A few days ago, I looked through the archives to see what I thought of those two movies... only I couldn't find those reviews at all. Either Google screwed up or I actually never did reviews of those movies. Odd either way. Recently I acquired all the Freddy Krueger films (no, I am not counting the remake, which I understand is real awful) as I got it in a pair of DVD sets for pretty cheap and it does the job for me even if it isn't the recent box set.
I'll be copying and pasting my Letterboxd reviews for the first two; the first one is recent as I just posted it yesterday.
A Nightmare On Elm Street
This is another review where I had previously done one but then I decided to delete it and do it all over again after seeing the film another time recently. In this case I am actually bumping my rating up a little from where I had it originally.
The more I see the film the more I seem to appreciate it. The fact that the origin of the film was based on real life (Sudden Unexplained Death Syndrome is a phenomenon that seems to only affect Southeast Asians; director Craven read some articles in the late 70's in Los Angeles newspapers where several cases of SUDS happened and the victims had horrible nightmares before passing away out of nowhere, and it was a morbid but natural inspiration for a horror film) makes it creepy, but at this time Fred Krueger was still a very creepy and terrifying villain, a killer of children and implied child molester. Them getting Robert Englund for the role was tremendous casting as he brought Freddy Krueger to life.
Besides a great general idea of a villain that everyone could identify with-everyone has nightmares, after all-the story is done real well. The stuff with the lead heroine and her parents was especially nice and added depth to the tale. There are many scenes and moments from the film that plenty of horror fans still remember today (including me)... from the effect of Freddy's frame coming through the wall to the deaths of two key characters, Freddy's outstretched arms to the wacky ending, those are unforgettable moments for genre devotees.
As I learned more about how the film was made and how they were able to do the practical effects (still great today and stand the test of time, unlike most CGI you see), I appreciate how they were able to pull it off. Overall, aside from some goofy moments I do think it's a quality horror film with a great villain, interesting characters and nice interaction with those characters, awesome setpieces and a nice score, along with a great atmosphere where you often aren't sure what's real and what will turn out to be a surreal unsettling dream... I now realize that 4 out of 5 stars is a fitting rating for this motion picture.
A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
This is a tough one to rate. I might as well go with 3 stars as besides it being a goofy horror film that stands out as being different from the rest of the series with the possession angle (and whether or not the obvious homosexual angle is an attack on a teenage boy wrestling with his gay feelings or it's presenting it matter of fact and neutral, or it's something else dealing with homosexuality... I am not quite sure), you can both laugh at all the homoeroticism-it makes the movie play quite different if you view it normally then you see it with that perspective-and enjoy it as a horror film as Freddy Krueger was still a menacing villain instead of a wisecracking buffoon and there are some real creepy moments... some really weird ones, too.
The rating is due in part to entertainment value, and no matter how you look at it, it is entertaining.
I'll return tomorrow night.
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