Favorite Nightmare On Elm Street Movie

  "Welcome To Wonderland Alice" - Freddy Krueger
   

The Nightmare on Elm Street is a top three horror franchise. An imaginative premise with a creepy but very popular villain Freddy Krueger kept me looking forward to seeing what they would come up with from film to film.  I consider the series to include seven films only, the original Nightmare on Elm Street on to Freddy’s Dead plus Freddy vs Jason. Really the first six are the series with Freddy vs Jason acting as a bonus dvd. It’s hard to turn down those bonus dvds even if you only enjoy 8 minutes of material from it. Over time Freddy vs. Jason has grown on me. That's for a later post.

My favorite Nightmare is not the best entry for the series.  What makes it great is that it is so easy and enjoyable to watch. Anytime it’s on cable I can watch it to the end. I had very little regard for this film when I first saw it. My biggest issue being that it was not scary. After years of repeated viewings on vhs, I recognize A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master as a certified classic!

1988 was not an easy year for me. 12 years old with a 5-year-old brother copycatting me, going to the movies was my escape. I mean he wanted to do everything I wanted to do. If I went out to the park, he'd tag along and now I was watching him. If I wanted to play with my WWF figures, he wanted to play with my WWF figures. Sheesh..If I could relive that time spent I would. It was to be cherished. But at that time I would take a pass. I'd ask mom for money for a movie every time she got a paycheck. She'd oblige if she could and drop me off. It got me out of her hair for a little over an hour and gave me time to myself.

Summer of '88 there were some fun flix released. Tom Hanks in Big, Chevy Chase in Funny Farm, Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and everybody's favorite Christmas movie Die Hard were released that summer. Most of the movies I didn't see until later when they were available for rent on video.
   

Near the end of summer, Freddy was back and mom had just gotten paid. Mother may I..? Yes, you may. She dropped me off for a Saturday matinee screening of this film in Oxon Hill, Md. Lucky for me the theater was down the road from the apartment complex we lived in. I sat alone waiting to be shocked. 90 minutes later...NOTHING. There was too much daylight in this film. The parts I was looking forward to seeing from the commercials, like the glove moving through the sand like Jaws after Kristen weren't surprising anymore. Add that to the fact that the follow through characters from The Dream Warriors, Kincaid, Joey and Kristen were axed in the first 10 minutes, the stage was set for major disappointment. And so I was disappointed.
   

A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 4 The Dream Master is the only movie in the series that doesn't have long portions that drag as the plot moves forward. As much as I love The Dream Warriors, the scenes with Neil and Sister Mary Helena really slow the film down.
   

The Dream Master expands beautifully on the idea of dream powers started in The Dream Warriors. The characters are the last group of semi-likable characters introduced in the series. Alice is an Elm Street legend. None of the films that followed; Dream Child, Freddy's Dead nor Freddy vs. Jason introduced a new character that fans of the series could get behind and believe in. Debbie's death scene is as fun and troubling as Phillip's death scene a year and a half prior, but not quite as gruesome. Not as dark as the previous entries or those that followed, The Dream Master is a bright spot in the series and my favorite Nightmare on Elm Street movie.

Favorite Friday The 13th Movie

"There's a legend 'round here...a killer buried but not dead." - the narrator

The horror franchise that had a stranglehold on my attention growing up was Friday the 13th. Jason Vorhees was a frickin hero in film lore. So I'd like to talk about my favorite Friday film. For all the Friday lovers, most of you will experience what is known as the jaw drop. Normally this particular Friday film is lucky to be on a top 5 Friday list let alone being someone's number 1. For me, it was a special entry to the series. Here's why Friday the 13th Part VII The New Blood is my favorite Friday the 13th movie.

Friday the 13th Part VII was the first Friday film that I was able to see at the movie theater. Up to that point, I watched the first six films in the series at the foot of my aunt's bed. She lived in Arlington, Va and there was a local video store called Erol's that she was a club member of. She'd let me choose any movie I'd like. More often than not most of my time was spent in the horror section. Back at her house, we'd toss a bag of popcorn in the microwave, and prepare the room for frights with the dimming of the lights. Chop slash chop. It was all good until those damn sex scenes came on the screen. I'd gleefully watch people get axed, women being thrown out of windows, limbs being torn off, blood squirting out of eyes, but when those breasts were exposed I'd slink into the floor with embarrassment pretending to have fallen asleep. I think I liked it.

   

It was 1988 and a new Friday the 13th film hadn't been released in a couple of years. I wasn't crazy about the 6th installment Jason Lives but was anxiously awaiting Jason's return. In the late spring of 1988, The New Blood was released. My cousin and I were escorted to a 10:00 pm showing at the Marlow Heights Cinema on the Friday night opening. At 12 years old I was NOT disappointed. The movie had enough thrills to keep my attention. Jason was bulkier in this movie and he tossed people around like an absolute beast. Ain't that right Melissa.
   

I attended a Christian elementary school at the time. Returning to classes that Monday I was the only kid in my classes whose parent would allow their child to venture out to see this movie shoulder to shoulder with the teenagers late on a Friday night. I commanded quite an audience during recess as I talked about my favorite scene. I re-enacted it over and over. Judy zipped herself in the sleeping bag. Jason dragged her from the tent visibly frustrated by her constant wiggling as Judy struggled in the bag he swings for the fences smashing her against a tree. That was awesome! I was told to stop talking about the movie by a teacher, but that didn't stop me. I had a strong whisper game.
  

The scene where the twisted, lying Dr. Crews comes face to face with Jason is executed perfectly. Dr. Crews is proven to be a jackass. He even has the face you love to hate. Moments before this scene he cowardly shields himself from Jason's machete with Tina's mother. His time is now.
With the camera focused on an exhausted, panicked Crews the music slowly starts and is accompanied by the sound of a buzz saw revving up. Jason steps from behind a tree with that saw on full blast! Crews runs! Jason slowly stalks.
   

This movie rocked. There is plenty of information now available about how the movie suffered from extreme editing forced by the MPAA to avoid an X rating. 

Also much like Halloween 5 The Revenge of Michael Myers, it was filmed and released at a breakneck speed. I believe approximately 5 months from casting to box office opening. I would have loved to have all this behind-the-scenes info at my fingertips 30 years ago.

#1 Scene: The sleeping bag kill mentioned above is quite possibly the most fun, vicious kill in the entire series.

    

If you are a fan of this franchise check out my Gift Guide For Friday the 13th Fans. You might find the perfect gift for yourself!