La muerte de Freddy: ¡la pesadilla final!

RELEASED IN 1991 and directed by Rachel Talalay, "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" (aka "A Nightmare on Elm Street 6: The Dream Lover") focuses on the last survivor of Freddy's vengeful assaults on the teens of the parents that vengefully killed him in Springwood, OH. The amnesiac (Shon Greenblatt) finds sanctuary at a home for troubled youths where three of the kids plan to escape (Lezlie Deane, Breckin Meyer & Ricky Dean Logan). Dr. Maggie Burroughs (Lisa Zane) takes John and (inadvertently) the three escapees to Springwood to find answers where they discover that Freddy had a child whom he wants to use to continue his murders. Who is his child?

The element concerning the halfway house for messed-up kids is borrowed from "Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning" (1985), but "Freddy's Dead" isn't as effective because (1.) the characters aren't as interesting, (2.) the plot is convoluted, and (3.) the female cast is inferior. Don't get me wrong on that last one, because Lisa Zane is stalwart and Lezlie Deane (as Tracy) is formidable. Deane, incidentally, was a former Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader (fired after six weeks for punching a choreographer) and went on to perform with the lipstick-lesbian band Fem2Fem in the mid-90s (big surprise) and, later, Scary Cherry and the Bang Bangs.

In light of the complicated story, this sixth installment might play better with repeat viewings. It's likable and worthy in some ways, but it's (currently) my least favorite of the first six films in the "Nightmare" series.

THE MOVIE RUNS 89 minutes and was shot in Sierra Madre & Los Angeles, California. WRITERS: Michael De Luca (screenplay) and Talalay (story). ADDITIONAL CAST: Yaphet Kotto plays a counselor at the shelter.

GRADE: C+

I have to give Rachel Talalay credit for this was a decent vehicle for her to make her directorial debut since she'd been affiliated with this series for years before making this movie, but the story couldn't have been weaker. Except for using the character of Freddy, Nightmare 6 bears no major consistency with it's predecessors. We never find out what happened to Alice and her baby. Freddy is starting with a new group of teenagers who aren't relevant to the previous five movies in any way which make them as victims and characters (and, in some cases, as actors) even more forgettable than this movie. Perhaps the only thing that makes this movie watchable is that eeriness that makes Freddy fearsome. The only good thing that can be said about the sequels to this movie is that the eerie element is present in all of them, but is negligible due to overly high body counts, weak stories, and comedy. They shouldn't have used the tagline: "They save the best for last," since I didn't think Freddy's death scene in this movie was a far cry from his previous five.

Well, I hate to spoil the movie for you but Freddy dies in this one. For what should've have been a grand finale to the series ends up only okay at best. The body count is low and there is just general goofiness all around. Freddy is a joker, and is not threatening at all. I suppose this makes some sense, because with all the power Freddy had it would only take a matter of time before he got so cynical in his killings. Just getting the job done, and having a good laugh while at it.

Since the series has been such a success, there actually is a budget on this and there's good Special Effects. But even with all the effects, it'll be the clever camera tricks that will have you thinking "how'd they do that?" There are only 3 deaths but they are pretty good and creative ones at least. In part 5 a kid is sucked into a comic book, in this one a kid is sucked into a video game. The results of this are way better than in part 5.

Then there's the plot- which is stupid. But at this point in the Nightmare On Elm Street series, you can't expect anything good. It's reached the point of campiness and for some reason I just went with it in Freddy's Dead. It's a goofy, somewhat enjoyable flick that I'm sort of on the fence about. It's not scary at all but it will keep you entertained, unlike Parts 2 and 5.

My Rating: 5/10

My least favorite of the entire series. While not a total loss, you do come away feeling cheated. The redeeming qualities of this flick are: the continued exploration into Freddy's past. (HELLO NEW LINE - DO THE NIGHTMARE PREQUEL - IF YOU MAKE IT WE WILL COME!) This was one whacked joker. The 3D sequences were good, but the ending totally blew.

Pros: Opening Sequence -- Cons: Ending -- Bottom Line: Still better than alot of other horror crud 5/10!

This film is terrible. I really can't understand why they changed Krueger from a mass murdering scary figure to a Jerry Lewis clone. They should have given the role of Krueger to Robin Williams. At least he is good at comedy. That would be something I would pay to see. I have seen the first Nightmare about 50 times, I have seen Craven's last one maybe 5 times, the others are just a waste of time and they are not even worth one viewing. I can't tell you how much I despise the way that horror films have evolved. From all of the Fridays after the fourth, all the Nightmares after the first and before the last and all the Scream clones, they are mostly terrible. There have really only been perhaps 3 films in the 90's that scared me. One was Wes' New Nightmare and the two others are this summer's biggest surprises, that being The Blair Witch Project and The Sixth Sense. They are movies that scare, chill and make you jump in ways that this and every other Nightmare could only dream of. If you have a morbid curiosity of what else I think of this film, review A Nightmare On Elm Street, Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre along with the other two films that I mentioned. Then you will see that those films are the exact opposite of what this one if. And that is a scary thought. I just hope that horror films are on the rise again seeing as we now have names like Myrick, Sanchez and Shyalaman that have emerged onto the scene. Perhaps they can bring us back to what horror films used to stand for. We used to have scares and chills, now we have comedy in place of all that is a horror movie. If that is your thing then watch this one along with movies like Idle Hands. But if you are a purist, stay away from this one and go rent some classics. Thank the movie Gods for video.

To sum it up, in case you didn't get it, this is a disgrace to what Freddy originally stood for. This is a terrible horror movie.