"Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" (1991) Review

We've finally reached the bottom of the barrel of "Freddy" films. This is the point that New Line decided to set "A Nightmare On Elm Street" to self-destruct, and this film definitely collapses in on itself.  

"Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" is directed by Rachel Talalay (who had long worked with New Line on the other "Nightmare" films) and is written by Michael De Luca, who has found a lot of recent success as a producer. 

The sixth entry in the "Nightmare" series follows a young amnesiac who happens to be the very last of the Elm Street children. He believes that Freddy is keeping him alive because he thinks he's his child. "Freddy's Dead" tries to be a mystery, but it doesn't have a good poker face at all.  

"Freddy's Dead" stars Lisa Zane (Maggie), Shon Greenblat (John), Lezlie Deane (Tracy), Ricky Dead Logan (Carlos), Breckin Meyer (Spencer), Yaphet Kotto (Doc), and the incomparable Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger. As the casting would suggest, the acting is rather hit or miss in this installment--missing most of the time, unfortunately. 

After playing Freddy Krueger five times, Robert Englund finally feels a bit tired in the role. The majority of his screen time is relegated to comedic cheeseball moments and cringeworthy one-liners. That's not to say that Englund doesn't shine through when the story warrants it--overall though, his performance just feels lackluster. Even Freddy's makeup looks bad in this one! What's up with that?!

"Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" works best when it fleshes out the story of Freddy Krueger and how he became the eternal dream stalker that he is. The film needed to spend more time on his backstory instead of spending the first half of its runtime running in circles. 

It's really unfortunate that the film doesn't dig any deeper into the drama behind Freddy Krueger, and the audience is only given glimpses and flashbacks of his transformation. The last act when Maggie goes into Freddy's brain is the one shining moment in this entry. 

New Line Cinema wanted to send Freddy out with a bang, and instead he just sort of fizzles out in "Freddy's Dead." What we're left with is a tired, uninspired, and unimaginative story with bland characters (mostly) that we don't care about. Even the way Freddy is finally killed (as the titled suggests) is just plain lame--but oh, the last portion of the film is in 3D! 😐

"Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" is the weakest link in the series. It features some backstory on Freddy, but the first half of the film falls flat on its face. If you're a die-hard Freddy fan, like me, you'll be able to find shreds of redeeming value here. Otherwise, stick to "Dream Warriors" and "The Dream Master."