Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)

Dream-haunting Freddy Krueger returns once again to prowl the nightmares of Springwood's last surviving teenager, and of a woman whose personal connection to Krueger may mean his doom.

Director:

Rachel Talalay

Writers:

Wes Craven (characters), Rachel Talalay (story)

Stars:

Robert Englund, Lisa Zane, Shon Greenblatt

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Englund	...	Freddy Krueger
Lisa Zane	...	Maggie Burroughs
Shon Greenblatt	...	John Doe
Lezlie Deane	...	Tracy
Ricky Dean Logan	...	Carlos
Breckin Meyer	...	Spencer
Yaphet Kotto	...	Doc
Tom Arnold	...	Childless Man (as Mr. Tom Arnold)
Roseanne Barr	...	Childless Woman (as Mrs. Tom Arnold)
Elinor Donahue	...	Orphanage Woman
Johnny Depp	...	Guy on TV (as Oprah Noodlemantra)
Cassandra Rachel Friel	...	Little Maggie / Katherine Krueger
David Dunard	...	Kelly
Marilyn Rockafellow	...	Mrs. Burroughs
Virginia Peters	...	Woman in Plane

Storyline

In part six of the Nightmare on Elm Street series, dream monster Freddy Krueger has finally killed all the children of his hometown, and seeks to escape its confines to hunt fresh prey. To this end, he recruits the aid of his (previously unmentioned) daughter. However, she discovers the demonic origin of her father's powers and meets Dad head-on in a final showdown (originally presented in 3-D).

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Plot Keywords:

freddy krueger | serial killer | sixth part | sequel | nightmare | 

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Taglines:

You Think You Know About Dreams... You Know Nothing!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for horror violence, and for language and drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Nightmare On Elm Street

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 September 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Nightmare on Elm Street 6: The Dream Lover

Filming Locations:

Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park, Sierra Madre, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,966,525, 15 September 1991

Gross USA:

$34,872,033

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema,Nicolas Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 105 min (original) 93 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alice Cooper, who has an uncredited role as Freddy's father, previously co-wrote and performed the theme song for Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI (1986). Both that film and this film are the sixth films in their respective franchises.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 13 mins) When young Freddy is getting ready to smash the gerbil, we see him sneak it off the table as he puts it down.

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Quotes

[first title card]
Title Card: "Do you know the terror of he who falls asleep? To the very toes he is terrified, because the ground gives way under him, And the dream begins... " - Friedrich Nietzsche

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Crazy Credits

A text that appears before the opening credits reads: "Do you know the terror of he who falls asleep? To the toes he is terrified, Because the ground gives the way under him, And the dream begins..." -- Friedrich Nietzsche Then the text changes to: "Welcome to Prime Time, bitch." -- Freddy Krueger

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Alternate Versions

There is a workprint version floating around which contains about 20 minutes of cut footage and dialogue.

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Connections

Follows A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

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Soundtracks

I'm Awake Now
Written and Performed by Goo Goo Dolls
Engineered and Produced by Michael Vail Blum
Courtesy of Metal Blade Records

User Reviews

Out Of Steam

Often people will have low expectations going into a film like FREDDY'S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE. How good can the sixth installment of any series be, let alone a string of low-budget frightfests? Yet I am not of the belief that horror series are doomed to run out of steam. Heck, I think Friday THE 13TH got better with age. But although I had an open mind while watching what was supposedly the last NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET film, I found it a bitter disappointment in every way.

Once again, our favorite grotesquely-disfigured dream stalker is after a group of teens, dispatching them one by one as they sleep. Yet none of the creativity or style of the previous films is present. Whatever happened to sequences such as the waterbed from Part 4 or the marionette from Part 3? It's as though producers cobbled this together just for the sake of making another Freddy film.

Other shortcomings abound. While other NIGHTMARE entries have been nothing short of brilliant at making the most of a limited budget, FREDDY'S DEAD looks the cheapest of them all. This is especially true when we see a younger Freddy meet the computer-generated dream spirits. It was reminiscent of a third-rate Saturday morning children's show. Humor was attempted here, with cameos by Johnny Depp and Roseann Arnold and a video game sequence with Freddy at the joystick, but it all falls flat. The acting is stale and Rachal Talalay directorial debut uninspired.

The finale is a particular disappointment. Of all the memorable ways Freddy has been killed in previous films, is having his daughter turn his own glove against him the best they could come up with? Granted, the idea of bringing the killer into the real world was a good one, but its potential was not fully explored.

Overall FREDDY'S DEAD is arguably one of the worst -- if not the worst -- films in this popular saga. And yes, that includes Part 2 and the overly artsy DREAM CHILD. One has to believe that if they had it to do all over again, the people behind this film could come up with something a lot better than this.