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Ten years after scaring the pants off teens around the world with the creation of the iconic movie slasher Freddy Krueger, Wes Craven returns to the franchise to helm as-yet-final installment of the long-running Nightmare on Elm St. series. This time, Craven reconceptualizes the monster that made him a household name, and he’s brought classic series actors Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon and Robert Englund with him to do it! It’s a post-modern, meta look at the blockbuster horror franchise that’s regarded as a classic, but is it all it’s cracked up to be? Wes Craven’s New Nightmare is the topic of this episode of Rotten Horror Picture Show!
Reality and fantasy meet in unsettling ways in this installment of the long-running horror series, which finds director Wes craven and actors Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englund all portraying themselves. As Heather considers making another film with Craven, her son Dylan falls under the spell of the iconic disfigured villain Freddy Krueger. Eventually Heather must confront Freddy’s demonic spirit to save Dylan. If you enjoy aggressive accessorizing, crotch-related mishaps, questionable parenting, and gratuitous John Saxon, there’s a good chance you’ll love this movie!
Join Clay, Amanda, and special guest Wes as they carve into the film, described as Wes Craven’s meditative, meta masterpiece, and see if Freddy’s still got it, figure out who this film is really being made for, debate Freddy’s new fashion choices, and once and for all decide whether or not Wes Craven was actually a good horror director.
Is this all really happening? Or are you just playing a fictionalized version of yourself in a movie about your real-life issues, viewed through the lens of a muddled monster narrative that never really says anything about the issues it’s supposedly raising? Listen to our coverage of Wes Craven’s New Nightmare and find out!