Product: New Nightmare [VHS] (1994)
Rating: 4.0
Freddy's back! And this time he's for real
Another Nightmare movie?! Wasn't the last one titled `Freddy's Dead - The Final Nightmare?' Well, forget that - that sequel wasn't directed by Wes Craven, the man who created the franchise in the first place! Through Craven's original vision reborn the child killer we feared in the first Nightmare film is back, and this time there's no joking around.In Wes Craven's New Nightmare Freddy Krueger comes back to the screen with a vengeance, mostly due to the fact that Englund turns in what is perhaps his best performance as the slicer who stalks you in your dreams. The film has an interesting twist of Freddy stalking the actors and production crew of the original Nightmare film, but overall the plot isn't much different from your typical slasher: you get your leads who will be systematically slaughtered by this benevolent force of evil, but while New Nightmare's plot isn't revolutionary outside of that basic premise (which Craven would reuse later on...) Robert Englund truly goes to town with this dark interpretation of Freddy, which was much needed after the slew of sequels where he had been portrayed as a prankster. Here he's back and not here for fun and games, but to kill people. Plain and simple, and like many good villains in movies he isn't even on-screen for most of the films. When you can feel a villain even when the actor isn't on screen, than you know the actor is doing a great job.Even with a script that begins to lose its footing at the end of its run, Wes Craven's New Nightmare is still Robert Englund's best performance in the Nightmare franchise as Freddy Krueger and overall is second only to Craven's original film.A must see for horror fans, especially if they want to see the dark persona of Freddy Krueger as Wes Craven had originally envisioned him. If you're someone who preferred the comical Freddy films then you'll probably not enjoy this film, but if you're a horror buff who likes to see villains/monsters presented in a serious, dark fashion, than this is the sequel for you. Just keep in mind that while the script kind of sags this is definitely the film that puts "scary" back into Freddy as a character.