleans during Mardi Gras but his heart isn't into partying or having fun; he's still lamenting over his break up with his ex girlfriend. He decides to leave his group of friends to take a swamp tour that he had heard about a year before. His friend Marcus comes along and soon regrets it as they see who is leading the tour and who else is coming along. These include a fake movie producer and two girls who think they are starting in a scandalous video, an older married couple, and a lone woman who is looking for her dad and brother. The tour guide is only leading his second tour and crashes the boat into a submerged tree which forces everyone to abandon ship. On land they come to discover that they are right outside the house where legendary killer Victor Crowley was rumored to have been killed in a fire. It's only a rumor because he's still alive and goes on a murderous rampage, killing the tourists one by one.

Urban Legend (1998)

Until the 1990’s, horror movies were typically the genre that people breaking into the movie business often times got their start. Every now and then an established actor would take a role in a horror movie to spice up their career or simply because they thought it would be fun. When the 1990’s came around, young actors who already had something of a reputation began starring together in ensemble pieces. Typically these were actors who currently were in different shows on the same network; the film “Urban Legends” is a great example of both of these styles of casting. It’s a fun film that tries to be like “Scream” but attempts to find its approach to being clever. As always, sequels followed but the original remains the best of the series. There are enough scares to keep the viewer interested, a decent story line, the characters and the actors are ok, and the film quality is great.

College students are being killed one by one in various ways that resemble different urban legends. Is someone trying to prove that they are more than legends? Is the Stanley Hall massacre, the college’s own urban legend, true and is the anniversary going to come in to play in the story? Who’s the real killer, who isn’t the killer?

Great tag line – It happened to someone who knows someone you know…You’re next!

Wishmaster (1997)

"Wishmaster" is a perfect example of a movie about a dangerous and deadly demon, specifically a demon known as a Djinn. It's a great update to the classic story premise of a "genie" that grants three wishes and once those wishes are fullfilled, he is released and unbound in our realm. 

One of the fun aspects about this film are the various horror movie veterans that appear here and there throughout. From Robert Englund (who plays a main character) to James Hodder and Tony Todd. It even has Ted Raimi! Angus Scrimm even has a small part as the narrator. It's a fun treat for horror fans of the 80's and 90's.

An ancient Djinn is trapped within a gem and which was then encased in a statue. When the statue is broken, the gem is discovered and given to a jeweler to appraise it. She accidentally released the Djinn and begins a deadly game to banish him before he's set free and opens the portal between our world and his.

Favorite moment - when the Djinn collects the souls from the unknowing victims who made a wish that he granted throughout the movie.