(1991) **
Whether it was intentional or not, the sixth Freddy movie has some elements in it that could have generated a much better movie. The story idea is solid enough, in which Freddy has wiped out the juvenile population of Springwood, IL and sends out the last surviving teen to fetch more (why did Freddy kill little kids while alive and teens after he died? Anyone?). Another plus is the cast; I liked both Freddy’s daughter and tough girl Tracy, who has a lantern-jawed Jodi Foster thing going on. Add a quality name like Yaphet Kotto to the mixture, as a radical shrink who accepts the danger without question, and Freddy’s ass is ready to get kicked in style. What could go wrong?
The same thing that usually goes wrong, which is big buttery slabs of misguided humor. It starts early, when the genuinely scary airplane anxiety dream turns into a sendup of Wizard of Oz. Freddy on a broomstick, ugh. This trend touches every potentially good idea. The kidless Springwood filled with psycho grown-ups could have been scary, but then Rosanne Arnold shows up. Even the much-maligned video game death starts out with some promising visuals, but then suddenly we’re hanging out with Freddy in his…what, his office? Rec room? while he plays the video game his victim is trapped in. Had enough? Well, get ready for more as the real-life victim bounces and flips all over the house with accompanying cartoon sound effects. Abysmal.
I think this movie wandered into a zone of good ideas completely by accident, and then wandered back out again.
2 comments:
The most fun part of this flick was the big montage of Freddy during the credits. I gleefully yelled out the number for each shot.
That does make perfect sense in terms of the 1st and 3rd one (the only ones that "count" up to this point). I realized after I asked that question that nobody wants to watch slasher movies with kids.
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