Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare

Starring: Robert Englund, Lisa Zane, Shon Greenblatt, Breckin Meyer, Johnny Depp (cameo), Roseanne Arnold (cameo), Tom Arnold (cameo)
Directed by: Rachel Talalay
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Thriller
1991

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A psychologist (Lisa Zane) meets a teenager (Shon Greenblatt) with amnesia, suffering from terrible nightmares. She begins to suspect she is somehow connected with him, and with the spectre haunting his nightmares- Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund).

Review:
Tim: This is the film in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise that promised to do what no one could ever do before- kill Freddy Krueger. This is the sixth film in series, and the first film to break out of the 80's and into the 1990s. To celebrate this achievement, this film marked a fairly big departure from the previous films- it is the first film to do away with the Nightmare on Elm Street title, and also incorporated some 3D elements into the film's final, climactic sequence. I liked that this film felt different from the previous films, yet still maintained many of the same elements. Unfortunately, Freddy remains a joking, cliche-spouting joke. However, this film did intentionally make him far scarier than previous films.

I will be honest- I thought this was the film that was going to turn the franchise around and gain some respectability before it concluded. For much of the movie, I found myself enjoying it far more than I expected. I really thought that this movie might be the best film since the original. About three fourths of the way through, however, it almost completely falls apart. I love the idea of incorporating 3D, but I hated how clumsily and silly it is portrayed in this film. The main character actually wears 3D glasses, for pete's sake. I could only shake my head in disgust.

I've said before that I really like when these films explore the history of Freddy Krueger. This is very interesting and adds to the mythos of this movie villain. This movie does that exceptionally well- I loved seeing the flashback scenes of Krueger as a young boy, a teenager, and as a family man. These were really fascinating and helped the film. The problem is that most of the "fight" scenes are just absurd. Krueger sits idly by, waiting for our protagonists to attack him. It just doesn't make any sense. There was some really terrible filmmaking throughout this movie.

The cast doesn't really add much. Lisa Zane is decent, but nothing special. I liked seeing Breckin Meyer in his feature film debut, but he isn't a great actor here. No one in the film does a very good job in the acting department. I did like seeing the Johnny Depp cameo, which brings us back to the original film. The Roseanne and Tom Arnold cameos are pretty pointless, but then again, so is much of the film.

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare is an interesting film because of the ways in which it departs from the previous five movies. I like that this film marketed itself as the death of a horror icon (although he would return again three years later). While this film had some qualities that I liked, it ultimately became too silly and stupid for its own good. It was far weaker than it should have been, and only amounts to another disappointing entry in a long line of disappointing horror movies.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: A Nightmare on Elm Street, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child