Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) **1/2 [Freddython 2021 Pt. 6]
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) is a frustrating sequel for a number of reasons. It has some cool ideas and a few great set pieces but it's an uneven film. I commend director Rachel Talalay (who had been involved in the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise in various capacities since the very beginning) for attempting to make a unique entry that does its own thing, but the outcome is a mixed bag. Her work with John Waters shows through as an influence, along with Twin Peaks (1990–1991), which is name-dropped.
Freddy's appearance this go-around is too polished for my tastes—it comes off looking like a mask rather than appliances. In the Freddy scenes Robert Englund is solid, but it feels like he's going through the motions more often than not. His one-liners are lacking and he cackles just a bit too much. In the flashback scenes however, he gets a bit more to work with and those provide some of the best moments of the film. I quite enjoy Englund sans makeup and while I don't especially like backstories that divulge too much information and take away from the mystique, it's mostly handled pretty well here.
The dream demons are just dumb though (and thankfully sparingly used). The 3D aspect is also silly, and hasn't aged well, nor is it necessary (a better plot device could have been established and the 3D could easily have been written out with a script polish). Maggie accessing Freddy's memories by putting on 3D glasses in her dream is a contentious plot point but I guess the producers had to sell the gimmick.
There's a cartoon quality to FD:TFN which is fun but doesn't always gel with the more serious aspects of parental abuse and spousal violence. I realize that juxtaposition has always been part of the series but the tonal schizophrenia in this particular entry is just bizarre. That schizophrenia still sort of appeals to me but it often plays sloppily. There's not a single scare to be found in FD either—everything is played for humor.
There are some serious logical flaws that are more egregious here than in any of the previous films. People tend to rag on Freddy's Revenge for "breaking the rules" of the series, but Freddy's Dead is probably a worse offender in that regard—apparently Krueger can travel outside of dreams and Yaphet Kotto can confront Freddy in his dream even though he's not a teen... I don't tend to pick apart that kind of stuff (because hey, dream logic, right?) but I do think it's funny how these things get focused on more in one sequel versus another by the fandom (and even the filmmakers).
I remember renting FD on VHS a lot when I was a tween and really enjoying it. I don't actively dislike it now per se (despite what might appear as a laundry list of earlier grievances), but it is a very middling sequel (the montage of clips from the previous films during the credits is pretty fun though). The celebrity cameos are lackluster, the familial reveal isn't that exciting, and the manner in which the titular character is dispatched is honestly pretty weak. And we all know it wasn't the actual end of Freddy anyway (he is eternal, after all). Luckily, Krueger would return (along with original director Wes Craven at the helm) three years later in the far superior, noncanonical, and meta New Nightmare.
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