Wes Craven’s New Nightmare

*Originally written in 2004

After 10 years, Wes Craven returned to the series and characters which brought him his greatest success, in an attempt to inject some life into the franchise and again try to re-define the horror genre. A New Nightmare is a success on both counts, even if it was mainly an experiment and stepping stone between projects. A New Nightmare brings attention to themes such as art imitating life and vice-versa, adoration of horror movies, the life of a cult figure, how we perceive violence, censorship, and of course the relationship between parent and child.

Wes Craven has been having nightmares and is using them to write a seventh installment in the Elm Street series. He contacts the star of Parts 1 and 3, Heather Langenkamp, and asks if she would be interested in returning to the role one last time. She turns down the role as she is a happily married mother who has tried to put the films and Freddy behind her. However, the fans are ravenous for more. Recently, Heather has been getting strange phone calls, probably from a stalker or obsessive fan who claims to be Freddy, calls which upset her and her son Dylan. She has also been having nightmares of her own, some involving her old nemesis, but puts it down to stress. Her husband Chase is out of town working on a film, and on his return home he falls asleep at the wheel, crashes and dies. Heather insists on checking the body, and finds claw marks over his chest. She now believes that Freddy, or someone pretending to be him is stalking her family. Freddy is not happy that he has been forgotten and wants out into the real world. He attacks Heather in her dreams, and she is drawn into a final battle to save her son and self from the demon who now seems to be scarier, stronger and more violent.

The film returns to the scares, imagery, themes, and gore which made the original so popular. Bringing back several members of the original cast, Craven manages to create a perfect, dreamlike blend between the real world and the dream world. Heather is an actress but must remember that it was the spirited youth of her character which saved Nancy’s life. However, the fact she has grown up, and that it was just a real world job means that it is difficult to believe such things – she is in danger of becoming like her character’s mother. Freddy is now presented as pure evil, albeit with a few catchphrases, a creature completely intent on becoming real.

Langenkamp takes the difficult role in her stride and is just as good as she was in the original, now a protective mother rather than a paranoid, survivalist teen. Englund revels once more in his role and seems to enjoy himself more here than in some of the previous films. Saxon and Craven are good in small roles, Miko Hughes is annoying at times as Hughes but still good, and the rest of the cast are adequate. The gore is back to basics, not overblown like in the last few films, and certain scenes are shocking – the ‘skin the cat’ scene is probably the most memorable. Craven again knows how our minds and fears work – the fact that Dylan thinks his toy dinosaur can protect him is a good example of this, that we create a blanket or defender for ourselves when there is no-one else to help us. This is overall a good idea well executed, a precursor to the Scream series, and a respectable ending (so far) to the Elm Street franchise.

Let us know in the comments what you thought of A New Nightmare and how it fares alongside the others in the series!

2001 Maniacs

A remake of the Herschell Gordon Lewis gore-fest, this is low on outlandish gore yet high on elaborate death sequences, high on cult performers but low on good acting, with plenty of indecency and campy one-liners, stupid moments that border on embarrassing, and horror without any scares.

The plot will be familiar to anyone who has watched any horror film in the past fifty years – a group of friends on a road trip become stranded in a strange town with stranger inhabitants and have to fight for their survival. It opens like any number of 90s, early 2000s films introducing a group of detestable caricatures on their last day of University before heading off for Spring Break. On the way the meet more annoying stereotypes before taking a detour and ending up in Pleasant Valley, a town which is apparently stranded in Southern Civil War era cartoonishness. We have buxom milkmaids, inbred hicks, Huckleberry Finn-alikes, good old boys, howdee y’all housewives, and all the rest of it. Rather than immediately leaving, the group decides to stay the night and enjoy some free Southern hospitality, and possibly boobs. Before long limbs are being torn from torsos, shlongs are being bitten off, and bodies are being squished, all in the name of…. zombies/vampires/ghosts/torture freaks/revenge? It doesn’t really become clear until the finals scenes, and by that point we’ve fainted due to the inanity of it all.

Every cliche in the Great Big Book Of Cliches is here, with no attempt to inject any surprises, tension, or ounce of interest. Some may say that’s the point – it’s simply a remake of a silly grindhouse film. What’s the point then? Why not just go back and watch the original? The same could of course be said for most remakes, but in this instance there is really no need to watch unless you are a die-hard Robert Englund or Lin Shaye fan. Those two ham it up royally, while the rest of the cast a mere cannon-fodder. Normally I would excuse such things if the gore was respectable, but this is low-budget rubbish with effects you wouldn’t have been shocked by in 1964. Sure the odd eye pops out and the odd arm is ripped off, but it’s done as if the camera wants to look away – there’s all the build up and just when you think you’re going to get a bloody money shot, there is but a mere glimpse, and then nothing; It’s rare for a grindhouse movie to be so tame.

Having said that, the film did make me uneasy, though that may have been because I watched it during a particularly painful bout of insomnia mixed with sickness. I hadn’t slept or eaten in over 60 hours and was talking to the sofas at 2.00am so I put it on. For some reason, scene after scene of silly redneck accents and antics made me nauseous and I couldn’t stomach it. I only returned to the second half once my illness had been pissed away. By then I was ready for a bloody final 45, but it never came and instead I got the usual tropes – final survivors are led into a showdown, and someone escapes and finds a local sheriff. At this point you know there are only two possible outcomes – the local sheriff is in on it and brings you back to the scene of the carnage to die, or when the police come to investigate there is no evidence of any crime. I’ll let you worry about which ending this one has – it really doesn’t matter. Should you watch it? If you’re a horror fan then nothing I say will stop you from watching. It is tripe with few redeeming qualities, and yet the story has potential even though it’s been done to death already a hundred times. There’s really no reason for a film like this to be made, or for anyone to watch it, but by all means give it shot – there’s still unfortunately a lot worse out there.

Let us know your thoughts on 2001 Maniacs and how it fares against the original in the comments below!

A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 3: Dream Warriors

*Originally written in 2005

Definitely the second best in the series, Elm Street Part 3 brings back Nancy, the heroine of the first movie, and happily disregards the events of the fairly awful Freddy’s Revenge. Featuring a good cast- Langenkamp, Saxon, Fishburne, Arquette, and a decent script by Frank Darabont, Dream Warriors should not be seen as a rubbish sequel due to its many good points overcoming the handful of bad ones.

Since the events of the first film, Nancy has become a therapist/social worker for disturbed kids, specialising in traumas brought about by nightmares and fantasies. The film is situated mostly in a home/hospital for these kids, with Nancy bringing her expertise when it appears that an old enemy is up to new tricks. At first the kids do not trust her, but once she reveals herself as someone who has been through similar events they treat her as a powerful ally. Unlike the rest of the doctors, Nancy does not believe that they are experiencing some kind of group psychosis. The bond between Nancy and each of the kids feels genuine – a motherly bond that both she and them are lacking. It becomes apparent that Freddy is back, and is stalking more kids. The key to stopping Kruger this time lies with the gifts each kid has, a skill only they can bring into the ‘dream world’ with them, whether it be great strength or magic powers. However, the most powerful gift belongs to Alice (Patricia Arquette), who can bring outsiders into her dreams meaning they can all fight Freddy together. As they fight for survival one of Nancy’s colleagues, together with her estranged father (John Saxon) hunt for Kruger’s bones to give them a suitable burial which will hopefully end his curse.

The plot is wildly imaginative, and sometimes flies all over the place, but that is also what made the original original. Again the kids are alone and misunderstood, but it is Nancy who teaches them to have confidence in their own strengths and to not be afraid. Arquette and Langenkamp work well together, and the rest of the group includes the usual stereotypes of jock, nerd, addict etc. Unlike later films in the series, and most films of its ilk, we grow to care about these characters and want to see who, if any, will survive. We spend a fair amount of time getting to know them, their fears, and even see a little of ourselves in them. Being a horror movie though, we know that not everyone is getting out of this nightmare alive, leading to many gruesome kills including a few that are highlights of the series. The film has many excellent effects, although the series here begins to show a reliance on gore. There are a decent amount of scares and a fair amount of tension is built up before the climactic battle. Englund once again steals the show, but the one liners are starting to make an appearance – the more we get to know the bad guy, the less scary he becomes, and soon we are rooting for him and forgetting that he is a child-killing molester. Luckily this film doesn’t go too far down that road, but it certainly opens the door. Overall a very good horror film with so many ideas it could have been warranted being split over the course of two films as a nicely rounded trilogy. The DVD doesn’t contain any features of note, better to check out the Never Sleep Again documentary as it has plenty of extras regarding this entry.

What do you think of Dream Warriors – is it your favourite sequel, or does it stray too far into fantasy and away from horror? Let us know in the comments!

A Nightmare On Elm Street – DVD Review

We all float down here

In 1984 Wes Craven redefined the horror movie forever, bringing his own rules to the game, avoiding the clichés that had gone before, making an exciting, inventive, gory, wickedly clever, and above all-scary film. A Nightmare On Elm Street, spawner of sequels, influencer of crap is the movie horror fans hoped for in the early eighties, but is also an effective satire on small town life, our fascination with serial killers, our fear of the unknown, and the sins of our forefathers.

Nancy is fourteen. She has a cute boyfriend who would do anything for her, two friends (who frequently mock Nancy with their own sexual experience), and a load of baggage. Nancy lives with her alcoholic mother, while her father is the local Sheriff – her parents divorced some time before the events of the movie. One night when the four friends are staying together, Nancy’s best friend Tina is brutally murdered by a hideously disfigured man, seemingly while sleeping. Her boyfriend Rod watches on, horrified, while Nancy hears the screams from outside. Rod flees, and the cops look for him believing he is the only possible killer. It isn’t long before the Police catch up to Rod, but Nancy becomes convinced that someone else killed Tina, a man named Fred Krueger. Night by night she is haunted by increasingly violent dreams where she is stalked by a man with a razor fingered glove, and so tries to investigate further for fear that she may be next.

As the movie progresses Nancy’s relationship with her mother becomes increasingly strained, with the daughter frantically taking pills to avoid sleep and seemingly becoming unhinged, while the mother is unable to act or react in a responsible manner. Nancy’s mom takes her to psychiatrists in a vain attempt to keep her own guilt in the shadows, refusing to own up to the fact that her past has caught up with her, not knowing that everything she is doing is wrong. She goes so far as barring Nancy inside the house and refuses contact between Nancy and Glen – her boyfriend. Glen’s parents are only too happy to oblige, not wanting their son to associate with the loony across the street. Eventually, we learn the sordid history about Krueger – he was a child murderer who stalked the town a few years ago, was caught, but escaped unpunished by some loophole. The  residents took the law into their own hands, burning and killing Fred, but somehow he has found another loophole and is getting revenge by killing the children of Elm Street once more in the place they should feel most safe – their own homes, their own dreams. With no-one to trust, Nancy needs to overcome the enemy alone.

Tickle tickle

This is one of the most imaginative horror movies ever, blending dreams with reality so the viewer never knows whether a character is asleep or not. The fact that we don’t know what is real and what is a dream gives a sense of tension throughout as we don’t know when Krueger will appear. Craven uses all the force which caused his previous films to be censored and banned but makes his themes more subtle, and substitutes the realistic and grim visuals of The Last House on the Left for the fantastical sights here. For the most part it is the fault of the parents that their kids are killed- they created the monster by trying to kill the monster, but more importantly they then feel like their job has been completed, not realising when their kids are still in danger. There is a total lack of understanding between the two generations, and little trust in the abilities of the youth. It is not only a tale for those nearing adulthood to be afraid of the world – that in the end we have to rely on ourselves rather than those who have protected us so far – but it is a story about the older generation’s fear of the next generation. They want to be leaders but have their own insecurities, they want to be respected but show little in return, they want to protect but cannot see when something is really, seriously wrong.

The young cast is good, particularly Langenkamp. Garcia and Wyss have little to do, Depp has a bigger role and shows some of what would make him a legend. It is Langenkamp who carries the film, and she is excellent in her portrayal of fear, paranoia and helplessness, all the things we face when we are teens. We forget these things as we get older, but they rarely leave us, and often in forgetting do we lose the ability to cope when confronted once again. Nancy screams, but thinks; She is not the typical stupid teen over a hundred other Slashers. She makes an assertive step towards saving herself and her friends, while trying to hold her family together. She takes on the traditional roles of both father and mother, becoming hunter and protector, indeed she proves to be the strongest character in the film, preceding Ripley by a few years. She knows her own survival is down to herself.

The older cast members are also very good. Blakley is brilliant as Marge, hapless, hopeless mother who cannot cope with Nancy, with her break-up, with her guilt, giving in to booze like so many others. Saxon is also good as the father trying to get on with his life, burrowing himself in his work to forget the evils of his past, yet coming across as the most sympathetic adult. And of course, Englund steals every scene he is in. He is terrifyingly believable, the perfect example of what lurks in our nightmares, waking and dreaming. His one-liners are darkly comic as he takes sadistic joy in following and killing kids. In later films they become increasingly silly, but here we get the sense that these are the exact words that would come from the maw of a paedophile and serial killer.

Billy, you’d better clean up that mess!

The effects also stand out, with the famous bloodbath bed scene, and Tina being torn all over the ceiling becoming some of the most famous images in horror history. Kreuger looks monstrous, those blades will be heard in our dreams, while the dream world is filmed with care – we can tell that there is something not quite right about the surroundings, and we are subtly unsettled. A highly effective film, scary, funny, thought-provoking and unnerving, and with one of the most frightening villains ever committed to film. This inspired many clones, but this is still the king and continues to influence many films, horror and beyond. And count the number of Simpsons references.

Features wise I would go for the 2-Disc special edition as it is slightly more expensive but has plenty of commentaries and documentaries to keep your nerd heart pumping.

*Originally written in 2004 – I never realised that it was basically a plot summary (and I’ve even removed some chunks for the above revised edition) – so apologies for a crappy review of one of my favourites movies.

Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare

Freddy's Dead

Probably as bad as part 2, but I must give it extra credit for some funny moments and for a couple of good performances.

Freddy returns to find his daughter, and to kill the last child of the parents who killed him in Springwood. In doing so, Freddy believes the way will open for him to explore a whole new city and country of kids and their fears. To do this he must bring his child into the open, as she has long since escaped Springwood. However, he underestimates his daughter and her friends, and they stage a fight to finally destroy Krueger.

The plot is interesting- more so than other fims in the genre, but unfortunately there are far too many jokes, and Freddy is no longer scary. Instead of following the plot, smoothing over the holes, and finding a good complete cast, it relies on effects, which are not as good as previous films, and gimmicks- the 3D caper. Englund seems sad that the role he will be remembered for is no longer a horrific and evil character from who it is almost impossible to escape from, but a one-liner giver, and slapstic comedian. Even the flashbacks, which could have been very dark, are not effective. Zane is good, Lezlie Deane is excellent, Depp gives an interesting cameo but the other cameos are average, as are the rest of the cast. Kotto does well in a small part. If only the film had sought to be more like the first- dark, rather than humorous it would have been better. If you want to make a scary film, make it completely devoid of humour. If you want to make a mix of both work well, keep the humour very tongue-in cheek.

The extras on the disk are similar to the previous few films, nothing too exciting. Buy it to complete the collection, probably only for fans.

As always, feel fee to share your thoughts on the film- was this a final hurrah for the series or was it another dire outing?

Big Wednesday: A Poignant Tale, and all too familiar

This movie is it all; everything; it has something for everyone, including a tanned and toned Young Michael Vincent. There is action, a romance, funny moments, some action, good script and stunning surfing footage, as well as plenty of action, but not too much. Yes, Big Wednesday is a classic ‘coming out age’ story set in Vietnam era America involving a group of school friends who love to surf. As is typical of these types of films we get a group of friends on the verge of growing up, setting off on their own path, possibly parting ways, and having one last kick ass summer. It reminds me of my own last kick ass summer with my friends. There was me, Neville, Bobert, Shawsy, Wee Scott, Bunter, Fitz, Simon, Murph, Stoat, Biggles, Rodger, as well as a few girls like Jem, Lee, Gree, Corky and of course my little brother Andy tried to tag along. That fool Brendan and his scumbag mates tried to spoil it on us, wherever we went, he was there too, looking at us with his eyes. Sure enough the exams were done, we knew that we would all be getting jobs or going off to university, or being mauled by bears, or moving away. None of us were going to fight in Vietnam (though Neville claimed he had already been and would have frequent flashbacks), and none of us were into surfing, but you can see the comparison.

Jan Michael and Co- they just wanted to ride one last big wave, but the real wave (the Tsunami of life) was washing towards them at an unstoppable rate, unavoidable and inevitable. Crazy Gary Busey also stars in this Milius film (Milius would go onto wide spread acclaim and fame with Knightriders, having already made a name writing The Godfather), and Vincent would go off to become TV’s biggest star in Airwoof. The army comes to town to draft any young, fit men into the army- any injured or crazy types had to stay at home (this is based on actual events) so Busey stayed and got a job stealing motorcycles, all the smart guys could go to college or become a military strategist. The remainder of the gang, including Vincent go off to War and experience some terrifying events- being locked in cages filled with water and rats, but no surfboards, and being forced to play Vietnam Roulette with each other. The game is thus: 5 cups are presented, each filled with same coloured liquid. The treat is that one of the liquids is actually so disease filled that as soon as it is swallowed the drinker begins to convulse, blood pours from every orifice and they eventually melt. Later they escape and before they go home they ask one request of one of their friends (a young Freddy Kruegger) who has now become their commanding officer- will you surf before we go home. He has however succumbed to the madness of war, wishes to stay, and heart breakingly replies ‘Charlie Don’t Surf!’ This proved to be one of the pivotal moments in 70s cinema, and indeed in American History, signifying loss of innocence, tainting The American Dream, and squirting out the final puff from the spliff of the Hippy Movement and Freedom.

I was fortunate enough to go off to University and subsequently get a 6 figure salary, some of my friends came along too, more went further afield, or stayed at home and began to fade away, losing the beautiful fire of youth that once burned ever so brightly. I sometimes wander through my home town now, and occasionally see one of the old gang across the street. I wave to them, but time and circumstance has been unkind to us, fate conspiring to gouge an impenetrable void between us. They don’t wave; they barely look; in fact, they don’t even recognise me. Who would have though that all those jokes we shared, all those lazy days walking through the forests together, all the sunsets we watched and the nights we hoped would never end, all those great times which would never come round again; who would have thought that now it is as if they have never happened at all? I refuse to give up though- I still chat with a few of them, those who made it. Some are married, heck- some even have kids! I know when we have a few drinks, I see the old glint in their eyes that our youth is still alive and well inside, it’s just having a lie down. Sure I have new friends now, but it’s our oldest ones that count most, those we shared our defining moments with. We don’t say anything; we don’t need to. We may have lost some along they way, but as long as there is at least one of us, we know we’ll be okay.

Best Scene: The flashback to the group of friends hugging and laughing- when times were good. The slow motion, the smiles, the memories, the music. It is my life. I wish I could jump in, take off my shirt, and hug them too.

It Was The Best Of Times It Was The Blurst Of Times