Heather Langenkamp: A Tribute

Rating: Null/10 (18 June 2003)

"Nightmare" is a classic horror film, and perhaps the scariest slasher ever made (aside from Halloween, that is). Much of that terror comes from the performance of Heather Langenkamp.
Ms. Langenkamp imbues the role with intelligence and determination (no surprise - she earned a degree in English from Stanford University while working to pay for it herself!). Some have called her performance stilted and listless, but I disagree; Nancy reacts differently from the other characters because she IS different - like Jamie Lee Curtis in "Halloween," she dares to fight back against the monster. This idea of a heroine kicking butt, while certainly commonplace now with shows like Buffy, Xena, and Alias, was still quite novel in the 80s.
The real Heather Langenkamp is a devoted wife and mother, as well as the head of a chewing gum business. Ironically, she married a special effects makeup artist (just like in "New Nightmare"!). Inducted by Fangoria into the Horror Hall of Fame, Heather Langenkamp, just like the plot of "New Nightmare" says, brought life to Nancy, turning her into one of cinema's most memorable scream queens.