I'm really starting to regret my decision to watch some of these movies. Although this is a step up from the previous installment, it's not as good as I remember.
( note: This was originally intended to end the series, and in a way, it was the last film to follow a linear progression, so for all intents and purposes, I am going to treat this film like it is the last.)
Some Background: The film was released in September of 1991, and the popular slasher franchises of the eighties were not dying gracefully. Audiences were losing interest in the quickly, poorly made sequels. Both juggernauts, Nightmare and Friday hadn't released a film since the summer of '89 (if anyone doesn't know, this was the summer that defined the summer blockbuster). Over two years; this is the longest gap in either franchise's history. New Line Cinema decided to give these once great franchises a proper (somewhat) sendoff.
In August, Jason Goes to Hell premiered and was unlike any other Friday film (I'm not going to go into how or if it worked). The following month, Freddy's Dead premiered with a similar departure. Twin Peaks was huge at the time, and it has been cited many times (even referenced in the film itself) for the strangeness of the plot and the humor.
What I Liked: At the time, it was cool because they did something a little different. Everyone was tired of the slasher formula. This took place ten years in the future, where there are no children left in the town of Springwood. It had some (alhough goofy) memorable death scenes: the blackboard-scratching, the power glove. There were some great cameos: Rosanne and Tom Arnold were great. Johnny Depp came back to the franchise that launched his career for a hilarious scene. Alice Cooper was Freddy's abusive father. A young Boba Fette, Breckin Meyer was in it. This film also has probably my most quoted Nightmare phrase: The map says we're fucked.
What I Didn't Like: Although said death's were funny, Freddy's personality was becoming bland, and really was on the decline since the third film. Then they decide to reveal Freddy's nonsensical and muddled origin during the final fifteen minutes in a 3D (Apparently, the technology existed before last year. Weird) segment.
What the Fuck: First we see Freddy as a young boy, playing with a hamster in class. So I guess he wasn't always evil. But no. It's cool, because he only took it out to smash it with a hammer. Awesome. He's well on his way to becoming a serial killer. And then instead of being horrified that a student smashed a hamster, his class makes fun of him because his mother was raped by a hundred maniacs. Also awesome.
When he's a teenager, Freddy is found cutting himself before his drunken stepfather beats him. I guess he's a victim. Oh, wait. No he's not. He doesn't feel pain, and murders his stepfather. Cool. Then as an adult, Freddy has a family and a house with a picket fence. How perfect. But then his bitch wife discovers his forbidden murder basement, so he has to kill her. But it's OK, because Freddy loves his daughter?
Then, right before Freddy is murdered, these dream-sperm demons that have been around since the beginning of time are like, "Hey. You're the most evil guy ever. Can we chill with you?" And Freddy's like, "Yeah." So they go in him and that's where he got his dream powers.
What Kills Freddy: (I realized that I forgot this part in my last review. I went back and added that if you want to check it out) Freddy's daughter put dynamite in his pants. Who'da thunk it?
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