This is one of the few films in this October series that I watched for the first time. This was kind of a big deal when it was released when I was in high school, but I just didn't have much interest in horror movies anymore. The premise was sort of interesting, but I just never got around to it. No, it had no direct effect on me as a kid, but it was part of the conversation, so I thought it important to include it. Also, it's the only one of the Nightmare series I hadn't seen.
Click here for a list of all other films reviewed and considered for this October 2012 series of horror reviews.
Artists often talk about their work as if it were a
living, breathing thing. In the artist’s mind, an inanimate object takes on
qualities that make it seem like it’s more than the material it’s made from.
Once an audience gets a hold of a piece of art, the metaphor takes on a whole
new life as meanings are ascribed, intentions discussed, and, in the case of
pop culture, obsessions are created. The Nightmare
on Elm Street series and, more specifically, Freddy became cult sensations through
the 1980s. You might say they took on a life of their own outside their various
creators, in particular the original creator Wes Craven, whose idea had morphed
into something completely different by the last two or three films.
The idea for Wes
Craven’s New Nightmare had been kicking around since A Nightmare on Elm Street 3. New Line had rejected the premise in
favor of a more traditional slasher film. You can call New Nightmare the seventh film in the series, but it doesn’t fit
within the series continuity. It takes place in the ostensible real world of
Hollywood, where Heather Langenkamp (playing herself) lives with her husband
Chase (David Newsom) and their young son Dylan (Miko Hughes). Chase is a
special effects guy who’s been secretly working on a new Freddy glove for Wes Craven
(who also plays himself, in addition to writing and directing the film). Craven
the character has a new idea for a horror movie and he wants Heather to star.
However, she’s being tormented by phone calls taunting her with the Freddy
nursery rhyme and she has ambivalent feelings about her son being exposed to
those kinds of films.
