Review: Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

On Friday afternoon, before I had to scurry off to directing class, I discovered that my package from Amazon.com had arrived. Brimming with trepidation, I went to pick it up to discover that it had finally arrived...Never Sleep Again.

I got to watch the first hour and half of it before class, finishing it up later that evening. Boy, was it a great watch! I've always been an avid fan of the series, as I think it's the most imaginative of "the big three" which includes the Friday the 13th and Halloween series. The Nightmare series also seemed to always have more likable characters in their films. Thankfully, a good majority of the wonderful actors return to discuss the films and how they have impacted their own lives.

Everyone appears to be looking pretty good. In particular, the forever young Heather Langenkamp and Lisa Wilcox. It's nice to see Nightmare 2 stars Mark Patton and Kim Myers, who have been away for far too long. Pretty much all the Dream Warriors have returned and I'm glad to see them. Actually, just about everyone you can think of both in front of and behind the camera is interviewed and it makes for one of the most personal, poignant, and detailed documentaries on any film or series ever made.

Clocking in at just about 4 hours, not counting disc 2, Never Sleep Again is all a fan could ever hope for.  There's discussion on scripts, budget cuts, special effects, deleted scenes, unused stories, and who was originally set to play Freddy before Robert Englund. Yes, my friends, David "Omen glass decapitation" Warner was the original Freddy and there's make up test shots to prove it. Say what????

It's clear from the interviews that everyone is proud of the legacy the series has left behind and I couldn't help but get a little choked up by the end, where it becomes clear that maverick New Line Cinema, as we knew it in the 70's/80's, is no longer and Robert Englund will possibly never wear that glove again. For a fan, it's all a bit emotional.  I guess it's the end of an era.

Fans of the series can't really go wrong here. With the four hour feature and the 2nd disc of bonus features, including a preview of Langenkamp's own fascinating looking documentary, I Am Nancy, you can't lose!

Buy it, hookers!!!