Dream Demon

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2018)

This is one of my favorite films of all time and it's my favorite film from one of my favorite horror directors the late great Wes Craven. This film wasn't just another horror movie, but it was a phenomenon and another one of the longest running franchises in horror, and most importantly established another iconic character in the genre.
There is so much to love about the film, the effects are great, not just from the gore effects, ok the film's not that gory which is probably a good think but there are some good blood effects all the same, and has some creative kills and not just mere slashing. My favorite and scary one to me was of course the infamous bed death, I'll admit seeing that the first time I really didn't want to go to sleep on my bed for a long while. But I really love how the dream sequences are handled, I really love how it messes with your senses, at first your able to tell from the reality realm and the dream realm but soon when we get further in the film the line begins to blur and you question if the protagonists are still dreaming or in reality.
I really like the story line which is great as it's of course inspired and based on a medical phenomenon on people dying in their dreams. This I think was a very creative idea for the Slasher genre in using the realm of dreams as an arena of terror. In the normal slasher film, you usually can run and hide from the monster/killer. In this film the slasher is attacking us in the most vulnerable place of our human psyche; this is scary because here we can't see the monster in the realm of reality let alone the know scientific fact that sooner or later, we all must go to sleep. In the realm of dreams, you have limited control because when we dream, we sometimes are unable to tell from reality and fantasy as both seem to blur, let alone command our bodies at will to awaken when we want to, as when we sleep our bodies run on their own biological alarm clock.
Fready Kruger is one of my favorite fictional villains of all time, played brilliantly by one of my favorite horror actor's Robert England. Really like the look of him which is sort of a burnt facial look, the strange red and black striped sweater, that hat that sort of make him look like an evil supernatural bandit which he is. This guy was just scary on all different facets, heck scared me even when I wasn't old enough to watch the films from the posters and the numerous ads on him. This film is more the dark Fready as he is menacing from that voice and some of those memorable lines, he's kind of funny but since he's dark Fready he has very little humor. He of course has his trademark weapon that razored glove, which is such a deadly and nasty weapon, just one look at it hurt me thinking about the amount of bodily damage it can do.
However, to me it wasn't so much that razor fingered glove I feared but the fact he has the power to manipulate and bend the world of dreams with his mind. That can be scary because it shakes your perception on reality and fantasy, which makes you have zero control of the circumstances your in. So, if you ever get trapped in the dream realm with him your as good as fraked.
Other than Fready what also really makes the film is the lead protagonist herself whom to me is one of my favorite horror protagonists of all time. Heather Langencamp whom is an actress I like that is underrated. Personally, I mainly knew about her from watching the 80's sitcom "Just the Ten of Us" really liked her character in that show and seeing her in this film was a bit surreal at the time because I saw that sitcom as a kid, this film I never saw until I was an adolescent. But anyway, I really like her, had a bit of a crush on her as she is just sexy and kind of hot with persona to boot.
Nancy is likeable and sympathetic as she like any other typical teenager that likes to be sociable with her friends and boyfriend whom are also likeable characters in their own way which makes what happens to them heart sinking, but also a prime motivator for Nancy to win. Of course, you know Nancy's boyfriend is played by Johnny Depp and this was his debut, which I'll say is one hell of a start but a lot of actors have had their start in horror films. However, he's solid as Nancy's significant other, I like that he does what any good boyfriend should do which is to support their girlfriend no matter what; let alone actually believe her because from certain things happening he know certain things the rational world dictates don't add up.
One of the things I like about her is how highly intelligent she is, she's kind of a tactician really love that sequence near the end where she is reading this book on Booby Traps (I'd love to buy that book) and is setting up traps for a very clever plan that could make Doctor Who jealous. Seeing this sequence makes me wonder if this film might have been a partial inspiration for the final conformation sequence in "Home Alone".
But other than your cat and mouse thriller, this film does have deep substance, as it's somewhat of a coming of age tale. Which makes sense as teenagers are people that are on the verge of adulthood and all are taking steps toward it, despite not knowing the dangers that world can contain. Nancy very much is the adult in the film as we see her not just learning to defend and fight against Fready but also taking charge of her own life in the process.
We see that most of the adults that she placed her trust in can't be trusted as most seem to have the pathetic mentality of knowing what's best for the other, we see them do some stupid things to put Nancy and company in more danger. From Nancy mom baring the house or even Glen's dad putting the phone off the hook despite the fact Nancy's calling to save his son's life, yeah real smart guys you ought to move to "South Park" you'll fit right in. But things like that give the film a bit of an isolated feeling, but also shows what part of being an adult is about which is you can count on no one but yourself, as Han Solo once put it "I take orders from one person, me!" that exactly the person Nancy is taking orders from and who we all should take orders from ourselves.
But also, another message about facing your fears, Fready may seem powerful but the power he is displaying toward each of his intended victims are illusions, he feeds of their fear and is really using that to kill them, because they believe in it so much it becomes real. It's only when we take control and start to realize the truth, that the fear we're being subjected to doesn't really exist, once we do that it has no power over us.
Even if you escape death, it's never far from your dreams.
Rating: 4 stars