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".

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.

The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

The 2006 remake of Wes Craven's "The Hills Have Eyes" was set in motion by Craven himself after he saw how commercially successful the reboots of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "The Amityville Horror" were. The updated version is clearly more violent, gory, has a larger mutant family, is set at a quicker pace to keep the action going. What I liked best about the cast was that the actors looked their ages unlike the 70's version where the teens do not look like teens at all (it's how they did things back then). The mutant family actually look like possible mutants instead of just being extras from the "Road Warrior".


"The Hills Have Eyes" is a simple story about a family that is on a cross country road trip who, after following the advice of a local gas station attendant, become trapped within a former nuclear test site. With their vehicle badly damaged, the family is left vulnerable to the murderous blood lust of a family of mutants.

Scream 2 (1997)

"Scream 2" is a delightful follow up to the hit that resurrected Wes Craven's career just at the right time. He's back with writing partner for the sequel, one that proves to be just as effective as the first. It has more scares and more victims but it also has too many faces with too little screen time to ever clearly suspect who the killer or killers are this time around. The opening scene is fantastic and sets up the mood perfectly for the rest of the film.


The film takes place two years after the Woodsboro Murders from the first film. After a gruesome double killing at a preview showing of the movie "Stab", which was based on the Woodsboro Murders, news reporters flock to Sidney Prescott once again to see what she thinks about the situation. She wants nothing to do with the media circus, preferring to focus on her college studies and her boyfriend Derek and her friends Randy (from the the first movie) and her best friend Hallie. It's not long before Dewey arrives on the scene as well as Gale Weathers, who attempts a one on one confrontation between Sidney and Cotton Weary, the man Sidney accused of being her mother's killer. After all of the stress and awkwardness of the day, Hallie convinces Sidney to come to a party with her. Of course the new Ghostface Killer/s shows up and kills one student before attacking Sidney. She escapes and the movie becomes a cat-and-mouse game as Sidney tries to figure out who the killer is while trying to stay alive.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

“Nightmare on Elm Street” was one of those movies that everyone at my school talked about, especially around Halloween. Those who had older siblings were the most likely to get a sneak peak at the original or one of the sequels that followed. It was difficult not to see the previews or clips that were shown on various shows. Freddy Krueger was just as well known to any grade school kid as Jason Voorhees, maybe even more so! I personally loved knowing that the psycho dream killer was played by the sympathetic and likable Willy, from the mini-series “V”. When I finally got to see “Nightmare” from beginning to end, I was truly impressed by how intense the scenes with Freddy were. The first film in the series is a straight forward horror movie with great special effects and no attempts at funny catch phrases. Some of the acting is cheesy and the script feels very 1980’s horror genre but these facts are a small part of the movie’s charm. The two unknowns in the lead roles, Heather Langenkamp and Johnny Depp, stood out with incredible performances.

A group of high school friends admit to each other that they’ve been having intense nightmares and after talking about them, they realize that they are dreaming about the same person who is chasing them in their dreams, a man in a green and red sweater who has a glove with knives on the fingers. During a sleep over, Tina is the first to be killed in her sleep while her boyfriend Rod is blamed for the murder. Tina’s best friend Nancy is the next to be harmed while sleeping, burning herself on a radiator while running away from Freddy in a boiler room. When she tries to tell her parents what’s wrong, they quickly become distant and quiet. When Nancy wakes up from a nightmare and has Freddy’s hat in her possession, her mother finally tells her the truth about Freddy’s past…when he was alive and how he was killed. Now it’s up to Nancy to kill Freddy a second time, if she can!

Favorite moment – I don’t know why but I love Glen’s death scene. It’s over the top and straight to the point. I also love the moment that Nancy shows her mom and the dream clinic staff that she had Freddy’s hat after taking it from him during her dream.

Freddy performing a trick

Nancy and her mom fighting about Freddy's hat

Nancy, Tina, and Glen during happier times

Feast (2006)

I’ve loved the movie “Feast” ever since I saw it at a midnight showing at an independent theater back in 2006. While it’s intense and violent, it’s also hilarious and pokes fun at the genre and some of the stereotypes within it. Every time a new character is introduced a blurb about them is flashed on screen which includes there nickname/role such as Hero or Heroine and Beer Guy, as well as a percentage of their chances for surviving the movie. When those chances don’t play out or a Hero or Heroine is killed, someone might be renamed Heroine #2! It’s awesome and the film keeps you guessing by not following the standard course that so many horror movies heed to, intentionally or not. The best part is a brief appearance of Jason Mewes playing the role of Jason Mewes; when did he become a horror movie stereotype?

Another aspect that makes this one great FUN HORROR movie is the fact that there is a scene where the monsters eat their dead baby monster, have sex, and moments later the mother gives birth to a new baby monster…all while the group of survivors are trapped inside and watching. It’s a moment that makes you think WTF because it breaks the action and reminds you that you are not watching a straight forward horror movie. There’s only one other movie where I’ve seen something similar and I’ll be writing about that one tomorrow!

In a bar in the middle of a desert nowhere, there are a group of people enjoying a night out. There’s the staff which includes Bartender, Honey Pie, Tuffy, Boss Man, and Beer Guy. And then there are the patrons such as Bozo, Hot Wheels, Coach, Grandma, Harley Mom, and Jason Mewes. Everything is normal as can be until Hero runs into the bar and tells everyone that something deadly and dangerous is coming; he even shows them a head of a creature but no one heeds his warnings. Suddenly he’s attacked and killed as everyone watches in horror. Then Heroine bursts into the bar and asks where her husband is (Hero). She’s devastated but the group begins to help her secure the bar. Harley Mom is the next to be killed as a mini-monster breaks in and cuts her open. After a bit of close calls, they manage to trap the monster in a beer freezer. This is when Tuffy realizes that her son is still upstairs and when she goes to find him, he’s safe and sound…until a monster breaks reaches in through a window and eats him whole.

With three people dead and their assumed survival stats shot to hell, the survivors dig in and try to figure out how to either escape or kill off these bizarre monsters before its too late.

Favorite moment – This was the first time I had seen Henry Rollins in a horror movie and I loved it. He played the upbeat, proactive Coach, a stereotypical motivational speaker who thinks he has the best solutions to their problems. Before the action begins, he rubs everyone the wrong way when he makes a date with Honey Pie but accidentally drops his wedding ring while he’s paying his bill. What a punk!

It's also important to note that this movie was written by Marcus Dunstan, who would later write "Feast 2 & 3" as well as take over writing the scripts for "Saw 4, 5, and 6". He would also write and direct "The Collector" and "The Collection" and I'm guessing he still has a long career ahead of him considering how successful he's been so far.

Beer Guy and a monster

Honey Pie and Coach

Enough said!

Scream (1996)

By the 1990’s, stalker films had become a joke and the genre was filled with movies that only cared about killing people in more and more unusual ways and forcing a twist or concept that wasn’t very convincing. Somehow writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven came up with the perfect formula that made the stalker/slasher film relevant and entertaining, introducing the sub-genre to a new generation. “Scream” is a smart movie, a movie willing to point out the formula of a horror movie in bullet points and follow each one exactly. “Scream” had an amazing cast filled with young actors that would go on and have impressive careers. “Scream” would also become its own franchise that for the most part remained somewhat clever.

“Scream” is about Sidney Prescott, a teen who has already dealt with tragedy when her mother was killed the year before. Now someone is killed off two of her classmates and comes after her the next evening. She escapes and her boyfriend Billy is arrested because he is caught at the scene of the attempted murder. When his cell phone history clears his guilt, Sidney is still unsure if she can trust him or not. She is attacked once again at the high school, prompting the principal to suspend classes until further notice; the principal is then killed in his office. One of Sidney’s friends throws a house party and there carnage escalates as more people are killed and the mystery of who the killer is becomes more blurred, because at this point anyone (except Sidney) could be the killer.

Favorite death scene – The best death scene in this film is easily the first one which involves Drew Barrymore. What makes this movie great is that the killer is human and sometimes a klutz, so when you hear each moan or see them fall or get hit, it gives a real sense of believability to it. And with Drew, your heart drops because she was so close to getting away but you knew that she woulnd’t….