Wes Craven's New Nightmare [MA]

It’s been ten years since the Nightmare on Elm Street movies came to a close with the death of Freddy Krueger. But for Heather Langenkamp, who starred as Nancy in the first movie, the nightmare isn’t over. She’s been receiving some creepy phone calls reciting that old sing-song rhyme, and having a Freddy nightmare that turns out to be eerily prophetic. Wes Craven is writing a new Nightmare movie and wants her to reprise her role as Nancy. As the script remains under wraps, Nancy’s nightmares grow steadily worse and it becomes clear that the evil of Freddy isn’t going away unless she confronts it. 

A cleverly and highly metafictive movie, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare works both as horror movie and social commentary on the popularity of the Freddy Krueger franchise. After the string of trashy but fun b-grade horror sequels that came after Craven’s chilling original, this is a drink of fresh water; rich in intertextuality, metafiction, and parallel running plot lines. 

What I liked best about this movie was its metafiction. Personally, I’ve always been fascinated by films that draw attention to or make fun or commentary on their own status as films. Films where actors play themselves, or a slightly different version of themselves, I just find really funny and a very clever way of making social commentary and critique on various topics: in the case of this movie, the unexpected popularity of Freddy Krueger and his iconic status as the killer that always comes back. Krueger as metaphor is a very strong theme running through this movie: a metaphor for the film’s endurance, for a character/film being definitive of an actor, and even the everlasting-ness of cinema and how actors are often haunted by films that they’ve done, which they’re not always the proudest of or consider their best works. The idea of Freddy haunting Heather as Heather and not Nancy is a stark illustration of this and this is where the film achieves its status as both metafictive horror movie and social commentary. 

All the original taboo themes of the first film are being explored again, but this time there are various hints that suggest alternative meanings of the movie and contradict certain events. It’s a film that leaves you with a lot of questions to ponder and I think I like that most about it. 

Heather Langenkamp delivers a great performance as a haunted version of herself and Miko Hughes who plays her son Dylan is very entrancing to watch, especially in his scarier moments of trance, fear, and possession. 

After a decade the special effects have become a lot crisper, but occasionally there is still one that makes you think ‘ugh that is so fake’. Oh well, can’t win them all. 

Starring Matt Winston, Rob LaBelle, David Newsom, Wes Craven, Marianne Maddalena, Tracy Middendorf, Sam Rubin, Robert Englund, Robert Shaye, Tuesday Knight, and Tina Vail, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare is an eerie and entertaining horror movie and social commentary that’s filled with metafiction, action, horror, drama, and comedy. It’s a homage to the powers of storytelling and I found it quite engaging and entertaining.