User reviews

The original 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' is still to me one of the scariest and best horror films there is, as well as a truly great film in its own right and introduced us to one of the genre's most iconic villains in Freddy Krueger. It is always difficult to do a sequel that lives up to a film as good as 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' let alone one to be on the same level.

After the 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' series showed signs of severe fatigue, that it was suggestive of the series being completely dead, original director Wes Craven makes a welcome return and brings new, fresh life to the series. 'New Nightmare' may not be as good as the original, none of the follow-ups are (though two of the previous sequels, the third and fourth, were good), but it is the best of the follow-ups since the third and is one of the best in the series.

'New Nightmare' has its faults. Its biggest one is the ending, it is just ridiculous and jars tonally with the rest of the film, which took a darker and more serious direction (perhaps more so than the original). Count me in as another person who didn't care for Freddy's look here, it looks rather goofy and doesn't do Robert Englund's creepy performance and the way Freddy's written justice.

Heather Langenkamp also seemed a bit bland and seemed rather anaemic for a character written more dramatically than previously.

On the other hand, 'New Nightmare' looks very atmosphere and made with a good deal of style and slickness. The production design has a suitably nightmarish look and the special effects are great and perhaps superior to the original's. The music score is haunting.

The writing may lack the one-liners seen before, but the more serious direction the dialogue took was appreciated after the fifth and sixth films did such a poor job with the one-liners and comedy. The dialogue isn't mind-blowing but it flows decently and intrigues at least. The semi-documentary-style adopted for some of the film is very interesting, making for one of the most original ideas of the follow-ups and the series overall too, while still delivering on the shocks, suspense and creepiness.

Despite the goofy look for Freddy, Englund is very creepy and even with not much screen time he burns long in the memory.

In summary, one of the series' better entries and worth staying awake for. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Long before the critics started wetting themselves at post-modern, self-referential (and self-indulgent) shows like Extras and Arrested Development, Wes Craven beat them to it. His New Nightmare stars Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englund playing themselves in a movie within a movie written by Wes Craven playing himself writing the script as it unfolds. How Charlie Kaufman is that?

It is a terrific idea, and has Heather discovering that she, Englund and Craven have accidentally provided an ancient evil with a portal into the real world in the fictional creation of Freddy Krueger. Now that the series of movies has ended, this entity has started invading her dreams as Freddy - and it thinks if it kills "Nancy" it will be unleashed for real.

So that's the good news. The bad news is that once this premise has been laid out for the viewer, it's all downhill from there. Heather Langenkamp's acting hasn't improved with age, Wes Craven spends his time being "mysterious" (i.e. vague and annoying) and it's left to Robert Englund to save the day. Sadly, he's not in the movie as either himself or Freddy nearly enough.

It gets worse. "Real Freddy" looks even more fake and rubbery than the 80's version, if that were possible, plus the main focus of the dreamtime incursions this time is Langenkamp's young son. Now I am against child actors at the best of times, but when this bug-eyed little squirt starts screaming and yelling about Freddy, you'll just want to give him a kick.

The climax to the movie is pretty similar to every other film in the Nightmare series, which is somewhat disappointing. However, this film is almost worth it - almost - for the creepy sequence where Heather realises she's back in Elm Street for real.

Still, New Nightmare is easily the best follow-up of the series, and way more imaginative than any slasher sequel has the right to be.

Freddy Krueger began as a very scary character who scared the hell out of everyone. As the movies went on, Freddy lost his edge and looked liked a bad stand up comic with horrible one liners.

Freddy seemed dead with the sixth film of the series, but Wes Craven brought him back from his rut and made him someone to fear again. This of course helps prove my theory that a good Nightmare on Elm Street movie cannot be made without Craven.

Two things make this film so good. One, the story is original. The Nightmare movies just kept repeating themselves, with Freddy coming back and going after the people who stopped him before. This rime around, we see Freddy trying to break into the real world, outside the movies. Very original. Two, the movie is not filled with constant gore. This shows how good the movie because any movie filled with gore obviously has a pathetic story and is not worth watching. This movie is and is one of Freddy's best yet.

The actress Heather Langencamp lives in Los Angeles with her husband Chase Porter (David Newsom), who is secretly working in a mechanical hand for the next movie of Freddy Kruger, and their son Dylan (Miko Hughes). During an earthquake, Heather has a dreadful nightmare where Chase's partners die; in the morning she is invited to be the guest of a talk show about the tenth anniversary of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" with the presence of Robert Englund. Later the executive of New Line Cinema Robert Shaye invites her to perform Nancy Thompson again in the latest project of Wes Craven based on his own nightmares, but she turns the invitation down. Heater is being disturbed by a man that calls her in the telephone and sends creepy letters to her. When Dylan has nightmares with a man with claw and tells that he is protected by his T-Rex toy showing symptoms of schizophrenia, and Chase dies in a car accident, Heather becomes paranoid with Freddy Krueger. The reactions of Robert Englund and Wes Craven indicate to her that something is going wrong. Further she discovers that Freddy is an entity that does exist and is an ancient demon trying to use her weakness as the gateway to the real world. Heater needs to face the evil Freddy Kruger to protect her beloved son.

"New Nightmare" is an original approach to bring Freddy Krueger back after his death in "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare". The story blends reality with fiction and transforms Freddy Krueger in a millenary evil entity that tries to reach the real world through the actress Heather Langencamp, giving a survivorship to this character. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Hora do Pesadelo 7 – O Novo Pesadelo – O Retorno de Freddy Krueger" ("The Hour of the Nightmare 7 – The New Nightmare – The Return of Freddy Krueger")

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

Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) is one of the best horror films of the 90's. Possibly the second best Elms Street entry. But in my opinion A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) is much better than this. I just love this film to death! I love this film because it is Wes Craven direction debut. Wes Craven did write and directed this film. In this film, Freddy is depicted as closer to what Craven originally intended, being more menacing and less comical, with a greatly updated attire and appearance. The film is very scary and it does involve Freddy coming in to a real world. Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) returns this time Heather plays her self and she defeats the third time Freddy but this time it is different than it was in the first film. I can always watch A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984),A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) and New Nightmare and those three films just kick ass and they are my favorite horror slasher films in the genre!

I love this movie so much mostly for the real world setting and the return of the characters from the first movie. Heather Langenkamp is the essential leading lady for a horror franchise. One aspect of this film I really liked was how Robert Englund just played himself and "Freddy" was more of a demonic killer from Hell. If you're looking for the scariest impersonation of Freddy, this is the one to watch. The story is about the original cast members of the first Freddy film being haunted by a "reel" Freddy. This movie is so good it stands on its own! New Nightmare is a 10.year anniversary of Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) which that also counts in this film and it is mentioned in here!

I like what they did hear what it would be like if Freddy was in the real world Freddy had a makeover he looked bad ass to me I thought this was some sort of re imaging Wes Craven try to do something different with Freddy but that's my opinion. The whole tone of it was great to me and like you said the actors playing themselves was great:)! The story it is a very clever concept for this series which it has a potential. I prefer this film over the Elm Street sequels except part 3 which I love the third entry to death! The same way I love the seventh entry in to series. Some people don't prefer this film into the series I do. The movie is very realistic and very scary. heather Langenkamp did the best job portraying her self and getting back to the roots of Nancy Thompson!

I always have enjoyed this film, Wes did a solid job directing this horror slasher movie , I really feel terrible for his family and I can't believe a tragedy strike him and his family! It is the worst loss of my beloved Director ever! Very different entry into a Last Action Hero idea of a horror movie becoming reality. My favorite moment in the movie is the freeway sequence. Heather/Nancy takes sleeping pills to join in on a lucid dream, final showdown with Freddy to save an already captured Dylan. It occurs in a hot, steamy and water-logged dream scape ruin, apparently Freddy's home turf. The final showdown between Nancy and Freddy was outstanding, the bets sequence ever. Nancy with her help of her son defeat the demon Freddy they both lock him in a lit furnace where upon catching on fire and killing him. His true visage is shown amidst a fiery blast that was awesome!!! Nancy and Dylan escaping back to reality which was phenomenal. I love the actress Tracy Middendorf playing babysitter Julie. Gosh in the hospital scene Julie ends up punching a nurse and threatening another with a needle (cameo appearance by Wes Craven's daughter), and locks the door.) was awesome I love that scene! Seriously I thought the actress who played Julie was actually Jennie Garth because they both look alike, they were great. I love actress Tracy Middendorf playing Julie, I thought she made wonderful performance in this film. Fighting for Heather's son.

The most two actors that blazed in this film were Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englund who played them self's and their famous roles Nancy and Freddy. I am also pleased that John Saxon did return in this film as a support cast and a close friend of Heather, he even played Donald Thompson again in this film.

This time staying awake won't save you.. Ten years after writer and director Wes Craven ("Scream," "The Hills Have Eyes") brought his personal nightmares to the movie screen as Freddy Krueger in "A Nightmare on Elm Street," the horrifying child killer returns, stepping out of his celluloid world to haunt the life of the actress who first defeated him on film. This seventh film in the Nightmare on Elm Street series has the cast starring as themselves in a wicked spin as key players from earlier installments are terrorized by Freddy Kreuger and his razor-fingered glove. That is the basic plot.

Anyway I love this film and I am giving a 10 because this film deserves it and it is my third best favorite Elm Street horror slasher film!

Wes Craven's New Nightmare is a 1994 American slasher meta film written and directed by original Nightmare on Elm Street creator Wes Craven.

10/10 Grade: Bad Ass Seal Of Approval Studio: New Line Cinema Starring: Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Miko Hughes, John Saxon, Sam Ruben Director/Writer: Wes Craven Producers: Wes Craven, Robert Shaye Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 42 Mins. Budget: $8.000.000 Box Office: $17,400,601

The Nightmare on Elm Street series certainly had its ups and downs (mostly downs). The first film was a horror classic but only one of the subsequent five sequels was worth a damn. That one, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, saw the return of Heather Langenkamp to the series as Nancy Thompson and Elm Street creator Wes Craven contributing the screenplay. So it should come as no surprise that the next Elm Street movie that had any value would also involve Craven and Langenkamp. Craven returns here as both writer and director, bringing to life a unique idea that he had actually pitched for part 3 a decade before. The idea is that Freddy Krueger steps into the real world and torments Heather Langenkamp (playing herself). It's all very meta, blending real-life elements of Langenkamp's life with the fictional Freddy nightmare stuff. It's a clever idea and one New Line was never going to take a chance on until they had already destroyed the franchise with all those crappy sequels that turned Freddy into a cartoon character.

For the most part, the cast is good with several of the cast members playing themselves. Heather Langenkamp turns in a solid performance. Robert Englund plays both himself and Freddy, which is fun to watch. In addition to writing and directing, Wes Craven also acts here and does an admirable job, especially when compared to some other directors' embarrassing attempts at acting (John Carpenter and John Landis, for example). The only real negative about the cast is Miko Hughes as Heather's son. Little Miko was pretty cute in movies like Kindergarten Cop and a recurring role on the TV series Full House. But here he's required to do drama and, to be blunt, he sucks.

It's an interesting movie but not a straight slasher flick so it will probably disappoint those who were fans of the cheesy Elm Street sequels. I didn't care for them much so I appreciated this movie for being different. Not everything works (Miko Hughes, the earthquake stuff, the redesigned Freddy) but overall it's a very enjoyable movie that takes a fresh approach to a tired concept. Fans of Wes Craven and the original Elm Street film will probably like it more than those expecting a movie full of Freddy eviscerating teenagers while making bad puns.

I thought i was ready to see freedy krueger because this film almost put me in a deep sleep . The entire movie dialogue was dilion. How is this rated 6.5? Theres others that are rated less that are way better .

Wes Craven's New Nightmare features Heather Lengankamp, who played Nancy in the first and third films, living a normal life with her husband and son. Lately, strange things have been happening, and her son isn't acting like himself. She is called in for an interview with New Line Cinemas, where she finds out that Wes Craven is making a new Nightmare film. The events of this film are beginning to unfold in the real world, because Freddy Krueger is angry at being killed off in the last film, so he steps out of fantasy and into reality to go after the makers of the original film. Now Heather Lengankamp must protect her son and defeat Freddy one last time...Only this time, it's real.

I love this movie. I personally think it's just as good as the first movie. This is one of the most original and ingenious plots for a horror movie I've ever seen. All of the people involved with the original films appear as themselves, including Heather Lengenkamp, John Saxon, Robert Englund, and Wes Craven. Freddy is amazing in this movie. He appears with his trademark brown hat, but now he's in a much darker red and green sweater along with a brown tattered trench coat, and his burns are more severe. Also, his trademark knives are actually coming from his fingers. The best part about it is that in this film, Freddy isn't a wise cracking killer...He's an all business violent and brutal killer.

This movie features the best acting for a slasher movie I've ever seen, but then again, almost every actor in the movie plays themselves, so it would be pretty hard to screw that up.

Overall, this movie is on a par with the original, and I'd recommend it to any horror fan.

8/10

Modern rendition about the myth Freddy dealing with young people discover they're having the same terrible nightmares . New version about Freddy Krueger killing people in macabre style and boasts some startling , gruesome special effects . A re-imagining of the classic Freddy Krueger, a serial-killer who wields a glove with four blades embedded in the fingers and murders people in their dreams , resulting in their real death in reality . Nowadays, it's nearing the 10th Anniversary of the picture 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and one of the protagonists , (Heather Langenkamp) starts to be haunted in their nightmares by scar-faced and dream-hunting Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund now fits likes a glove) , a kind of spectre with awful burns , in stripy jumper and large knives. He enters their dreams at will and again kill them. Heather Langenkamp is being scared by a voice on a telephone , sounding very similar to the movie's nasty, Freddy Krueger . When Heather's husband (David Newsom) is killed in a car crash and is discovered with slash marks on him, Heather starts to wonder somethings . Heathe learns that Freddy has now entered the real world . The unsettling Heather plagued by astonishing dreams helps her son (Miko Hughes) to attempt to stop the nasty and demonic Freddy who kill people in macabre ways . Mother and son are having the same bad dream in which a malicious bogeyman is frightening them with knives attached to his fingers and the dream becomes reality . Heather sets out to discover the truth by attempting to draw the bogeyman out of the dream .

This is a diverting reworking upon first film's plot by screenwriter Wes Craven based on his characters and dealing with the imaginative premise about a kind of ghost who can enter their dreams at will and intents on taking over both his body and mind . The twisted script dishes up the requisite helping of one-liners and throwaway black humor . This eerie film packs thrills , chills , creepy events and lots of blood and gore . It's a flimsily plotted but visually enjoyable addition to the Krueger endless saga . There are a few genuinely inspired events , notably Freddy's appearances and the extraordinary body-ripping spotlights in the Hospital room . Although it results to be a franchise that we now know was to follow , there are some originally frightening dream sequences. Special and extravagant visual effects are the climax of the movie and the startling make-up on Freddy face , but both of them don't save the story . Young casting and special appearance by John Saxon , the same Wes Craven and Robert Shaye , film's producer . Creepy and imaginatively made musical score fitting to terror movie by J. Peter Robinson . Colorful and atmospheric cinematography by Mark Irwin . The motion picture well produced by the great producer Robert Shaye from New Line Cinema and is professionally directed by Wes Craven , though with no originality and nothing new to show . Wes's sure grasp of the skewed logic of nightmares help to sustain the ambiguity between the dream and real world . Rating : 5,5 , passable sequel . It's all acceptable scary fun .

The series initiates itself from original entry title ¨A Nightmare on Elm Elm Street¨ directed by Wes Craven with Heather Langenkamp , Johnny Depp , Amanda Wyss and John Saxon . The rest is a series of disjointed but however impressive special effects pieces . As it was followed by a handful of sequels in which horrifying special effects dominate this slasher saga , as ¨Freddy's revenge¨ 1985 by Jack Sholder with Kim Myers , Clu Gulager and Hope Lange ; ¨Dream warrior¨ 1987 by Chuck Russell with Patricia Arquette , Larry Fishburne and Craig Wasson , it's one of the best sequels from successful original film by Craven , as ¨Dream master¨ (1988) by Renny Harlin with Lisa Wilcox , Tuesday Knight and ¨The dream child¨ (1989) by Stephen Hopkins with Lisa Wilcox , Erika Anderson . Besides a Television series ¨The Freddy's nightmares¨ and this last one ¨ A nightmare on Elm Street¨(2010) with Jackie Haley that is a simple copy with little imagination , too many flaws and giving routine treatment .

'A Nightmare on Elm Street' was a scary, gory 80s horror movie. Its sequels were awful. Only two of them were watchable, the third and forth. But still, they never even came close to the original. This is when that changes. 'New Nightmare' introduces a new Freddy. One which is darker, scarier and not the joke that the old one was. This is the only sequel that should have been done in the first place. In my opinion, its even better than the original because it's much darker and special effects are way better.

It's a bit rare to find good acting in a horror movie, but here's not the case. Acting was amazing. Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englund gave an awesome performance. The kid was surprisingly believable and the rest of the cast was great too.

Watch this movie straight after watching the first. If you have to watch a sequel, see the third and forth, but this is the one you should immediately go for. I give it a strong 10/10

We all should have guessed that Freddy Krueger wasn't dead at the (supposed) end of the series, and "New Nightmare" proves it. This time, the claw-handed killer comes back for one final showdown. The only thing is, it's happening to the real Heather Langenkamp, who played Nancy in the original movie. And no longer is Freddy spouting out silly one-liners; he's now a lot more evil, and determined to get Heather's son Dylan.

I always expect something neat from Wes Craven, and he doesn't disappoint here. I really liked how Craven builds everything up so that we don't quite know what's going on, and then he hits us with it. It was a most unique concept having Langenkamp, Robert Englund and John Saxon all play themselves (Craven also plays himself in one scene), plus the original characters. There are some gory parts, natch (the scene in the car was really something), but Craven knows how to do it right.

All in all, this is one movie that you'll probably enjoy. Especially the last line in the movie. Also starring Miko Hughes and Robert Shaye.

Two years before doing the same with his hugely successful movie Scream, Wes Craven applied a post-modernistic approach to New Nightmare, the seventh film to feature Freddy Krueger, the dead child murderer who enters his victim's dreams in order to kill them.

Keen to distance his film from the last few sequels, in which Freddy had slowly morphed from frightening bogeyman into a trashy comedy/horror pop icon, Craven cleverly takes his creation out of the movies and into 'real-life'. New Nightmare sees actress Heather Langenkamp (Nancy from Pts 1 & 3) playing herself, and becoming convinced that the monster from her films is somehow escaping his fictional realm to kill in the real world.

This imaginative and, at times, admittedly rather silly concept is a refreshing change from the formula of the preceding few Nightmare movies, which had grown stale and distinctly unscary, and allows the makers of New Nightmare to start afresh, since they are not bound by anything that went before.

It also provides a great excuse to gather together the cast and crew of the earlier films and show them having fun playing themselves: Robert Shaye (New Line producer), John Saxon (who plays Nancy's father in Pts 1 & 3), Robert Englund (Freddy, of course) and even Wes Craven (who takes an amusing swipe at those responsible for trashing his original creation) all appear, with even the 'non-actors' giving surprisingly good performances.

As the story progresses, it transpires that the creature that has been causing poor Heather so much trouble is in fact a demon that has been trapped within the Freddy persona. But with the gradual watering down of the character and Freddy's eventual death in Part 6 (Freddy's Dead), the evil being is now free to break out of his cinematic prison and cause some real damage.

The only trouble with such an interesting concept is that it soon becomes too complicated for its own good, with lapses in logic, some boring moments required to explain what the hell is happening, and an inevitably confusing finale.

Ultimately, this is a nice, but not altogether successful attempt by Craven at salvaging a character that had well and truly been stomped into the dirt by other film-makers.

6.5 out of 10 (rounded up to 7 for IMDb).

The First Nightmare on Elm Street was scary and original. It had the great idea of a killer killing people in their dreams. All of its sequels (except for part 2, which went in a horrible direction) just built on to that idea, and the idea wasn't scary anymore as the series progressed. Now with New Nightmare, Wes Craven came up with another original idea. It turns out that Freddy is in fact real, some kind of ancient evil that took the form of Freddy Krueger and could only be contained through storytelling, IE: the Nightmare On Elm Street movies. But since the series has ended, the genie is out of the bottle, and this ingenious film unravels.

I wouldn't say this movie is that scary, it's more creepy than it is scary, but I love its imagination. It plays mind little mind games and you wonder what is real and what is not. Freddy Krueger is even credited as "himself". It's a must-see for any Freddy fan and in many ways it stands on its own...but only if you've seen the other movies. If that makes any sense.

This is one of the best sequels in the Nightmare series and it's nothing short of brilliant. It's nice to see that Freddy is back in the bottle where he belongs, and hopefully will be for a long time...

My Rating: 9/10

I first saw this in the mid 90s on a rented vhs. Revisited it recently on a dvd which I own. I didnt like the film then n even now. The events of all the previous 6 installments r considered as a work of fiction n a new ridiculous screenplay and that too a very lengthy one is churned out. The runtime is almost 120 mins n the only major thing shown is a child at peril. Child at peril gets heavy for me. Two things i cant stand even in movies r violence towards children n rape. The last 30 mins wher Freddy is transformed into a menacing n evil entity rather than a comedic one is noteworthy. Honestly, i enjoyed the comedic one more. Ther r two very tension filled scenes, the park one where the kid is trying to jump n the highway one where the kid crosses the road. All in all a lousy attempt with a ridiculous plot n terrible editing. The remake proved that the non comedic Freddy doesnt work.

I love horror movies. I love being scared and I love the fact that a movie (something make believe that I, as an intelligent person,knows is just images projected from a screen ) can manipulate my emotions and make me nervous. This is one of those movies. And in the 90's, there have only been two movies that have actually made me nervous in some scenes. And those two movies are by Craven himself---Scream and this one.

When this film first came out, it was ten years and six films after the original. I have seen all the Freddy movies more out of morbid curiosity than out of interest. And maybe a part of me was hoping to catch a glimpse of what made the first so damn scary. And time and time again I was disappointed. But when I read in Fangoria magazine that this new one was going to be directed by Craven, I got very excited. Could it possibly be that this film would go back to it's roots?

Yes, it did.

There is no two ways about it, Craven cares about Freddy. He cares about how he was supposed to be, not what he has turned into in the last decade. Freddy was not even remotely funny in the first one. He was a brutal, maniacal, sadistic, bent on revenge murderer. He wanted to slice Nancy in two and he did that to Tina ( actually sliceher into many pieces ). But in the mindless sequels to come, he became Eddie Murphy. And there was nothing frightening about the sequels. They made money but they weren't true horror films. But this one, well this one goes back to it's roots and is almost as scary as the first one.

This story is about the film character of Freddy becoming real somehow. He has been a part of Lagenkamp, Saxon, Craven and Englund's life for so long that he has somehow become real. And now what was once a simple film character actually haunts the cast of the original. We even get to see Rod ( Tina's boyfriend from the original ) at one of the funerals. And what makes the story scary is that now Freddy has decided to come after Heather's kid.

This film goes back to all the techniques that made the first a classic. There is excellent direction to make us fear what is under the bed. The lighting is classic horror film lighting and the music is perfect. There is however one complaint that I have and that is when Freddy is chasing the kid across the road. He has become larger than life. He is like the Stay Puft marshmallow man from Ghostbusters. And that it seems is much more like the other Nightmares, not Craven's version. And that takes away the delight in watching what was otherwise a perfect horror film.

I said in one of my reviews of a horror film that there are no films in the 90's that are truly scary. However this one is as close to an 80's horror flick as you will get now a days. It is very frightening and it is almost a prequel to Scream. This is one film that should not be missed. It is a tribute to what scary films are supposed to be. If I want to laugh I'll see Chris Rock, but if I want to be scared, Craven is the man!

How on earth anybody can find this pile of manure remotely scary is beyond me.

When this first came out (in 1994) I noted it was Wes Craven's New Nightmare. Be warned, there's nothing new about it. Craven is back to flogging a dead horse, as he's done many times throughout his misguided career.

The sad reality is that Craven is given far too much credit in a genre where he is, at best, an average talent. Compared to the brilliance of Robert Wise (The Haunting), Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho) and Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Mr Craven stands as a mere footnote in the annals of horror.

Sorry if this sounds like a rant against Craven, but frankly I'm fed up with Freddy Krueger. After watching Scream a while back I did think Craven could not possibly get any more self-referential or tedious than he already is. Clearly I was wrong.