A Nightmare on Elm Street Franchise
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- DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampJohnny DeppRobert EnglundTeenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.Introducing Johnny Depp
When I first watched this masterpiece of the genre, I was not at all a fan of horror. What's more, I did not watch horror at all, and I decided to see this film solely because of Johnny Depp. I saw all of his films and Johnny's film debut was the only one left. I was avoiding it for a long time because it was a horror, but in the end I could not resist. When I finally saw it, I had to see the second one, then the third... and I was hooked. Love was born to the horrors of the eighties, and then to the genre in general.
Many mistakenly believe that the greatest human fear is the fear of death. The fear of death is just one aspect of the really greatest human fear - fear of the unknown. Dreams are still a mystery to us. We do not understand them and we have no control over them, so the horror based on dreams is a very effective idea. Horrors based on impossible premises, no matter how well designed, have no effect on me. But when there is even a trace of suspicion that the premise could be possible (of course, not exactly in this form), combined with masterful skills of Wes Craven and the credible cast, led by Robert Englund, as one of the most awesome film villains of all time, we get a movie that maintains tension from the beginning to the end, and you will be at least a bit uncomfortable the next couple of nights while you are about to fall asleep. And if you are still a child, get ready for a few months of nightmares.
10/10 - DirectorJack SholderStarsRobert EnglundMark PattonKim MyersA teenage boy is haunted in his dreams by deceased child murderer Freddy Krueger, who is out to possess him in order to continue his reign of terror in the real world.Weird, awkward and awesome
I'm reading the reviews and do not understand why people hate this movie so much. Not only is it a worthy successor to the original, but in some elements it is somewhat better. The story and characters are better developed, it has a good pace and keeps the attention from start to finish, and some scenes are unforgettable. OK, I can understand that die-hard fans of 80's slasher horrors might be disappointed with total absence of female nudity, replaced with several indisputably gay scenes (based on hilarious dance on the bed scene and closing drawer with ass, as well as the scene in the school bathroom, I would dare to bet that the screenwriter and/or director are gay), but even those gay scenes were done superbly, and some moments in the film, as for example the scene with birds and scenes in the school bus, are among the best in the genre. There's a bit less Freddy than in the first movie, but it doesn't bother me. I prefer quality over quantity, so I prefer a movie with a well-developed plot, with occasional well-measured and effective kills, over two hours of pointless slaughter, like we have in "Friday the 13th".
9/10 - DirectorChuck RussellStarsHeather LangenkampRobert EnglundCraig WassonA psychiatrist, familiar with knife-wielding dream demon, Freddy Krueger, helps teens at a mental hospital battle the killer who is invading their dreams.The "illegitimate" son of a hundred maniacs
One, two, Freddy's coming for you
Three, four, better lock your door
Five, six, grab your crucifix
Seven, eight, better stay up late
Nine, ten, never sleep again
In the third film of the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series Heather Langenkamp reprises the role from the first movie. The surviving girlfriend of Johnny Depp has in the meantime become a psychiatrist specializing in dreams, so she comes to a mental hospital to try to help the remaining teens from Elm Street in their struggle against Krueger. Among them is a young Patricia Arquette, for the first time on the big screen. Of the famous faces, there are also John Saxon, again in the role of Nancy's cop father, the cameo appearance of the legendary Zsa Zsa Gabor, and of course Robert Englund, for the third time in the role of Freddy Krueger. The music was done by the genius Angelo Badalamenti, best known for his music for the series "Twin Peaks", and the title song "Dream Warriors", as well as "Into the Fire", is signed by the cult American band Dokken, well known to all lovers of the glam metal of the eighties. Although all movies in it are based on the same premise, the franchise, for the time being, manages to make the story in each film original and completely different than in its prequels. Special effects are better, and the gore, although there's significantly less of it than before, is fairly effective. The scene with "marionette sleepwalking" turned my stomach inside out, and for a brief moment, I covered my eyes with my hands, like a little kid. "A Nightmare on Elm Street" still holds its ground and the third installment stands shoulder to shoulder with the previous two. I hope it stays nightmarish in sequels to come.
9/10
"Sleep.
Those little slices of death.
How I loathe them."- Edgar Allan Poe
- DirectorRenny HarlinStarsRobert EnglundRodney EastmanJohn BeckmanFreddy Krueger returns once again to terrorize the dreams of the remaining Dream Warriors, as well as those of a young woman who may be able to defeat him for good."Welcome to Wonderland, Alice"
Freddy Krueger comes back to finish off the last three survivors from the Elm Street. And when he accomplishes that, at the very beginning of the film, he can not continue his killing spree, because he can not enter the dreams of children which are not descendants of his murderers. That's why he needs the girl who has the ability to pull others into her dreams, so she can bring him new victims. But Alice has different plans.
I can not say that this movie is bad, but it certainly represents a serious decline compared to the initial trilogy. The story brings nothing new that has not been seen in the previous three films, and there are no interesting dialogues, twists or an effective atmosphere. Both technically and essentially, the movie is in every respect inferior to the predecessors and is fully redundant. I wasn't bored, but if I knew what it has to offer I would probably watch something else. "F**kin' C."
5/10
"When deep sleep falleth on men,
fear came upon me, and trembling,
which made all my bones to shake."- Job IV, 13-14.
- DirectorStephen HopkinsStarsRobert EnglundLisa WilcoxKelly Jo MinterThe pregnant Alice finds Freddy Krueger striking through the sleeping mind of her unborn child, hoping to be reborn into the real world.Teenage pregnancy
The fifth installment in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise builds on its predecessors and, respecting inherited premises, presents an original plot-twist, which is trying to save the franchise from the meaningless repetition that ruined the fourth movie. Although a stretching of the same premise indefinitely after some time ceases to be interesting, "The Dream Child" brings a touch of originality, which, combined with advances in technical and visual terms, results in a fairly good and watchable film. The acting is at the same level as in the previous films, Freddy is getting better, and noticeable progress is made in the effects. In my opinion, this is not a movie worth of re-watching, but for a one-time entertainment it is quite a good choice.
7/10 - DirectorRachel TalalayStarsRobert EnglundLisa ZaneShon GreenblattDream-haunting Freddy Krueger returns once again to prowl the nightmares of Springwood's last surviving teenager, and of a woman whose personal connection to Krueger may mean his doom.Perfectly completes and closes the franchise
While the first "A Nightmare on Elm Street" was one of the best horror films of all time, sequels were increasingly injecting elements of comedy, until the last, which can hardly be classified into the horror genre. This movie fills the holes in the story and brings enough explanations to decently round and close the franchise. If viewed as a serious horror (though I really do not see why would anyone in their right mind even consider that), this movie is a complete failure, but if viewed as an over-the-top horror-comedy, which I honestly believe the authors intended, the film is awesome. This is convincingly the most imaginative, audio-visually impressive and the most entertaining part of the "Elm Street" franchise. I was hypnotized.
8,5/10 - DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampRobert EnglundJf DavisA demonic force has chosen Freddy Krueger as its portal to the real world. Can Heather Langenkamp play the part of Nancy one last time and trap the evil trying to enter our world?I watched it with the lights on
The seventh and last part of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" brings the most original plot twist in the franchise. While its prequels have a dream-like atmosphere, this one is much more realistic. On the tenth anniversary of the first film team responsible for its development begins to suffer from intense nightmares and freak accidents happen, and then they realize that Freddy, because he was terminated in the film franchise, has decided to switch to the real world. The credibility of the story is intensified by the fact that the original crew actually appears in the movie, so we have Heather Langenkamp in the role of Heather Langenkamp, Wes Craven in the role of Wes Craven, and so on. An interesting detail is that end credits list Freddy Krueger in the role of Freddy Krueger. I think the effect would be even stronger if the film was made in the form of a fake documentary, but this would prevent many of the things fans expect from a Freddy Krueger film. Although not the best movie in the franchise, it certainly is scariest, because it quite convincingly shifts its horrifying premise into "our" reality. If I saw it as a child I would probably be traumatized.
7,5/10 - DirectorRonny YuStarsRobert EnglundKen KirzingerKelly RowlandFreddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees return to terrorize the teenagers of Elm Street. Only this time, they're out to get each other, too.Nightmare the 13th
Being dead is not a big problem to Freddy Krueger. The trouble is that he's forgotten. He awakens Jason and sends him to Elm Street to kill a couple of teenagers, so that people think that Freddy has returned and that, fed by their fear, he could really come back. A good plan, but there's a catch. Once he starts his killing spree, Jason can not be stopped, and Krueger must personally get rid of the competition.
After ten "Friday the 13th" movies and seven "Nightmares on Elm Street", Jason and Freddy are finally face to face, and I think that was a really excellent idea. Unfortunately, its realization is nowhere near that excellent. Although the idea had really great potential, the result is just another in the row of mediocre Jason/Freddy slashers. The only thing that makes this film stand out from its predecessors is an incomparably higher budget, the consequences of which are more than obvious. Good camera and directing, and the effects and production are far ahead of all its prequels. As far as the story and acting are concerned, there is no improvement. But nobody watches these franchises in search of quality cinema anyway, but for a good entertainment. Although I think it could have been much more fun, and it's not even close to "Jason X", it's certainly better than the most of "Friday the 13th" franchise.
6/10 - DirectorTrey ParkerStarsTrey ParkerMatt StoneMona MarshallStan and Mr. Mackey suffer a hoarding disorder. In an attempt to find the cause for it, they get trapped in Mr. Mackey's dream.South Park nailed it again :D
The reality show "Hoarders" meets "Inception" meets "the most powerful dream infiltrator" in the definition of awesome. The same moment they announced "the most powerful dream infiltrator" I knew who it was, but that didn't spoil his appearance at all. Can you guess without watching?
10/10 - DirectorSamuel BayerStarsJackie Earle HaleyRooney MaraKyle GallnerThe spectre of a disfigured man haunts the children of the parents who murdered him, stalking and killing them in their dreams.Good, but totally unneeded
Technically, this movie is probably better than the original, but it lacks soul. Horrors of the '80s had a specific charm that no modern technology could replace. This film is good in every respect, but it's neither terrifying nor mesmerizing. It is trying to compensate the lack of truly dreadful atmosphere with quality effects and really great jump-scares, but that simply isn't enough for a great horror. It lacks fantasy atmosphere. It is too realistic and even dream sequences are not dream-like. The cast is good, but although it may be better than original cast, I just couldn't embrace them. I don't know if Jackie Earle Haley is a better actor than Robert Englund, but I like him better anyway, but still, Englund is better Freddy. Maybe Haley would have been better Freddy if he played this role from the start, but after 25 years of identifying with Krueger Englund definitely became irreplaceable in this role. However good Haley may be, believe me, Freddy not being Englund will bother you. As I'm currently following the "Arrow", it was hard for me to stop looking at Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance, and all the time one part of my mind was waiting for Oliver Queen to appear and fill Freddy with arrows. Her death was copied from the first film but, although the effects are great, it was not nearly effective as the most powerful scene from the original movie. There are also John Connor from "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles", a vampire from "The Twilight Saga", as well as legendary Mr. Crabs, the arch-enemy of Highlander and Superman.
Overall, this is a quite good remake, but if you can watch the brilliant original from 1984, why would you watch something that is just fine and without Johnny Depp...
7/10