In Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, it is at least ten years since the events of The Dream Child and a series of mysterious killings and suicides have wiped out all the children in Springwood, Ohio. All that remains are a bunch of psychologically disturbed adults and one lone teen.
And with only one teen left in Springwood, he is of course the target of Freddy Krueger. But Freddy doesn’t just want this teen, he wants all the teens he can get his hands on, so Freddy uses him to lure more youngsters to town.
And soon for the first time in years, there are teens in Springwood, and more importantly, there are teens on Elm Street. This gives Freddy a new collection of victims to torment and terrorise… because hey, this is what he does.
Directed by Rachel Talalay, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare stars Robert Englund, Lisa Zane, Lezlie Deane, Breckin Meyer, and Shon Greenblatt. The movie is the sixth entry in the Elm Street series, yet despite its title it is NOT the final Nightmare.
Freddy’s Dead was conceived as the final entry in the series, and does act as a rest point, but the title would subsequently prove to be a misnomer. Freddy returns in further movies, including Wes Craven’s New Nightmare and Freddy vs. Jason.
Actually I should adjust that to say, Freddy returns in BETTER movies, including Wes Craven’s New Nightmare and Freddy vs. Jason. Better movies because Freddy’s Dead is rubbish and we should all be thankful this isn’t the end of the road.
However, it is an end of sorts and this means all bets are off and anything and everything can happen. And for this reason, Freddy’s Dead includes cartoon violence; a Wizard of Oz gag; cameos from Roseanne, Tom Arnold, Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp; and a ten-minute sequence shot in 3D.
Yes, 3D! Terrible 3D.
The days of scary Freddy are over. All that remains are gimmicks, daft nonsense, and a few scraps of ideas scattered across the screen.
If you are in any doubt, let me make this clear now: With Freddy’s Dead, the wheels have well and truly fallen off this film series. This is a genuine low point for the Nightmare movies, with few redeeming features and nothing really to recommend.
Put simply: The characters are annoying, the story is pretty much non-existent, and the once enjoyable set pieces are now lacklustre and tiresome. The elaborate kill scenes that were highlights of the last couple of Elm Street movies are now just annoying scenes in an annoying film and it’s all frankly a waste of time.
Heck, even the ever-dependable Robert Englund struggles to deliver this time around and this is because he knows it’s simply not worth it. Although, on reflection, he at least got paid for this underwhelming offering, which is something more than we got for having to watch it!
*Sigh*
Freddy’s Dead is an example of what you get when you bang out film, after film, after film, and you keep going until there is nothing left. The essence of a Nightmare movie is here, but it’s simply not enjoyable to watch.
To be fair Freddy’s Dead is far from the worst horror movie in existence, but on the whole it’s simply tiresome. I doubt it is anyone’s favourite entry in the series, and anyone who tells you it is should probably not be trusted.
Anyway, should you have too much time on your hands, and you love nothing better than to watch dull horror, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare is available on digital download. The film is also available on DVD and Blu-ray as part of the Elm Street movie collection.
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