Raz’s Midnight Macabre Horror Review: “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare”

A demonic force has chosen Freddy Krueger as its portal to the real world. Can Heather play the part of Nancy one last time and trap the evil trying to enter our world?

In this film we see Wes Craven return to try and recapture his original idea, I have to say that I was glad he did and I’ll explain why.

As we all saw, Freddy became more of a comedian than a frightening monster. I’m all for a good laugh and I’m the first to admit that I’m a sucker for a great one liner but Freddy wasn’t supposed to be that person. To see what Cravens vision for Freddy was you only have to watch the first release, the quiet creature lurking in the dark ready to pounce but is patient and likes to play with his victims heads.

Craven’s script was actually supposed to be used for “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” but the studio rejected it at the time, I’m glad he got a chance to make it as I always loved the idea. The script is an amazing one and it works so well. We see Heather Langenkamp return to the screen to play herself, same with Robert Englund who plays himself and Freddy, we even see Wes Craven pop up on on our screens and delivers quite a good performance.

*SPOILER ALERT! The one thing that didn’t happen in the film was a stand off between Robert Englund and Freddy, it was a scene I was dying to see but the film is so good that you can forgive it for not happening*. With this release a-lot of people complain that it’s not scary, while I do agree that it does lack the scare factor, you can’t deny it’s creepiness and imagination and also the fact it worked so well, if you read the plot it does sound lame, but on screen it works so well.

It’s also fun to see Robert playing himself and to see the interaction between the cast, you get the sense that they’re having so much fun and it’s great to see and gives the film a deeper sense of the terrifying story that the monster they created, played and fought has come to life.

This film gets a-lot of hate that I will never understand, maybe it’s because the jokes are thrown, I don’t know but I for one love this movie and thought it was great to see Craven show us one more time how Freddy should have been, the only bad thing is you get the sense we missed out with the sequels  moving away from that original idea.

Miscellaneous facts about the film:#

• All of the earthquake sequences in the film were actually filmed one month prior to the Los Angeles quake of ’94. The real quake struck only 2 weeks before the end of filming. Subsequently, a unit was sent out to film drive-by footage of actual quake damaged areas of the city before the end of filming. The cast and crew believed that the earthquake scenes that were filmed before the real quake struck were perhaps a bit overdone, but when viewed after the real quake hit, all were frightened by the realism of it.

• The “bio-engineered” hand/glove that Freddy uses in this film (as opposed to the glove used in the prior films) is actually derived from the artwork of the theatrical poster and video box covers of A Nightmare on Elm Street.

• Lin Shaye, who appears as a nurse, also played the teacher in A Nightmare on Elm Street.

• Heather is asked if she has a pass to which she replies, “Screw your pass.” This is taken directly from A Nightmare on Elm Street.

• The clothes worn by Heather Langenkamp and John Saxon towards the end of the film are the exact same clothes they wore in A Nightmare on Elm Street.

• Wes Craven’s daughter Jessica Craven appears as a nurse.

• The large rocket ship used in the park scene went into actor Miko Hughes’s backyard after his father bought it.

• Director Wes Craven had intended to ask Johnny Depp to make an appearance as himself in the funeral scene. Craven never worked up the courage to ask him, but after the film’s release, they ran into each other. Craven asked Depp if he would have made an appearance in the movie and Depp said that he would have, and that Craven should have asked him.

• The events in this film revolve around Heather Langenkamp having a stalker. In real life she did have a stalker, and Wes Craven got her permission to weave it into the story.

• Miko Hughes’ character has a father that works in special effects. In real life Miko Hughes’ father worked in special effects in movies.

• A picture of Heather Langenkamp that was on John Saxon’s desk in the original movie can be seen on a shelf in Wes Craven’s house.

• There was a scene in the script that depicted a Robert Englund Freddy nightmare. The nightmare had Robert stuck in a spider-like web and the new “DEMON” Freddy was a giant spider. This was dropped because it didn’t fit with the film’s overall tone.

• Before making New Nightmare, Wes Craven watched all of the Elm Street films. By the time he was finished, he claimed that he could not follow the storyline at all. He further regards the sequels to be weak compared to his original masterpiece.

• The book “The Nightmare Never Ends” by Andy Mangels can be seen on Robert Shaye’s desk.

• The basic premise of the film – Freddy invading the real world and haunting the actors and crew responsible for the “Nightmare on Elm Street” films – was originally intended to be used for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, but the idea was rejected by the studio at the time.

• The scene where Heather is dialing Robert Englund’s house number on the phone in her car, the music tones that are played when she presses the buttons is the same as the A Nightmare on Elm Street Theme.

• In the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, Nancy’s mom drives a Volvo station wagon. In this film, Heather Langenkamp also drives a Volvo station wagon.

• In the ending credits, Freddy Krueger is credited as himself, even though Robert Englund reprises the role.

• During the scene in the playground where Heather is talking about what happened at the funeral, right as she says, “Seeing Freddy in that grave seemed pretty real,” a boy rides by on a bicycle wearing a sweater that is nearly identical to the one Freddy himself wears.

• Miko Hughes has kept the sewn up Rex dinosaur since filming. Wes Craven has an original copy without the scars.

• In this film, Freddy is depicted much closer to what Wes Craven had originally intended for the character – much more menacing, much less comical, with an updated attire and appearance.

• The working title for the film was “A Nightmare on Elm Street 7: The Ascension”.

• In reality, Heather Langenkamp’s real husband David LeRoy Anderson is a special effects man. As he is in the film.

• Producer Sara Risher was very nervous about appearing in the film. She bought herself a new suit specifically for her one scene.

• When Heather Langenkamp vomited in the morgue, she was spitting up a combination of clam chowder and bean soup.

• Dr Heffner is a nod to Richard Heffner, head of the MPAA and bane of Wes Craven’s film-making career.

• The first time Miko Hughes saw Robert Englund in full Freddy make-up, he was so frightened he ran into his mother’s arms.

• The climactic tongue scene took 2 days to film.

• The film has no opening titles to blur the illusion of whether it’s a film, a documentary or something else altogether.

• In the final scene where Dylan stabs Freddy’s tongue outside the oven, you can hear the famous Psycho shower scene music.

• This is the only film in the Nightmare series to feature orchestrated music during the credits rather than a song like all the other films, including Freddy vs. Jason and the remake of the original A Nightmare on Elm Street.

• ‘Cuts and slashes’ are a running motif in the film. As well as the clear cracks in the wall like a Freddy slash, there’s also a claw-shaped logo on the first news reports of the earthquake and the special effects firm is called ‘Cut to the Chase FX’.

• This is the first movie in the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series that doesn’t have any opening credits.