Six installments in a film franchise can become pretty
laborious depending on the crew handling the project. After subsequent sequels,
stories can lose their supporting basis for why they began to begin with. Just
like the Halloween, Hellraiser and Friday the 13th franchises, the writers
attached make their best attempt to connect films together but there's always
something that gets lost among the string of stories. This film is no different
and unfortunately is a bit of a set back from past entries. Since his creation,
Freddy Krueger has been quite the demon. Over time, his persona has changed
which has affected his film image. However, this has been a gradual evolution. What
was once more mysterious and dangerous, became more silly and over the top.
 |
| Lezlie Deane, Ricky Dean Logan & Breckin Meyer |
The plot to this entry revolves around a character by the
name of John Doe (Shon Greenblatt), after waking up on the outskirts of
Springwood, the last surviving teenager. Amazingly Freddy Krueger was able to
kill off all teenagers in Springwood and now he's off to a new place to do the
same. After being picked up by the police, Doe is brought to Maggie Burroughs
(Lisa Zane) and Doc (Yaphet Kotto) who are looking after other troubled
teenagers. The others consist of Tracy (Lezlie Deane), Carlos (Ricky Dean
Logan) and Spencer (Breckin Meyer). All whom have had parent issues. The
screenplay was written by Michael De Luca, who would later become the producer
to other hit films like The Mask (1994), Blade (1998) and Ghost Rider (2007)
and directed by Rachel Talalay.
For a story, it does have points that work. The focus of
characters change evenly and the backstory of Freddy Krueger is further
explained. This helps give the audience a greater understanding behind Freddy's
motivation to do harm. Shon Greenblatt as John Doe has his moments but Lisa
Zane is best of the protagonists. Yaphet Kotto as Doc is a nice supporting
character but nothing's really explained as to how he understands dreams more
than anyone else. The rest of the cast though is rather forgettable. Lezlie
Deane, Ricky Dean Logan and Breckin Meyer all play characters who bicker with
each other. None of their dialog would make any viewer want to cheer them on.
There's also cameos from Johnny Depp and Roseanne Barr.
As for Robert Englund, there's no doubt that he's puts in a
performance he was enjoying. Unlike all other entries, Englund hams up Krueger
to the fullest extent. Not only is Krueger spewing out one-liners left and
right, but he's also breaking the fourth wall. He even makes an unlicensed
Nintendo slogan and references the endings to the past films. While his quips
are comical, it's rather sad to see how terrifying the character once was, only
to be playing video games to kill his victims. The gore effects are still there
though. There's blood and other amputations that occur and the practical
effects look realistic. This doesn't add to the scare factor though. It's just
there for visual appeal. The digital effects though are another thing
completely.
 |
| "Nintendo anyone?" |
While CGI had more or less been integrated at this time
thanks to Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), the CGI effects in this film do
look out of date. Most likely due to the budget, the filmmakers should have
just stuck with the practical effects. Cinematography handled by Declan Quinn
was rather uninspired. Being that he would later make most of his career
filming for musicians, the look of this entry isn't anything noteworthy. The
dream sequences aren't that unique nor do anything creative with their
surroundings. Thankfully, the music was a little more entertaining thanks to
composer Brian May's score. While it may not sound as creepy due to scenes
filmed, he still replicates Charles Bernstein's original theme which is
important. Thanks for that.
Points Earned --> 5:10
No comments:
Post a Comment