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Written by TFS Staff, May 12, 2010 at 4:22 pm 

(series star and narrator of Never Sleep Again, Heather Langenkamp, poses in front of the original house)

With the Platinum Dunes remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street effectively putting an end to the original series of films featuring the razor clawed Freddy Krueger, a retrospective of the franchise seems fitting. Produced by 1428 Films (named after the house number featured in the original film), Never Sleep Again (directed by Daniel Farrands and Andrew Kasch) offers almost 4 hours of interviews with cast member, writers, directors and production staff from all 7 films in the franchise plus the 2003 match-up film Freddy Vs. Jason and the syndicated TV series feature Krueger as emcee entitled Freddy’s Nightmares (plus an additional 4 hours in bonus features). This could appear to be a daunting task for the average film lover to watch but the information and interviews are handled so effectively that the lengthy documentary never becomes dull or taxing to watch.

(The razor-gloved one himself, Robert Englund)

Most retrospective documentaries that cover a long-running series of films are often met with the task of condensing hours of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage into a 90-minute film. Because if this, the sequels often suffer greatly from being glossed over without much backstory.

Although Never Sleep Again does devote significantly more time to the original Nightmare, it gives each sequel equal and compelling coverage. This treatment of the sequels is one of the reasons why it is heads-and-tails above other slasher retrospectives such as His Name Was Jason (directed, surprisingly, by Farrands as well) and Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (dir. Stefan Hutchinson) which suffer from their shorter, if more traditional, running times.

Narrated by series star Heather Langenkamp (with a somewhat dry delivery), the documentary features essentially every star from the series with the exception of Johnny Depp (Nightmare 1 and 6) and Patricia Arquette (Nightmare 3). I’m not surprised that Arquette, who refused to reprise her role for part 4, declined to participate but Depp has always seemed fairly positive toward his experience with the series (and even made a cameo in Freddy’s Dead). Despite his star status it would have been nice to see him contribute to the retrospective. One of the only other Nightmare alumni to hit it big after their involvement with the series, part 4 director Renny Harlin, seemed quite happy to recount his experiences with the film.

(Actor David Warner, who was cast as Freddy before Robert Englund)

The interviews with the cast and crew reveal several tidbits of information that will keep fans of the series interested throughout. Wes Craven reveals that actor David Warner (The Omen) was originally cast in the role of Krueger when the production was aiming for an elderly appearance for the villain. The troubled relationship between Craven and New Line Cinema owner Bob Shaye is also delved into during the discussions of the original film and Craven’s return to the franchise, New Nightmare.

(80′s metal band Dokken, who provided the theme song for part 3, with Freddy)

Where Never Sleep Again really excels is in the discussion of the sequels. The original film is a modern masterpiece and has rightfully been discussed to death but horror sequels rarely get the in depth look they deserve which is sad because the behind-the scenes workings of them are usually much more fascinating.

The section on Nightmare 2, for example, reveals that Englund was originally recast with a stuntman in an effort to reduce production costs but New Line quickly realized how integral the actor was to the success of the film and hired him back on. Also interesting is the longstanding inquiry into the homosexual overtones of part 2 which has long been denied by the crew of the film as unintentional but is finally admitted by the writer of the film to have been planned when he wrote the script.

The subsequent discussions of the sequels offer insight into how and why many sequels turn out so terrible in comparison to their source films. The directors, writers and actors all have such a fondness for these films that eventually turned out very supbar and received critical slashing from horror fans. It is refreshing to hear their sides of the story and to know that heart and effort really did go into these films even if the results suggest mere quick cash-in’s.

(New Nightmare star Miko Hughes with the playground set he aquired after shooting)

The documentary ends with a bittersweet eulogy to New Line Cinema. Starting out as a fledgling distributor best known for releasing the earlier films of John Waters, the company grew into a power studio over the 80′s and 90′s releasing hits such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Long known as “the house that Freddy built,” New Line eventually went bankrupt in 2008.

Final Thoughts: Never Sleep Again sets the bar very high for film retrospective documentaries by not limiting itself to a traditional runtime and giving faithful consideration to the series as a whole. A must see for any horror fan but is a worthwhile viewing for even non-genre film lovers.

9 out of 10

Check out the teaser trailer for the documentary below:

Never Sleep Again is available now. Orders placed through the official site will come with a commemorative poster. Fore more info visit : http://www.elmstreetlegacy.com/

Have you seen Never Sleep Again? If so, what did you think of the length retrospective?