FREDDY’S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE (1991)
Tagline: They saved the best for last.
(Horror, Nightmares, 3D Glasses) [R]
You want to live? These mean nothing here, but in a dream, they can be anything you want. He got inside your head. You get inside of his.
In this one, Springwood is down to its last teenager, John Doe. Freddy needs him to break into the rest of the world because every town has an Elm Street. Once there, John Doe immediately gets taken into a group home for troubled teens where Doc and Maggie run the show. John is convinced that Freddy is his father because he’s been safe all this time, but now his father is using him. Can John, Maggie, and Doc end Freddy’s reign of terror once and for all.
Also known as A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 6: FREDDY'S DEAD - THE FINAL NIGHTMARE, this is the movie where I think the series finally went all the way over the cliff. In the rest of the films, you could see a bit of continuity, even if you disliked them. This thing is just way out in left field and doesn’t feel connected to anything. It also has the distinction of being the last movie I ever saw at a Drive-In theater as of the writing of this movie. I am hoping to go to one again someday. We have one in the area.
One thing that is noticeably different in this movie is the Freddy makeup itself. In this one, it looks far more plastic than in the other films. I am not sure what is going on there, but I kind of wonder if they just got tired of doing the makeup and started throwing a mask on Robert Englund. Tonally this thing is all over the freakin place. We go from one of the characters bopping up and down like he’s on a pogo stick while Freddy is using him as a character in a video game, to super dark stuff like Freddy killing animals in class and cutting himself. It’s all pretty nuts.
I think the biggest issue with this movie is that they went way out of their way to take the mystery out of Freddy by over-explaining. It has the same issue that JASON GOES TO HELL does, only it’s a lot less annoying because at least Freddy is in this whole movie. I don’t even consider JASON GOES TO HELL a FRIDAY THE 13TH film. This one is an “A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET” film, it’s just really bad.
Acting wise we get Lisa Zane who plays Maggie. Given who she is in this movie, it kind of sucks that she was about the 4th most likable character. Lisa Zane is most famous for MOKEYBONE. Shon Greenblatt (NEWSIES) plays John Doe and is adequate in the role. We have definitely seen some better male leads though. Ricky Dean Logan (BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II) plays a cool character named Carlos. I really didn’t have any issue with the performance. Breckin Meyer plays Spencer in this and does fine in the role. He is essentially the same character in CLUELESS. Lezlie Deane (GIRLFRIEND FROM HELL) plays Tracy, probably my favorite character in this thing. Obviously, Robert Englund is great and actually has probably the most iconic line in the entire series in this one. “Every town…has an Elm Street.” Then rounding out the main cast we have Doc played by Yaphet Kotto (ALIEN). Doc is my second favorite character in this thing.
Complete with a really stupid and really bizarre “dream demon” explanation for Freddy’s powers, this thing just fails to deliver in almost every way. Even with the 3D. The design work in a lot of cases was just very lackluster. We don’t have any returning characters. It’s all pretty janky and I can see why Wes Craven wanted to finish off the series with one more film he was involved in.
I give this one a 3 out of 7. It’s better than barely watchable for me because of the nostalgia, but it’s basically a letdown for fans of the series.
GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF NEW LINE CINEMA AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.
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