Written by Michael De Luca
Directed by Rachel Talalay
Maggie: "Happy Father's Day."
Freddy: "Oh .... Kids."
Had things been different and the title really had been true, this really could've been the last time that Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) had terrorised on the big screen. However we're talking about a successful horror franchise and they never truly die. They just rest for a bit.
In the previous five movies we've seen Freddy terrorise and kill various teenagers while slowly learning about his origins with mixed results. We've learned about him as a son. It only made sense to learn about him as a father and husband. Spoiler alert: he's awful in both roles.
Starting this movie with an amnesiac young man literally called John Doe (Shon Greenblatt), this movie starts off with it looking like that not only was the young man going to be the new and less screechy Jesse Walsh but also the son of Freddy. Halfway through the film that was well and truly kicked into touch.
Instead it's revealed that Dr Maggie Burroughs aka Katherine Krueger (Lisa Zane) is actually the daughter of Freddy Krueger and was responsible for him being sent to prison after he murdered her mother when she was younger. It took a while for Maggie to remember her murderous father but when she does, things do get more interesting.
The franchise had had its protagonists with Nancy and Alice being the most successful, Jesse the least and Kristen somewhere in between. I feel Maggie falls a bit in between tbh but I love that she's an older protagonist and her fight with Freddy has probably felt the most personal in the franchise since Nancy with Freddy realising that his daughter really is a chip of the old block.
Of course there are also teenage protagonists in this installment as well. Broken home children including stoner, Spencer (Breckin Meyer), deaf kid Carlos (Ricky Dean Logan) and tough girl Tracy (Lezlie Deane). Ou of the three, Tracy's the only survivor as well as the only one really developed as a character.
- This movie had a few celebrity cameos including Johnny Depp, Roseanne Barr, Tom Arnold and Alice Cooper.
- Originally John Doe was meant to be a teenage version of Alice's son, Jacob but nothing confirmed it in the movie itself.
- Standout music: Has to be Freddy's Dead by Iggy Pop, played over the closing credits and featuring clips from previous movies.
- Chronology: Ten years in the future apparently. It's definitely a 90s setting though, given when it was released.
Freddy's Dead doesn't have the greatest reputation and while it's generally a bit messy, I kind of have a soft spot for it. I really like Rachel Talalay as a director and I thought she did the best she could with what she had to work with, script. It's not great but it's a damn sight than the previous two movies that came before it.
Rating: 6 out of 10
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