'Dylan's New Nightmare' (2023) Reaction

In recent years, just about every slasher film property has seen some sort of revival, from Scream to Slumber Party Massacre to I Know What You Did Last Summer. One character that’s been noticeably absent, however, is the legendary Freddy Krueger, the Springwood Slasher that dominated the uber-popular A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. With the last decade being plagued by stalled negotiations and rights issues between studios and the Craven estate, the future of the famed slasher has been up in the air, with no return in immediate view. However, that hasn’t stopped fans from taking the character’s revival in their own hands.

A few weeks ago, Cecil Laird of the Horror Show YouTube channel partnered with Womp Stomp Films, the production company behind the 2017 Friday the 13th fan film Never Hike Alone, to bring Dylan’s New Nightmare to the franchise’s dedicated fanbase. A follow-up to Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994), this short fan film brings back the meta approach of Freddy Krueger in the real world, tormenting the same protagonist from the 1994 masterpiece. According to the official plot synopsis, “the young son of Heather Langenkamp, Dylan Porter (Miko Hughes), is now a grown man trying to make his way in the world his parents raised him in--Hollywood. Little does he know that the evil entity known as Freddy Krueger (Dave McRae) is back, and eager to once again break into our world through the son of his favorite victim!”

At just under half an hour, the short has a lot of strong areas, with the first one being the casting – not only is it great to see Miko Hughes back in the role of Dylan Porter, this time as an adult, but it’s also a treat to have other familiar genre faces like Ron Sloan and Cynthia Kania from Friday the 13th parts V and VI, respectively. It’s difficult to develop characters with such a short amount of time to work with, but the actors do a good job with what they’re given.

Fan service is always a welcome staple in the horror genre, and there’s plenty of it in Dylan’s New Nightmare – outside of the Elm Street universe, it’s very fun to see this short pay homage to another horror masterwork, with the opening scene taking place during auditions for a new Hatchet movie. As far as references exclusive to the franchise, it was a surprise to hear a mashup of Dokken’s “Dream Warriors” and Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master actress Tuesday Knight’s “Nightmare” – with both songs being on every Nightmare fan’s playlist, it’s nice to have a version that connects the musical highlights of the franchise’s third and fourth installments, along with a reinvented version of the popular Freddy Krueger nursery rhyme towards the end of the short.

Of course, Freddy Krueger is the star of the show, and this short brings him back in a tremendous way. It’s safe to say that Dave McRae’s performance proves that someone other than Robert Englund can portray the Krueger character and do it justice, so hopefully that debate can finally be put to bed. McRae does a wonderful job of balancing between the darkness and humor that the character is known for, and it’s easy to be fixated on him every time he’s on the screen. Not only would Englund be proud of this performance, but the makeup work of effects artists Nora Hewitt and Mikey Rotella make it even better by giving Krueger a look similar to the glory days of the franchise, a much appreciated step up from the 2010 abomination of a remake.

Dylan’s New Nightmare has made the rounds at horror conventions and film festivals, and it can be viewed on The Horror Show’s YouTube channel. Much like the FredHeads documentary, this is a “by the fans, for the fans” short where the passion is palpable, and it’s a fun return to the iconic franchise.

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