Review/analysis of WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE

Below is an essay I composed for a Film As Art class last semester. We, the students, had the option of choosing any film and I picked what is not only my favorite horror film, but also one of my favorite films of all time: Wes Craven's New Nightmare. The review was well-received by my professor and as was the film. He named it not only his favorite Wes Craven film, but also his favorite film reviewed. Enjoy!

 When filmmakers create a film, they anticipate that it will be successful and leave its mark. Sometimes, this mark reaches farther than they’d have ever expected, extending over multiple generations and completely engulfing audiences to life-altering levels. It is rare to find someone who could be flashed a tattered, dirty red and green sweater without them recognizing that it belongs to Freddy Krueger. He is bound to our culture, bonded to its very heart and soul in ways that stretch to vast, immeasurable lengths. The following of his films is so strong, so influential that it’s almost overpowering, leaving everyone to wonder what’ has been created and what influence it has on the world. Wes Craven brilliantly explores these very ideas through his film, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, a meta-film examining the impact of the films, looking upon them as a living creature who haunts those who originally had a hand in the birth of the infamous and overwhelming phenomenon that is A Nightmare on Elm Street.  

       Ten years after the nightmares first began on Elm Street, the film’s original heroine, Heather Langenkamp, is now living an average life in California with her husband and special effects artist, Chase, and their son, Dylan. Despite choosing to remain faithful to her duties at home and away from the world of macabre, Heather seems unable to shake the world of horror in which she has become a prevalent figure. She is harassed by a man claiming to be “Freddy Krueger”; calling her house at odd hours and threatening her safety. On top of her terrifying stalker, Heather is offered a starring role in a new Nightmare film that resurrects her old foe. As Heather finds herself surrounded by horrors from her past, Dylan begins acting strange, almost as if possessed. Soon Chase passes and Heather suspects there is something sinister at work. The deeper she digs, the more she realizes that an ancient evil force is trying to break free from his chains and make her worst nightmares a reality. Heather must choose whether or not she is willing to put on her pajamas one last time and face what she has been avoiding for so long in order to save her son and humanity. 

       The film does not forget the 1984 classic from which it spawned, often paying tribute to it with many cleverly placed homages. These homages are not only nostalgic moments for audiences, but they also tie in nicely to how the “real Freddy” looks upon Heather as “Nancy”, recreating these events to reinforce his relationship with her and goad her into playing along. The opening sequence is also an influential homage. This scene shows the audience that they are about to view a piece that reminds them of the film they known and love, but also has a modern flare and is set in “reality” as opposed to the same Nightmare universe from the previous films. Interestingly enough, the film never has an opening title sequence. Wes hoped to trick the audience into questioning whether or not what they were viewing was fact or fiction, especially because it featured the stars and crew who made the first movie possible as themselves. One of Wes’s many brilliant moves when making the film was his desire for it to feel like a documentary. Not only does the lack of the traditional title sequence throw off the audience, but many of the technical aspects in the film have a natural element to them. While the film has fairly steady camera placing, the shots often closely follow a character’s actions, zooming in and moving with their changes in body position rather than standing still. The camera movements are also somewhat off balance and shaky at times, influencing the audience to mentally place themselves in the scene as though they were really there. Despite his dedication to keeping the appearance of reality front and center, Craven enjoys paying homage to some of the horror greats. One shot in particular occurs when Heather spots the police at her door after awakening from her horrific dream about Chase’s death. She realizes at this moment that her dream was not only a dream, but also revealed what has just happened to her husband. To covey the feeling of a horrific realization, Craven utilizes Alfred Hitchcock’s famous “Vertigo effect”, of a dolly in, zoom out. Craven also selects several natural lighting choices to create the tone of certain scenes, in a way that continually reinforces the idea that this is not a movie, but rather a reality. For example, after chasing Dylan across the freeway, Heather discusses with John Saxon how her husband really died; instead of highlighting her eyes with artificial lighting that might seem out of place, Wes uses the moonlight and the leaves shining through her patio doors to illuminate Heather’s face in a way that focuses on certain features while maintaining the dark and spooky tone the movie takes on at that point.  

       Horror film scores are often a spoiler for the scares; in this film, while the score has those moments, it pushes the limit of horror by not only encompassing the loud moments that heighten the audience’s sense of fear, but also adds tension and even tenderness at times. It is a diverse score that takes the audience through the ups, downs, and sharp bends within the film itself. The film’s scenery mainly consists of an every day environment, until the movie takes a turn for Freddy’s lair. Being an ancient being, his lair oozes remnants of the old world, from paintings on the walls, to the seven deadly sins over the fire pits, pillars, vases, and the like. The lair represents Freddy’s iconic boiler room, but in a way that parallels his change in nature and character from the Freddy of the films.

  One of the most symbolic and intriguing moments of the film is Heather’s interview scene which points out the Nightmare phenomenon, sets up the introduction of the “real Freddy“, and symbolizes Heather’s relationship with the series. Although it is early in the film, it is already known that Heather feels uncomfortable revisiting her past experience with the Elm Street films, which is not picked up by the enthusiastic host, who is itching for more answers. Much to Heather’s dismay, she’s surrounded by Elm Street. The effects of the series are visible in the show’s audience: a crowd filled with individuals of all ages dressed in Freddy gear, holding Freddy signs. When the host introduces Robert and he emerges, he’s the goofy Freddy that he evolved into during the later films. This silly “film Freddy” contrasts against the later, darker “real Freddy” in the film to emphasize the entity torturing Heather is not the same Krueger. It is not until Robert stands in front of Heather, with the spotlight upon him, and his shadow is cast over Heather as he shouts “You are all my children now”, that he transforms into a dark figure claiming ownership over the souls of the fans. The shadow cast back on Heather not only symbolizes that her heroine, Nancy, is living in Freddy’s shadow, but also that the darkness of real evil is looming over her life, preparing to strike. 

          Wes Craven’s New Nightmare received rave reviews from critics, but not such great box office results. Often criticized by fans for not being “scary enough” or for not having a sufficient amount of gore, the film receives mixed opinions from the fan base itself. Personally, it is not only my favorite Nightmare film, but also one of my favorite all-time films for its endless list of brilliant storytelling elements put into the film. It is an underappreciated film that brings into light the affect films can have on our lives, particularly on those closest to us, and the innocent wisdom and instinct that exists within children. As Wes has mentioned, although horror is often criticized, if we refuse to make “art” about it, we will only lose more of our sanity because we choose to ignore those primal parts of life. Wes understands the significance of sending messages to the world through movie-making. Through horror, he warns us about some of the things we overlook or deny exist. However, thankfully for us, these tales of boogeymen and the ancient demonic forces embodying them are only fictional; at least, for now. 

Who is the Girl on Elm Street?: The "(sorry it's a) Wall of Text" Introduction

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog! This is my very first one so I am nervously, but excitedly ready to begin posting. Before I get into the blog content, I'd like to share a little about myself for those who may not know me.



 My Story

 My name is Diandra Lazor and I'm at the ripe, but somewhat awkward age of 20. I am a very passionate horror fan. Although I'm not yet a horror aficionado, I'm working my way towards it. I have a lot of catching up to do because my bloody rose of horror lovin' was not planted until a few years ago and did not begin to bloom until about a year and a half ago. I grew up in a very catholic household where I can't say I was unwilling to rebel against the very conservative and wholesome values of my immediate family. In fact, I even had dreams of being a nun. When I reached high school, I even earned the title "sister Mary Lazor-Beam" from a teacher who thought the nunnery was missing someone like me. That ship has sailed, but I still laugh about it. I saw my first horror film in seventh grade, Jeepers Creepers, and it horrified me for months. When my family moved next to a small field, I was constantly paranoid and would scream if I saw anyone or anything to do with the movie. Despite being wholly holy and having a family that rarely if ever watched a horror film, I always had an odd fascination with the macabre and spooky things. A traumatic childhood haunted house incident kept me at a safe distance, but I loved the old monster movies, would get up early in the morning just to watch the Jaws films(the Universal Orlando ride was my favorite as a child), couldn't-stop-watching-to-the-point-of-obsession Ghostbusters and Hocus Pocus, and had an intriguing love-hate relationship with Freddy Krueger. A Nightmare On Elm Street would come on the television from time to time we always seemed to cross paths at the moment when a slashed up and crispy Marge was sinking downward into her bed. It was the most terrifying image of my childhood, yet I found myself singing the "1,2 Freddy's coming for you..." song with my best friend on car rides. I was a pretty conflicted child, right? I didn't know it at the time, but that movie would change my life.

When the summer of my freshman year arrived, my family took a trip to western Ohio to a place from where my father originated. At the time, I was obsessed with the 2004 film The Phantom of the Opera(being the life-long queen of obsessions, this made obsession #26 for me, and my biggest obsession to date! Or so I thought). The town was small and quaint. A typical Midwestern town that was eerily empty, particularly around the playground. Such a nice place in a week with nice weather, but things were quiet. My father kept rambling about some watertower the town was known for. When we finally reached the hotel, which had a very picturesque view of the watertower, I grudgingly took a photo in front of it. That night I had the Freddy Krueger dream that completely consumed me. I had many Krueger dreams before, but this one was the most real and he kept talking about a "Nancy". "Who's Nancy?", I thought. When I woke up, I was utterly obsessed with Freddy and A Nightmare On Elm Street. On our way out of the beautiful but spooky town, we crossed paths with an Elm Street.

When we returned home I rushed out to rent the films. I began with the sillier ones first(Freddy's Dead and Freddy vs Jason) before finally renting the original. When Nancy came into the film, I was in shock. I couldn't believe the Freddy in my dream had mentioned this girl from this movie whose name I had never known, but who actually existed. As the movie progressed I fell in love with her. I knew the following Halloween, I would have to be her for Halloween. In the meantime, my love for her grew and I slowly began branching out into the other films and even some of the online resources. That Halloween I did dress as Nancy and continued to do so for the next 3 years. I had such rave reviews from my friends and family that I decided to take it to the fans through online resources. I took a few photos in costume and fans seemed to like it. That's when I decided to create a Facebook profile. As time passed I became more and more of an Elm Street fan, with Nancy leading the way as my favorite character of both the franchise and of all-time. My costuming grew and I branched out further and further.

Today I am a more avid Heather/Nancy/Nightmare fan than ever and have come across some truly amazing people in my life who I'm happy to call friends. I had had the honor of being a part of so many things like the Nightmare Companion(www.nightmareonelmstreetflms.com), Krueger Kollectables, the Indie fan film Son Of A Hundred Maniacs, be an assistance for actor Mark Patton of Nightmare 2, DAYS OF THE DEAD convention's "Heroes Within Us", represent Ohio with Scares That Care, and experience so many things beyond my wildest dreams.


All About the Blog

With encouragement from friends, I am now delving deep into the world of horror and loving every bit of it. I'm intrigued with everything that's out there and want to utilize this blog to highlight some of the best aspects of the horror universe. This blog will include everything from Indie horror, art, and books; to literary analysis of films and research topics; to tips and tricks from horror entrepreneurs(convention heads, podcasts, panel moderators, review blogs, website owners, etc.); to notable fans; and maybe even more! I am always open so if you have anyone or anything you'd like to know more about or how to do, or think there is an Indie film, an artist, a book, etc. you would like me to check out, please feel free to contact me and I would be more than happy to consider your suggestions.

With coffee in hand and "Stay Awake Fast" at my side, it's time to get nutty as a fruitcake and dive right in! I hope you'll enjoy.



Whew! That was a blog post full!!