Movie Rec: Wes Craven's New Nightmare

[dannyblue]

As far as I'm concerned, Halloween starts on Oct. 1. And I feel like I'm behind in celebrating the Halloween season. So I thought I'd rec a movie to help us all get in the mood.

New Nightmare is the seventh in the Nightmare On Elm Street series. And the whole point of this movie was to make Freddy scary again. At the time, Freddy had become sort of a figure of fun, thanks to all the wise-cracking he'd done in the various sequels. I think Freddy even won some poll where people were asked to name the funniest movie character. Well, this was a poll the PTB weren't happy to win. So they decided to make Freddy less of a homicidal comedian. Really, Freddy is dead serious in New Nightmare. Yeah, he makes a quip now and then. But, mostly, he just wants to kill some people.



The reaction to this movie is wildly mixed. Half the fans seem to love it and think it's one of the best, second only to the first. Others don't seem to care for it, largely because Freddy isn't as funny. (I guess they like wise-cracking Freddy better.) I am in the former category.

Here's a clip from New Nightmare, which shows that Freddy is less of a jokester in this flick. It's not particularly spoilery. So, if you haven't seen the movie, this shouldn't ruin it for you.

Click to view

And, yes, that is Robert Englund. Some people actually think it's a different actor because he plays Freddy differently in this one. (Plus the makeup is different.) But it's good old Robert.

Anyway, if you're looking for a fun night of horror entertainment, get yourself a copy of the original Nightmare On Elm Street, a copy of New Nightmare, and a bowl of popcorn, and you're set. :D