Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Drew S

  
  A bizarre, delicious challenge to the slasher formula that, though not entirely successful, offers something truly new to the genre. More later

• Matt G

  
  Funny, modern twist of Freddy Krueger. Grade: C+

• Martin S

  
  Greatest idea ever

• jd c

  
  Wes Craven returns to direct this frightfest. This movie is scary, it's the scariest one in the series (but not better than the original). New Nightmare is tied with Dream Warriors with being my second favorite in the whole series. Freddy Krueger returns to his more serious ways.… More
  Wes Craven returns to direct this frightfest. This movie is scary, it's the scariest one in the series (but not better than the original). New Nightmare is tied with Dream Warriors with being my second favorite in the whole series. Freddy Krueger returns to his more serious ways. This time he's meaner, more evil, and less funny (he only cracks a few jokes - but the jokes are very dark). Wes Craven's New Nightmare is highly original. The story alone makes for a whole new movie itself (although technically, it's still a part of the series). The story was a wise choice (leave it to Craven to revive the series and save it from failing). New Nightmare is a movie within a movie. Heather Langenkamp (who plays herself) returns, more beautiful than ever, as well as some of the other cast from the original Elm Street. Robert Englund even has a role as "himself" in this movie. It's fantastic. Craven also wrote the script, which is very smart and clever. Wes Craven even has a role in this film (as himself). You will see Freddy Krueger as you never seen him before. "Darker? More evil?" - Robert Englund (on the new Freddy Krueger in "New Nightmare") Plot: It's nearing the 10th Anniversary of the film 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and one of the stars, Heather Langenkamp is being scared by a voice on a phone, sounding very similar to the film's villain, Freddy Krueger. When Heather's husband is killed in a car accident and is discovered with slash marks on him, Heather starts to wonder something. Especially when she discovers that Wes Craven is writing another 'Nightmare' film. Soon, she realizes that Freddy has now entered the real world, and the only way to defeat him is to become Nancy Thompson once again. New Nightmare will give you chills. It's creepy as hell. Like Dream Warriors, it's almost as good as the original. Outstanding and realistic performances. Convincing, smart dialogue. Highly original and smart story. Great effects. Perfect film! New Nightmare has some bloody moments, but it's not about the gore, it relies on chilling you through story and character, and it never gets overly graphic. Like Wes Craven's "Scream" it's a film that seems to know it's a film, but takes itself very seriously. And like "Scream" and the original Elm Street, this is one of Craven's unforgettable moments in his history of filmmaking. A tour-def-force in filmmaking. An instant classic. A true gem! It's a film EVERY horror fan should see...and learn from. I couldn't recommend this enough. "*** stars - I haven't been exactly a fan of the Nightmare series, but I found this movie, with its unsettling questions about the effect of horror on those who create it, strangely intriguing." - Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times) <a href="http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/HorrorQf/?action=view&current=ElmStreet7.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/HorrorQf/ElmStreet7.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Jeff "

  
  Seventh entry in the series, and after the disappointing "final"of Freddy Krueger in Freddy's dead, this film injects new blood into a seemingly tired out franchise. In this last sequel to the Nightmare On Elm Street series, Freddy Krueger haunts actress Heather… More
  Seventh entry in the series, and after the disappointing "final"of Freddy Krueger in Freddy's dead, this film injects new blood into a seemingly tired out franchise. In this last sequel to the Nightmare On Elm Street series, Freddy Krueger haunts actress Heather Lagenkamp. This is one solid horror film to end the series on, and it returns to what made the series such an original Franchise in the horror genre. What makes this film a true return to form is the return of director Wes Craven who directed the first one, and was involved in the production of the third. Wes Crave unleashes on the viewer a different, new refreshing take on the series and in the end results pay off in the end. New Nightmare is one of the most original sequels in the franchises history, and will definitely entertain the scares out of you.

• Tony G

  
  Unenergetic reboot of a dying franchise adds nothing new to the mix.

• Conner R

  
  It's kind've bizarre and not exactly what I wanted to see, but it's not a bad movie by any means. I really would've liked to see Wes Craven make a new entry in the series, but this was a little bit more like his later movie series, Scream. It blends fiction with… More
  It's kind've bizarre and not exactly what I wanted to see, but it's not a bad movie by any means. I really would've liked to see Wes Craven make a new entry in the series, but this was a little bit more like his later movie series, Scream. It blends fiction with reality and works quite well. Freddy has also never looked so good.

• Anthony L

  
  Interesting idea but not fantastic. Certainly not as clever as people made out but it's slightly better than scream though I thought!

• Tim S

  
  A brilliant film from Craven, but Freddy's look could've used some work.

• Curtis L

  
  This one was okay.

• Cassandra M

  
  Genuinely interesting - if not completely scary - movie blends fiction and reality as several people associated with the "Nightmare" franchise play themselves, in a story in which actress Heather Langenkamp is being plagued by nightmares about the Freddy Krueger character.… More
  Genuinely interesting - if not completely scary - movie blends fiction and reality as several people associated with the "Nightmare" franchise play themselves, in a story in which actress Heather Langenkamp is being plagued by nightmares about the Freddy Krueger character. She gradually learns that the "Freddy Krueger" character has taken on a life of "his" own and is determined to punish the makers of the "Nightmare" series for killing him off in Part Six. I'll say this for what writer / director Wes Craven has done - this is ambitious work that could legitimately claim to be more intelligent than standard slasher cinema. Like I said, I didn't find to be particularly scary (at least not for my tastes), but this doesn't rely on any standard slasher formula, and for once the characters aren't certifiable morons. The most amusing thing about the movie is watching various actors and executives play themselves, or at least versions of themselves. Miko Hughes, who plays Langenkamp's fictional son Dylan, is cute and a tolerable young actor - I've seen worse child actors in my time. Best of all, "Freddy" has become a genuinely frightening bogeyman again instead of the joke he had become by Part Six.

• Lafe F

  
  Totally innovative film, which pretended the other Elm Street films were simply films, and brought Freddy into our Elm-Street-viewing world. They made Freddy so much real and scarier, he had a new look which was twice as frightening. They had Heather Lagenkamp and Robert Englund play… More
  Totally innovative film, which pretended the other Elm Street films were simply films, and brought Freddy into our Elm-Street-viewing world. They made Freddy so much real and scarier, he had a new look which was twice as frightening. They had Heather Lagenkamp and Robert Englund play themselves as actors in the Elm Street film franchise. Wes Craven even appeared as himself, writing the next Freddy script, which was totally cool. It was good how they tied in the Los Angeles earthquakes with the return of Freddy. My only complaints: I did not like the possessed-kid plot, which has been overused. I also thought the freeway scene looked totally fake, like it was back-projected.

• Dean !

  
  A new and refreshing change in the series, taking the film from a whole new angle. One of the best Freddy films!

• Dean M

  
  This is an amazing life-imitating-art twist that's ghoulishly fun with director Wes Craven and his cast star as themselves in this wicked spin on the horror genre.

• Jason S

  
  I thought this was the most original of the series and added a little more to the legend of the character.

• Steve B

  
  Surprisingly good, near-art film, bordering on post-modernism. It rivals the original for originality.

• Aaron N

  
  Before Craven went to the Scream franchise, he started the idea of self-aware horror with this movie. It's just as good, if not better than the original 'Nightmare'. It provides a smarter story than all the other sequels and some good scares.

• Emily A

  
  This movie was good, but a little too far removed from the original material. I like the way it takes place in the real world with the actors from the films being terrorized, but the execution of the imagery was a little heavy-handed. The whole demon of stories plotline was… More
  This movie was good, but a little too far removed from the original material. I like the way it takes place in the real world with the actors from the films being terrorized, but the execution of the imagery was a little heavy-handed. The whole demon of stories plotline was interesting, but I don't think they used it as effectively as they could have. This movie had a really good concept, but ultimately fell flat.

• Matthew Y

  
  Wow...I mean just wow, now this is some seriously original stuff. A big rarity for a seventh entry in a film series. Wes Craven's New Nightmare is, for those who don't know, a modern contemporary Horror film where the actress who was the main character in the first… More
  Wow...I mean just wow, now this is some seriously original stuff. A big rarity for a seventh entry in a film series. Wes Craven's New Nightmare is, for those who don't know, a modern contemporary Horror film where the actress who was the main character in the first Nightmare On Elm Street Film begins experiencing similar realistic dreams featuring the boogeyman himself. Excellent high quality film and production value are a big surprise. I don't know if this was the most expensive film in the series, but it sure felt like it and of course it made the least money of any other film in the series. Sometimes there's just no justice in the world. Props to the Nightmare series, it had its stinkers for sure but it also had some seriously solid entries as well, all of them featuring Heather Langenkamp.

• Suneel J

  
  Wes Craven returns to direct one last Nightmare on Elm Street film in what is undoubtedly the series' strongest addition since the original 1984 classic. Wes appears as himself in the film with a great twist on the watered-down series by this time. It is definitely the most… More
  Wes Craven returns to direct one last Nightmare on Elm Street film in what is undoubtedly the series' strongest addition since the original 1984 classic. Wes appears as himself in the film with a great twist on the watered-down series by this time. It is definitely the most unique of the horror series and brings Freddy back with style and legitimate terror unlike you've seen him in years.

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