And we come to the second of the big three slasher franchises. I had only seen two of these films before embarking on this journey, the original and the remake, so I was going into this pretty much completely blind. I didn’t know what to expect, other than Freddy got goofier as the films went one, which is something I was both excited for and dreading. After the pretty mixed bag that was the ‘Halloween’ franchise I was hoping to have a bit more quality this time around. Let’s see if I got it!
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
It has been a long time. I watched this film so much as a teenager just getting into horror films. I don’t remember ever finding all that scary, but boy did I think it was fun. And that sentiment has pretty much remained the same. I don’t think anyone watching this film today is going to be coming away from it being horrified, but it still remains a fun watch with some really creative visual moments. Stand outs are obviously the blood bed and Tina being hurled around on the ceiling. These are probably the two most famous moments in the film, and it is not a particular uprise. Both scenes are brilliant kills and set pieces and I still am impressed with how they managed to do the Tina scene even now. But I also love the stairs turning into a mud like substance when Nancy is trying to run up it, and Freddy breaking through the mirror remains a great moment. All the Freddy stuff is really imaginative stuff and I always forget how much I enjoy watching the dream stuff. However, this is definitely not a perfect film. There are some elements that have not aged very well at all. There is a moment where Nancy sets Freddy on fire and either Freddy put on four stone or it is obviously a guy in a heavily padded suit. The arms stretching doesn’t look great and the less said about the obvious doll being pulled through the mini window at the end of the film the better (to be honest I can’t imagine that even looked good at the time). But even these moments have a charm to them which I really enjoy. With this being the first film, we are also still in creepy Freddy territory and there is some really great horror visuals throughout the film. I haven’t actually seen any of the other films of the original series (well, technically I have but I am saving that one for next week) and so I don’t know how quickly we are going to descend into full on comedy Freddy. I guess there is only one way to find out.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
And so, the journey begins, and if they are all at the relative quality of this film then I am in for a decent time. I should say that this is not a great film at all. It is perfectly mediocre. There is some stuff in here that I thought was great. I think Mark Patton actually puts in a great performance in the lead role. He is a great mix of over the top and understated and you believe that he feels like he is losing his mind. He is a ton of fun to watch throughout and I actually think a more interesting lead than Nancy (is that blasphemous to say?). Some of the effects in the film are also great. There is one scene in particular where Freddy claws his way out of Jessie’s chest which is a great moment in the film and looks great. We are still also in the realm of creepy Freddy rather than gift of gab Freddy, and he is actually even more understated in this film which I feel works against the project on the whole. Apart from this it is pretty mediocre stuff. There is very little else to say. A lot of the deaths are not particularly interesting and apart from Jessie and Grady I don’t particularly care about any of the other characters. As I have already mentioned, even Freddy is not well represented in the film, being duller than you would expect. I am actually struggling to come up with anything else to say. I have already mentioned all the stuff I enjoyed and the rest of the film around those parts is not even worth the hassle of speaking about. So yeah, that’s about it. A very media sequel with some decent moments. On to the next one.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
Well wasn’t this just the most pleasant of surprises. I genuinely had a great time with this. Now, I will say that a lot of this film is actually a little bit of a bore. Basically, anytime they are sitting around discussing the plot I tended to not care. Mostly because it is similar to what we have seen before, a bunch of teens trying to convince adults that there is someone trying to kill them in their dreams. They also start to give Freddy more backstory in this film and that makes me nervous. It is fine in this film as it is not the main focus but more of a side point to give our characters more idea of how to beat Freddy, but I am nervous that this is going to become the focal point going forward, and if you read my review of the ‘Halloween’ franchise you’ll know I don’t care for giving slasher villains too much backstory. I just want to see them kill people in inventive ways, and that is where this film shines. All the dream sequences in the film are creative in how imaginative they are, as well as being visually great. Every single one of these dream sequences are a ton of fun to watch and the film has some of the best kills of the franchise so far. Yes, that is only a small sample size so far, but it is still worth saying. I will also say that the makeup and effects in the film are probably the best they have been. There is one moment where the film goes all ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ (1963) which looks horrible and is unintentionally funny, but this is only one moment in a film where most of the effects hold up really well. This also seems to be the start of Freddy turning into the wisecracking character that made such a mark on pop culture. He has plenty of one liner in this film, but it doesn’t feel over the top and does make him a more fun character to watch, especially compared to that second film. I am nervous that there is no going up from here, but I was surprised by this film so let’s hope that surprise keeps going.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
And we get to the first properly crap film in the franchise. Having seen some of the other reviews for this film I may actually be in the minority thinking this is the worst film of the first four, but I can’t possibly say otherwise. This film has two good moments, and other than those it has no aspects that I would say put it above any of the other films. To be fair though, those two scenes are fucking great. One involves a character turning into a cockroach which is hugely reminiscent of David Cronenberg’s ‘The Fly’ (1986), which is a huge plus. The other scene I can’t get into without spoiling the ending of the film, but it is a brilliant visual and a hugely impressive feat of makeup. But apart from these two scenes I find very little I can say about the film that I enjoyed. Visually it still has its moments, but it after the third film that was a visual treat it all feels slightly underwhelming. The plot is also kind of dumb, but that is a slightly harsh criticism because all these films are dumb. What really turns me off from this film is more the technical stuff and the acting. Some of the editing in the film is truly shoddy, with a lot of random cuts that feel really out of place, especially in the final scene. But it really is the acting in the film that makes it the worst for me. The acting in all of these films has been a bit of a mixed bag, but it is easily at its worst in this film. There is one scene in particular that was horrible to watch because of just how bad the acting was. This is a scene where Alice and Kristen are having a conversation. The acting in this scene is amateurish at best and it is like watching a high school production rather than a full-blown film shoot. I would say it was comical, but it was actually just awkward to watch. I don’t know if better actors would have made me like the film as much as the others, but it wouldn’t have hurt.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)
And we hit a new low! And you know what, it doesn’t come as a great surprise. I mentioned earlier in this Franchise Friday that I was a little worried about the films deciding to delve deep into Freddy’s back story and for when Freddy went to far into the gift of gab Freddy that he is known for. Well this film decided to go in heavy on both and what do you know I fucking hated it. To be honest, the Freddy backstory is still not pushed to the extreme I was worried about, but it exists, and it is dumb and doesn’t need to be. But Freddy has finally jumped the shark in this film and become properly obnoxious. There is a scene in the film where he looks dead into the camera while wearing full chef garb and say, ‘Bon appetit, bitch’. That scene can bon appe-fuck off. I will say that the practical and make up effects in the film still remain pretty decent and there some cool visuals throughout the film in this regard. However, the film also decided to rely a lot more on computer effects and they look like crap. It probably isn’t helped by the fact that the film is horrible directed. Some of the shots in this thing look almost comical in just how bad they are. The acting has also remained at about the same level of crap of the last film, so I have that to contend with. The problem this film has over the others us that even the dream sequences are dull and not particularly memorable. There is one which has a cool start where the film basically becomes the ‘Take On Me’ music video, but then it is ruined by Freddy being a ‘comedy’ character. But nothing comes close to the ending sequence. The ending of this film is genuinely one of the more unintentionally comedic endings I have seen in a long while. Everything about it is bad. The direction, the acting, the score, even actually what is happening within the scene in laughable. The only saving grace of this scene is that It was the climax so I knew it wasn’t long until I could escape the nightmare myself. It doesn’t bode well for the next film.
Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
This film is terrible. Truly, almost every element is horribly executed. I mentioned how the directing in the last film was bad, well this one makes the last film look like a Kubrick joint. The editing is also horrendous with the film boasting some of the worst cuts and transitions I have ever seen. The acting has also remined at the same level of the last two films, that being properly crap. The computer effects are once again dire, and even the practical effects are not all that great in this film. Freddy remains his obnoxious self in this film with completely unfunny one liners and breaking the fourth wall. He is basically just a pun factory in the film, and it isn’t funny unless you have the comedic sensibilities of a twelve-year-old. The narrative is also horrific with Freddy now having a child that has never been mentioned before, and even then, this film could have easily existed without that narrative aspect to it. But. But. Despite this film being pure crap almost from start to finish, I can’t help but love it a little. Seriously, I had so much more fun watching this film than I did with the last two films. Obviously not because it is better in quality than those two films, because I actually think on the whole this is the worst one. But it is on that level of so bad it is good. Oh, and it is also batshit insane. My mouth was agape on more than one occasion during this film and I also got several big laughs out of it. Was this the films intention? I’m not actually quite sure There are moments in it where I felt like they must have known no one would take this seriously, but who knows. What I do know is that it is ninety minutes of pure insanity and despite all its major, major flaws I had a genuinely good time with it.
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)
And the series returns to some sort of form. This film sees Wes Craven return to direct and Heather Langenkamp return in the lead, although this time she is playing herself, because this film decided to become meta. The basic narrative is that Freddy is a real demon who was trapped in the world of the films but now that the films have stopped, he is coming into the real world to torment the makers of the films. It is a pretty silly premise, but it isn’t anymore silly than a lot of what was going in this franchise beforehand, and it also works. I mean in terms of making total sense you can poke several holes in it, but in terms of entertainment factor it works. Having all the original actors coming back to play themselves in either cameo or small roles is a lot of fun, and I also have a soft spot for films based around making films which this film is partially. One aspect of the narrative that I don’t particularly like is the fact that it centres rather heavily around a child. And, as avid readers of these reviews can attest to, I am not a fan of kids in films. This child isn’t particularly terrible ad I guess he is integral to the plot, but still, he is a child in a film and so I must hate him. But the film makes up for this by having Freddy return to creepy, evil Freddy rather than quippy, obnoxious Freddy. There are some genuinely very creepy moments in the film which is more than can be said for the majority of the sequels, and Freddy’s new look is also really cool. Well, except maybe the leather pants which are not cool and never will be. But the rest of the look is great, especially the new make up effects. So yeah, overall, this is a very decent film with a fun premise. Not a masterpiece by any means, but a fun time. And now we move on to the last film of the franchise, and the only other film o the series I had seen before embarking on this Franchise Friday. I already know my feelings on the film, and I am pretty sure they won’t be changed, but you never know. Pray for me.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
So yeah, I still absolutely hate this piece of shit. Although, one thing has changed, it didn’t make me nearly as angry this time around. This time around I was very much apathetic to the whole experience. This film is properly shit. From a technical standpoint it might not be the worst film in the franchise, but it is up there despite being the most recent. Some of the CGI in this film is horrendous. The scene where Freddy appears in the wall looks better in the 1984 version and even that doesn’t look great these days so you can see what kind of thing we’re dealing with. The film also decided to take away any kind of charm or appeal the original films had. Now, I am not advocating or remakes to be exact carbon copies of their original counterparts (I am actually not advocating for remakes at all) and so I am not saying that changing the tone from the more goofy tone of the original films was a bad idea. But changing it into a depressing, moody, self-serious film was not the way to go, especially the self-serious aspect. This film delves into some hefty topics which is doesn’t earn and they handle these topics with little to no decorum at all, and you get the feeling that he filmmakers felt like they were really saying something. Even the one aspect of the film they changed that was interesting they messed up by thinking they should get super dark with it. It is a film about a guy who kills kids in their dreams, have a bit of fun with it instead of pretending your deep. And I don’t even mean they should have fun just with the narrative, but also the imagery. You’re making a film about a guy who can control dreams, the world is literally your oyster, but this film decided they ar just going to use generic horror imagery and become a bog-standard jump scare filled horror. Even the moments that they just took from the original are shot horribly in this film. So yeah, I hate this shit for all the reasons above, but I can now live happily in the knowledge that I will never have to watch this garbage ever again.
And we come to the end of another of the big three slasher franchises, and I would say that overall, I preferred this one to ‘Halloween’. I would say there are only three films in this franchise that I truly didn’t like, and even two of those had their moments (the other being the remake that can indeed fuck off). But some of the more eagle eyed of you may have noticed that I have actually missed a film from this franchise. Well, there is a very good reason I have done that and that is because that film will be included in next weeks Franchise Friday where I will complete the Holy Trinity of slasher franchises with what I think is the best one.
Ch Ch Ch Ha Ha Ha