I'm amazed at what Wes Craven manages to pull off in this movie. By setting the movie in the real world, Craven manages to acknowledge the validity of all the awful Elm Street sequels, while at the same time freeing himself from their constraints. He brings back a character who was supposedly dead, without making it feel cheesy or contrived (cough cough Superman cough). And underneath all of that, he gives us an atmospheric and riveting horror film.
There are two main problems with the movie. The most damaging is its length and pacing. It goes on for a very long time without much action, and while it's great that the filmmakers try to establish a believable reality and give the characters some depth, they should have cut some of those unnecessary dialogue scenes. The other problem is that the screenplay deals with some of its ideas very clumsily--Craven has to actually write himself into the story so that he can explain everything that's going on.
But Wes Craven's New Nightmare is much better than the other sequels, and deserves a place in any horror fan's collection. There should be more horror movies like this.
There are two main problems with the movie. The most damaging is its length and pacing. It goes on for a very long time without much action, and while it's great that the filmmakers try to establish a believable reality and give the characters some depth, they should have cut some of those unnecessary dialogue scenes. The other problem is that the screenplay deals with some of its ideas very clumsily--Craven has to actually write himself into the story so that he can explain everything that's going on.
But Wes Craven's New Nightmare is much better than the other sequels, and deserves a place in any horror fan's collection. There should be more horror movies like this.