Wes Craven's New Nightmare

New Line Cinema | Release Date: October 14, 1994

7.3	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 54 Ratings

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kyle20ellisMar 26, 2022

The original 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' is still to me one of the scariest and best horror films there is, as well as a truly great film in its own right and introduced us to one of the genre's most iconic villains in Freddy Krueger. It isThe original 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' is still to me one of the scariest and best horror films there is, as well as a truly great film in its own right and introduced us to one of the genre's most iconic villains in Freddy Krueger. It is always difficult to do a sequel that lives up to a film as good as 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' let alone one to be on the same level.

After the 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' series showed signs of severe fatigue, that it was suggestive of the series being completely dead, original director Wes Craven makes a welcome return and brings new, fresh life to the series. 'New Nightmare' may not be as good as the original, none of the follow-ups are (though two of the previous sequels, the third and fourth, were good), but it is the best of the follow-ups since the third and is one of the best in the series.

'New Nightmare' has its faults. Its biggest one is the ending, it is just ridiculous and jars tonally with the rest of the film, which took a darker and more serious direction (perhaps more so than the original). Count me in as another person who didn't care for Freddy's look here, it looks rather goofy and doesn't do Robert Englund's creepy performance and the way Freddy's written justice.

Heather Langenkamp also seemed a bit bland and seemed rather anaemic for a character written more dramatically than previously.

On the other hand, 'New Nightmare' looks very atmosphere and made with a good deal of style and slickness. The production design has a suitably nightmarish look and the special effects are great and perhaps superior to the original's. The music score is haunting.

The writing may lack the one-liners seen before, but the more serious direction the dialogue took was appreciated after the fifth and sixth films did such a poor job with the one-liners and comedy. The dialogue isn't mind-blowing but it flows decently and intrigues at least. The semi-documentary-style adopted for some of the film is very interesting, making for one of the most original ideas of the follow-ups and the series overall too, while still delivering on the shocks, suspense and creepiness.

Despite the goofy look for Freddy, Englund is very creepy and even with not much screen time he burns long in the memory.

In summary, one of the series' better entries and worth staying awake for. 7/10 Bethany Cox… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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JPKJul 4, 2019

It’s Fairly Decent
Oh look, A good Freddy movie at last!, I think this is what we needed after an overly silly final film.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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Josephgamers65Sep 9, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Wes Craven's New Nightmare is a great return to the series after Freddy's dead Freddy's dead was so bad they had to get Wes Craven to make a return to put the series on track so in the movie Freddy is kinda in the real world which yes I do like the idea but to me, they kinda did this in scream even tho this is before scream I just don't like that idea maybe some people could like it or even love it because then I get confused with the whole story even Robert England actor is like in the movie which is weird but cool at the same so to me a mixed thing for me in the movie at first I really liked it worked pretty well but after the 1st act I kinda got tired of that I just don't like it but it was an idea to try to bring the franchise back so Freddy Kruger well he is still great but I do like the performance he is pretty awesome around the ending is where I do not like the makeup around the end to me took me out the movie because I don't the design but through movie I really liked how different freddy was and his look it is different Freddy's lines are pretty awesome too think god It is not like freddy's dead or dream child that would of been bad Nancy returning is awesome i am so glad that she came back i love her performance in this the best in the entire series to be honest i like the whole family idea in this the husband pretty good just character by nancy's side pretty much ok Dylan is awful i am sorry but he completely sucked to be honest it just got really annoying every scene he is in don't get me wrong there is a couple average scenes he is in but to me really annoying i try not to be the person to not like the kid actors but dude this was not good the kills are good the one thing i feel like this movie lacks is kills there is enough kills through out the 1st and almost second act but that is really it there not a lot the is a little bit slow but i can still like that it is being slow but when you have no kills almost at the 3rd act not the best my opinion but this movie did a lot great the writing is awesome acting is great kills good and lines for freddy are actually good not cheeseee so all round Wes Craven's New Nightmare is a great return still wish we had a great a nightmare on elm street would be nice let's hope get one soon what is good so I give Wes Craven's New Nightmare an B+… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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robertoiglesiasNov 21, 2018

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. New Nightmare is creative, scary, and fun, even though I don't think it's perfect. The entity taking form of Freddy was a bit ridiculous and dumb. But I like this film.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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guvwedfjhndwJun 10, 2023

é simplesmente uma obra de arte de terror,tendo um encerramento mais digno do que o anterior .

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FilipeNetoMay 8, 2021

In this film, Freddy Krueger will haunt the nightmares of the actress Heather Langenkamp who, ten years earlier, gave life to the heroine of the first film in the franchise, and who this time comes back to play herself. The script isIn this film, Freddy Krueger will haunt the nightmares of the actress Heather Langenkamp who, ten years earlier, gave life to the heroine of the first film in the franchise, and who this time comes back to play herself. The script is constructed as if Krueger were real and were, in fact, haunting the film's production, which is undoubtedly an original variation of what we already know.

This is the last film in the classic franchise "A Nightmare on Elm Street", one of the most successful horror slasher films. The films before this one already revealed the wear of conventional formulas and everything indicated that no more films would be made to continue the franchise. However, the creativity of Wes Craven (who also signs other films of the genre, such as "Scream") managed to make this film revive the public's interest in this material a little. However, it is a film that wears out as it passes, and the ending is somewhat disappointing.

Wes Craven is creative and can imagine good stories, but he was never the ideal director to demand the most from the cast. Heather Langenkamp interprets herself, but the truth is that one can hardly consider her dramatic interpretation to be really good. The actress just didn't seem to be engaged. For the last time, Robert Englund brings the character that immortalized him to the big screen, and does a competent job, even though I feel that the actor's work has been considerably better in previous films.

Technically, the film seems to be expensive and has more money involved than the previous ones in the franchise. Cinematography is standard and does not present anything truly remarkable. Englund's makeup work doesn't look as interesting and authentic as it did in other films, but it does its job competently. The sets and costumes are good, and there is a touch of originality that is felt slightly in the visual and special effects, as well as in the dynamics of the film, which was very well edited.… Expand