I have mixed feelings on fan films. I’d prefer to see indie filmmakers invest their resources in an original concept rather than someone else’s intellectual property, but I also understand the reality that content with an established fanbase guarantees more engagement. Moreover, when beloved properties like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th become entangled in ongoing legal disputes, fan films can sate viewers’ hunger for more.
Even if a new Elm Street movie is produced with Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger, it’s highly unlikely to acknowledge the events of New Nightmare, given its blurring of the lines between fiction and reality. (Freddy vs Jason ignored it as well.) YouTuber-turned-writer/director Cecil Laird teamed with producer Vincente DiSanti — the filmmaker behind the popular Friday the 13th fan film Never Hike Alone — to fill that void with Dylan’s New Nightmare: A Nightmare on Elm Street Fan Film.
A decade removed from the original Elm Street, Wes Craven returned to write and direct New Nightmare, which served as both a satisfying conclusion (following Freddy’s Dead’s misguided attempt) and an ingenious reinvention. Nearly 30 years later, New Nightmare‘s Miko Hughes (also of Pet Sematary fame) reprises his role as Dylan Porter, the fictional son of A Nightmare on Elm Street star Heather Langenkamp.
The unofficial sequel raised more than $80,000 via crowdfunding: $31,000+ from its initial Indiegogo in 2019, an additional $10,000+ in 2021, and another $41,000+ from a finishing funds campaign last year. The half-hour short is now available on YouTube. (As is the case for any fan film, no profit can be made from it.)
Following in his mother’s footsteps, Dylan is now an adult trying to make it as an actor in Hollywood. He has a real nightmare of an audition in the opening scene, reading for a role in the fictitious fifth installment in the real Hatchet franchise. As fitting as the meta aspect is, focusing the beginning on a different slasher is distracting. Thankfully, it’s not long before Freddy (Dave McRae) emerges for the first time since his presumed death in 1994.
New Nightmare successfully returned Freddy to his sinister yet playful roots, and Dylan’s New Nightmare carries that torch proudly, blending slasher motifs with psychological horror. Robert Englund’s shadow is impossible to escape — just ask Jackie Earle Haley — but McRae (no stranger to fan films, having written, directed, and played Michael Myers in a series of Halloween shorts) does an admirable job emulating Freddy’s mannerisms, down to the menacing cackle.
Langenkamp’s presence is felt in direct references as well as in her son’s trauma, but this is Dylan’s show. Despite largely stepping away from the industry following his adolescence, Hughes still has acting chops. A pair of Friday the 13th franchise alumni co-star: A New Beginning‘s Ron Sloan as the Hatchet V casting director and Jason Lives‘ Cindy Kania as Dylan’s longtime therapist. Dylan’s loyal stuffed dinosaur, Rex, also makes an appearance.
Fan films connote amateurishness for some, dating back to backyard productions from the shot-on-video era, but Dylan’s New Nightmare has solid production values. The budget is all on the screen, including atmospheric cinematography by Ben Meredith (13 Fanboy), special effects makeup from Face Off‘s ninth season winner Nora Hewitt, and an original score by Ryan Perez-Daple (Never Hike Alone) that evokes Elm Street themes without mimicking them.
The short features a song titled “Running from this Dream Warrior” that cleverly interpolates two standout tracks from the Elm Street franchise: the lyrics from Tuesday Knight’s “Running” set to the music from Dokken’s “Dream Warriors.” Those who prefer the Fat Boys’ “Are You Ready for Freddy” may get a kick out of “New Nightmare” by Tha Wikid One, an original rap song that plays over the end credit sequence.
Dylan’s New Nightmare leaves the door open for more, which is certainly not outside of the norm for a slasher movie, but the precipitous ending lacks resolution. I’ll gladly watch a sequel, although I think the only way to pull it off in a satisfactory manner would be to convince Langenkamp to join the team.
The phrase “made for fans, by fans” is thrown around a lot, but rarely has it even been more applicable than Dylan’s New Nightmare. The fan film auspiciously pays tribute to Wes Craven — who we lost eight years ago this week — and all things Freddy Krueger while forging its own path ahead from a disparate timeline.
The post ‘Dylan’s New Nightmare’ – Fan Film Sequel to ‘New Nightmare’ Starring Miko Hughes Is Worth Your Time appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.