Wes Craven's New Nightmare

Heather Langenkamp has been having nightmares. Disturbing visions of a newer, darker version of Freddy Krueger. But Heather's just an actor and Freddy Krueger isn't real. He's only in the movies, or is he? New Nightmare is Wes Craven's first kick at the meta can, a warmup for what was to come with the Scream franchise. It also feels like a victory lap for New Line, a chance for the studio to pat themselves on the back for making the Elm Street series. It comes close to being overly self-serious and self-indulgent but it's anchored by some great performances from Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon and Miko Hughes (Pet Sematary, Kindergarten Cop, Full House). Freddy's new look is kinda ridiculous with his trench coat, his green felt fedora and his big black goth boots. Some of the effects look pretty dated today, especially the early CGI and a couple of spotty composite shots. All that said, it's probably the best in the series after parts 1 and 3, bitch.

Rating: 70%

(Image from Wikipedia)