So, the idea of this, (originating from Leslie Bonham) was pitched for the second film, but rejected because of the pregnancy of one of the executives. Bonham got the chance to write the chance to write this as the fifth film for the franchise. However, the process of actually filming it was strenuous with director Stephen Hopkins having only four weeks to actually shot the movie and four weeks to edit. On top of this, the film was heavily cut down from its original vision to avoid an X-Rating, resulting in watered-down death and continuity errors. Released on August 11th, 1989 (about a year after the last one and apparently one of the last slasher films of the 80's), it was not only the lowest grossing of the franchise, but the most negatively reviewed up until this point. Even director Stephen Hopskins stated he was dissatisfied with the final result. Does it deserve this treatment? Let's take a look.
Alice (Lisa Wilcox) has finally settled down after the events of the last film and graduated high school. However, she is haunted by visions of the conception and birth of Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) in an insane asylum. In the last one of these, she sees him getting resurrected in the church where she defeated him last movie, and he hints that he's found a way to get back. She tries to contact her boyfriend Dan (Danny .... Hassel), but Freddy gets him while he's en route. Alice faints, and finds out from nurse friend Yvonne (Kelly Jo Minter) that she is pregnant with Dan's child, which Alice realizes is Freddy's conduit to make his comeback.
The dream sequences in this series just get better and better, and this easily has some of the best. Dark, surreal, scary, with some interesting twists and excellent visuals. It truly pushed the effects of the period while also looking great today. I don't really want to spoil some of these because these are some really original stuff.
The best thing about this film is also its biggest drawback. The superb effects are in fact often on full display and are very clear. It's scary, but as it goes on and especially as it serves the often haphazard, ludicrous plot, the film really starts to come off as more campy, and that's where it really starts to fall apart. I tolerated Freddy Krueger's wisecracking persona, but here, it becomes unbearable, and it really diminishes his threat. A lot of the deaths are also way too over the top to invoke any real terror. In fact, a lot of them seem more like Looney Tunes gags than horror movie deaths. It also doesn't help the story is confusing and kind of ridiculous, with too many moving parts to take note of. I think a lot of these problems can be attributed to the cuts made, meaning some scenes are not in the film, and there are continuity errors here. So, maybe the uncut version is better.
So, this is easily the weakest the series has gotten so far. Again, the effects are the probably the best of the whole series, so if you want to see that, it is a recommendation. However, there really is no reason to see this unless you want to see all of them.
Alright, so we finish off the original continuity with Freddy's Dead (since I already did Freddy vs. Jason)
Alice (Lisa Wilcox) has finally settled down after the events of the last film and graduated high school. However, she is haunted by visions of the conception and birth of Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) in an insane asylum. In the last one of these, she sees him getting resurrected in the church where she defeated him last movie, and he hints that he's found a way to get back. She tries to contact her boyfriend Dan (Danny .... Hassel), but Freddy gets him while he's en route. Alice faints, and finds out from nurse friend Yvonne (Kelly Jo Minter) that she is pregnant with Dan's child, which Alice realizes is Freddy's conduit to make his comeback.
The dream sequences in this series just get better and better, and this easily has some of the best. Dark, surreal, scary, with some interesting twists and excellent visuals. It truly pushed the effects of the period while also looking great today. I don't really want to spoil some of these because these are some really original stuff.
The best thing about this film is also its biggest drawback. The superb effects are in fact often on full display and are very clear. It's scary, but as it goes on and especially as it serves the often haphazard, ludicrous plot, the film really starts to come off as more campy, and that's where it really starts to fall apart. I tolerated Freddy Krueger's wisecracking persona, but here, it becomes unbearable, and it really diminishes his threat. A lot of the deaths are also way too over the top to invoke any real terror. In fact, a lot of them seem more like Looney Tunes gags than horror movie deaths. It also doesn't help the story is confusing and kind of ridiculous, with too many moving parts to take note of. I think a lot of these problems can be attributed to the cuts made, meaning some scenes are not in the film, and there are continuity errors here. So, maybe the uncut version is better.
So, this is easily the weakest the series has gotten so far. Again, the effects are the probably the best of the whole series, so if you want to see that, it is a recommendation. However, there really is no reason to see this unless you want to see all of them.
Alright, so we finish off the original continuity with Freddy's Dead (since I already did Freddy vs. Jason)
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