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[Never Sleep Again:The Elm Street Legacy]
Plot:Documentary which explores the creation of Freddy Krueger and the impact the series continues to have on the horror genre and pop culture. "Never Sleep Again" steps out from behind the thrilling nightmare and explores the creation of Freddy Krueger and what it takes to bring the worst nightmares to life, with over 100 interviews from cast and crew, including directors Wes Craven, Renny Harlin, and Ronny Yu, as well as talent John Saxon, rockstar Alice Cooper, Monica Keena (Freddy vs Jason), and Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund.
Cast:Robert Englund,
Wes Craven,
Heather Langenkamp.
My Thoughts:Very in-depth and fulfilling.
Review:Not sure how long people had been waiting for a retrospective documentary, reliving the trail of dead bodies, blood, guts, and gore, that everyone's favorite razor-clawed Freddy Kruger...had left throughout the genre ever since he was first brought to cinematic life in the early 80's. I'm pretty sure there was a huge demand for this documentary, about as big as there was for "His Name Was Jason" of last year. But this one, like that one, really delivered.
Mostly because it was very in-depth. "His Name Was Jason" crammed a lot of factoids, details, info, interviews, etc....into about 90 minutes or less. "Never Sleep Again" spreads it's offerings out and around a total of almost 4 hours. So it's very lengthy, and shouldn't be watched unless you've got atleast two hours to spare on the first half. Because it'll take you about atleast an hour to 90 minutes to be able to fully appreciate the scope of this project.
It is a TRUE retrospective documentary, giving "Elm Street" fans and Freddy Krueger fans all they can handle of how Freddy was born, to the smackdown we had all been waiting for, "Freddy vs. Jason". If you want interviews, this doc has them, as it has assembled pretty much everyone from each of the "Elm Street" movies. Including many faces that you wouldn't expect, i.e. the actress who played the hall monitor in the first "A Nightmare On Elm Street".
The interviews in this documentary are a tad bit more fun than they were in "His Name Was Jason", mostly because they're a lot longer. Hence the films long running time. They really allow these actors, directors, etc. to fully flow into how they felt being a part of their respective "Elm Street" movie, their thoughts on the character of Freddy Krueger, how it was working with their castmates, etc. But this doc comes from the people who gave us "Halloween:25 Years Of Terror", so it should come as no surprise that "Never Sleep Again" really "brings it", in terms of sheer content.
The best commentary in my estimation, comes from Robert Englund and Heather Langenkamp, as it's such a contrast between the two of them, how they approached their roles, and their experiences on the set of the first movie. This doc really helps you gain a better appreciation of the actors from the original "A Nightmare On Elm Street", and what they went through in a time where there was no cgi, or super advanced ways of cgi'ng in certain aspects of the movie and Freddy himself.
Robert Englund for example, suffered greatly for his craft as you learn early in the doc where it's explained the daily makeup routine for him to play Freddy. And the fact that he returned to play this character so many times, really reflects on how good and dedicated of an actor he is. It's also nice to know that after all these years, Heather Langenkamp is still giddy about her appearances in the series as Nancy Thompson. Sadly, there are a lot of actresses who do these films, and then get furious when they're brought up years later.
But Heather seems to be happy about her experience playing the role, and it seems if she were asked to return in another sequel, probably would, as I didn't read any sadness, regret, etc. from her during the piece in regards to her choice to play Nancy many years ago. The "Freddy vs. Jason" part of the doc is one of it's funnest segments, and is actually quite informative on many levels. As are other parts of the piece which go into the business aspect of the series such as box office grosses, New Line Cinema's early days, etc.
Gotta love the Lisa Wilcox segments as well, and she's another actress who in this doc, doesn't seem to regret for a second, her part in the "Elm Street" legacy. So fans of the Alice character should definitely check out this documentary, as there's more than enough Lisa Wilcox interview footage that'll give some interesting perspectives on her character and her appearances in the post "Elm Street 2" sequels. For those of you wondering about the remake of "A Nightmare On Elm Street", and it's influence on the doc, it is not mentioned in the piece itself, but check the second disc, which features some awesome extras, if you're curious as to peoples thoughts on the remake.
Fans of horror in general and definitely fans of "A Nightmare On Elm Street", should buy this documentary on DVD. It's definitely worth the money, and is about as thorough as any horror film documentary can be, in reference to how it spans over the entire "Elm Street" series, it's pop-culture influence, and those who've contributed to it.
Overall Rating:Three and a half out of four stars. I left off half a star because I felt some vital actors in the "Freddy vs. Jason" seg were AWOL. Not blaming anyone for that, but I really thought it needed everyone back for that part. The sound, transfer, directing, etc. is perfect and fits the DVD quality barrier perfectly. Gotta love the way the interviews are done in that trademark "Elm Street Fog" also. I had no big issues with the remake bits not being left in the final cut of the doc. Some people might, but I didn't. I felt it all worked regardless.
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