Libramedi Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

RaoulGonzo Wes craven does post modernism before it was cool, this 2 years before he revitilised the horror genre again with "Scream". The horror movie becomes reality as Freddy Krueger (Newly suited and booted, with a harsher glint in his eye, harsher than any of the sequels had) has been chosen by a demonic entity as a portal to the real world."The only way to stop Freddy is to make another movie." proclaims Wes Craven, as Wes Craven. It seems to be an interesting take on what the effects are on watching horror and even working in horror. Nearly everyone plays themselves, and there are a lot of tidbits and insider jokes for serious horror fans. You look at each set and there is immense detail to be found, the colour pattern of Wes Cravens office for example and what's on the shelves. The writing is extremely sharp, Wes craven has written and directed "New Nightmare", a film about him writing and directing "New Nightmare" and made it great. A highly original concept that he gets right.I watched this a few years ago and while enjoying it, i was baffled by what it all meant. After watching the whole franchise, and to be frank many more horrors, Wes Cravens New Nightmare was a joy on a number of levels.

TheLittleSongbird 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

MaximumMadness Since creating the renowned and beloved horror franchise "A Nightmare on Elm Street" back in 1984, series creator Wes Craven for the most part took an active step back from the series, feeling he said all he could say. Sure, he had some early story suggestions and did a bit of writing on the actually quite-good third installment "Dream Warriors", but other than that... the franchise grew beyond his original concept, and covered a whole gamut of tonalities and story-lines to which he had no involvement. And after the series finally concluded in the early 90's with the woefully misjudged self-parody "Freddy's Dead", it seemed like we had seen the last of the dream- master Freddy Krueger.But we all know that you can't keep a good slasher down. And Craven was finally able to convince the heads of New Line Cinema to go through with an old idea he'd had for quite some time... a story he had actually pitched seven years prior as an early concept for "Dream Warriors." What if Freddy... the character... the man from the movies... was able to escape the confines of the silver-screen and pick off victims in the "real world"? It's a bold idea. And yet, one that could backfire very easily, and needed great care and thought to work. But as silly as it potentially sounds, I think Craven not only pulled it off... I think "New Nightmare" may very well be his masterpiece.The seemingly idyllic life of actress Heather Langenkamp (portraying herself) has taken a dark turn. Despite an adoring family including husband Chase (David Newsom) and young son Dylan (Miko Hughes), she's being thrown into emotional turmoil by recurring nightmares and the appearance of an unhinged stalker whom obsessively tries to contact her with threats of violence. But things might be looking up, as she is informed that director Wes Craven has began work on a seventh installment in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise, and wants her to return as the star. However, when a personal tragedy rocks her world, she begins to see clues around her that point to an impossible scenario... seeing the tell-tale signs of her former cinematic nemesis Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund)... But how could this be? He's just a movie character! He's not a real person... is he?The great success of "New Nightmare" largely falls onto writer/director Craven's rampant creativity and the gung-ho dedication of his cast. The story finds a shockingly perfect balance in terms of tone and style that allows such a peculiar concept to work beautifully. It's self- aware without becoming farcical. It's deadly serious though it keeps a flowing and entertaining sense of pace. And it manages to deliver some of the most compelling characters of the entire franchise that are based on real people without coming across as silly and contrived. It's a fine balancing act that Craven pulls off with ease. And his visual direction is just magnificent, with the scope of the film feeling massive and earth-shattering, yet still grounded in genuine emotion and character. Here he shows some of the slickest and most wild work of his career, with flowing movement and a great visual contrast between the "real" and "dream" and "movie" worlds that helps usher the audience through the story without confusion. It's a visual powerhouse if ever I've seen one.The cast is just great, and you really get the feeling that everyone is putting their all into the film. Langenkamp is fantastic as our lead, and it's quite interesting to see how she grew as a performer in the ten years that have passed since the original film. Hughes, whom got his start in the Stephen King adaptation "Pet Semetary", is great fun, even if his performance can be shaky at times. And of course, Englund is just outstanding as the man of our dreams. Englund's role as Krueger is a bit different than previous incarnations, but he's clearly having the time of his life with the performance, and I do admire that he and Craven are actively trying to bring him back to his roots... he's a darker, edgier Freddy, and works wonders in establishing and bringing threat to the film.It's really fascinating. In many ways, "New Nightmare" shares parallels to one of Craven's other notable works- the brilliant film "Scream", which followed only two short years after. Both are sort- of deconstructions of the horror genre, yet they approach the material from different perspectives. "Scream" being more a meta- parody with elements of genuine terror... And "New Nightmare" being more an earnest horror film with elements of meta-satire. They compliment and contrast with each other quite well, and I do think the one-two punch of "New Nightmare" and "Scream" signify Craven at the top of his game. While some might argue that "Scream" was his best film, however, I do think that the edge definitely goes to "New Nightmare"- it's a more impactful and a much more personal film, and I very much think it's crowning achievement of Craven's career.Though many condemn "New Nightmare" for failing to adhere to the canon and continuity of the "Nightmare" franchise as a whole, I have to commend it for trying something so radically different. I'll take an ambitious and unique effort over a stale retread any day of the week. And the fact that it might be Craven's best film is just the icing on the cake. I have no other choice- Wes Craven's "New Nightmare" easily earns a perfect 10 out of 10! It's one of the most criminally misunderstood and underrated films of the 90's, and an absolute success in virtually every capacity! Tense, thrilling and terrifying in all the best ways, this is one nightmare you won't want to end...

Artur Machado Wes Craven returns as a director/writer/actor in this film and saves the franchise, restoring the respect and fear to Freddy Krueger as in the first film.The idea for the plot is quite clever: Heather, the real-life actress who plays Nancy in the first movie, now (fictionally) married and with a 6 year old son, starts having nightmares about Freddy, as well as her son. In turn, Wes Craven is preparing a new plot for a new movie with Freddy, based on the belief that his own nightmares tell him that a demonic force uses the Freddy icon to break free in the real world and that the only way to preventing it is by having Heather to interpret Nancy again and fight it back into the underworld to which it belongs, or in other words, put the genie back in the bottle.Some of the killings were a repetition of previous movies, so it lacks a bit imagination on that department. The only other thing that could improve this movie would be a confrontation between the actor Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) and 'the' Freddy Krueger. Freddy in this film is actually more threatening and scary, not playing so much with his victims as in the first movie with the evil jokes, which makes him a much more direct and imminent threat.To me, the first "Nightmare" and this, both by Wes Craven, are really the only worthy ones.