Watch Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy For Free

I'll tell you why so serious

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Blistering performances.

This was the cap on a recent Freddy Krueger marathon, and even though I just finished watching them all, this talking-head / film-history doc's love and comprehension makes me wanna dive right back in. Beautifully breaking down every single Nightmare movie, and holding no detail or story or opinion back, it's a perfect companion for any franchise fan, and even a solid intro into the world.

This is basically the review I did on Amazon in 2010! I could write a ten page review about how much I loved this, but I'll spare you all! In a nutshell, this is a comprehensive and detailed look at not only what went on behind the scenes while making the Nightmare films, but it's full of great interviews with actors and crew.We get to learn what everyone involved experienced before, during and after being in their respective films and it is absolutely riveting!Special mention has to go to Heather Langenkamp for her work and dedication on this project! It's impossible to be a fan and not love this!

DAMN!! Four Hours?!? I seriously thought that was a misprint on the Netflix envelope when I received this MUST-SEE disc.If you're a Freddy Lover like I am…CHECK OUT this documentary, Never Sleep Again, IMMEDIATELY. Now. Netflix it. Buy it. Go to the Swamp Meet (if there is such a booth, anymore) to get a copy.It's a completely current, up-to-date, 2010, four-hour, all-7 movie (plus Freddy Vs. Jason) recap of some of the greatest slasher movies of all time. Yeah, four hours.Don't let that discourage you. Like a good book, I couldn't press pause. I watched it almost straight through. Again, I'm a Freddy Krueger fan. And they went sooo in-depth on each movie, with things, phrases, backgrounds and inside jokes that I was unaware of, for the most part, that I thoroughly enjoyed it.But, you'll have to be a Fred Krueger fan, once again. Otherwise, this is a lot…a helluva lot of noise.Surprisingly, the bonus disc (yeah, there's another disc, even with a four-hour disc one) that…wait for it…also contains another four hours of bonus material. That's EIGHT hours for the price of a rental (or two) from Netflix.Dang; I sound like an infomercial.I grew up on Freddy. He is currently my # 4 favorite movie character of ALL TIME, behind Hannibal Lecter (#3), Superman (#2) and Catherine Trammel, from Basic Instinct (#1). Mainly, I got hooked with movie 4. I went backwards to watch the original 3 and then forwards when they hit theatres.That's neither here nor there in regards to this FANTASTIC documentary. It's honest – they really state where they messed up with the franchise and where they tried to redeem themselves. They detail the absolutes, such as the Dream Warriors song by Dokken. And they highlight the atmosphere of the cast and crews with conflicts I was unaware of.One of the nice things they did was spend a lot of time on how "gay" (gay as in homosexual, and not gay as in bad, you younglings) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge was. Recently, in early 2010, I re-watched and reviewed all 7 movies (I'd previously rewatched and reviewed Freddy Vs. Jason, so no need to over-do it) in preparation of the horrid A Nightmare on Elm Street remake. When I got to part 2, all I could think of was: how gay is this movie?They went even further with my analogy. And that wasn't the only case.These people celebrate Freddy and all his ins/outs. Almost the entire cast(s) returned to be interviewed and with some surprising results – on how they look (or dress) like today. With, or without, a personal slave…I reward this documentary with the second highest rating I hand out. Not just because I love the Elm Street mythology, but because it was extremely well put together, edited and said what it needed to, with enough information before it moved on. I wish all documentaries did that. In addition, even though it's no coincidence this comes out around the same time the remake does, it never…ever…mentions that horrid reboot. Regardless of the (lack-of-) quality of the updated Freddy take, this is strictly an account of the original (and one spin off) movies.THROUGHLY recommended, and as a bonus – other than the bonus disc I also wholeheartedly encourage you to see – make sure you stay through the credits. The original casts, in today's time, restate their signature lines. Funny or not, and sometimes it was, it was fan-tas-tic to see them say their iconic Nightmare lines again.Side Note: Coming off the high of Part Four in 1988, my favorite Nightmare, I just had to see Part Five the following year. It was probably one of those cases where I wanted to like it more than I actually did. At any rate, one of my favorite lines was one that was so quickly spoken, so overlooked; I thought I was the only one to appreciate: "Damn it, they caught me. I have to gnash my teeth for the paparazzi" – "Greta Gibson" played by Erika Anderson. She actually re-plays that line in the end credits!Yeah, that got me excited as, again, I thought, as a devote Freddy fan, I was one of the few that caught that line. In addition, I fell in love with an actor in Freddy Vs. Jason – Brendan Fletcher, and regularly followed his filmography since. Yeah, it helps they showed his "bum" in the movie, but, he himself, brings it up, jokingly – while showing "it," once again, towards the end of this movie.

If you never sleep again, it will only be because you are too busy sifting through all that "Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy" has to offer. This comprehensive 2-disc DVD set serves as a study on the infamous "A Nightmare on Elm Street series" which not only offers a four hour (!) long documentary, but almost as much in special features and extra footage.Produced by the same folks who brought us "Halloween: 25 Years of Terror" and "His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th" and hosted by Nancy Thompson herself, Heather Langenkamp, the main feature covers just about everything you would ever want to know about the original eight-film franchise. Beginning with Wes Craven's original film and wrapping up with the 2003 hit mash-up, "Freddy vs. Jason," the documentary brings back most of the main cast and crew from each film (sans major players such as Patricia Arquette, Laurence Fishburne and Johnny Depp) as they wax nostalgic about all of the fun, thrills, melodrama, successes and failures that "Elm Street" brought each and every one of them. Each film is given ample time and is expanded upon wonderfully, and not only is it a blast to see how some of them have aged, but a lot of new information is brought to the forefront that, even if you've followed the series throughout the decades, will come as news to you. This certainly is no fluff-piece, as everyone is open and honest, and in spite of its length, it never drags or feels dull.Once you've plowed through the main feature, there's still a second disc of special features to swallow, and as before, there is not a moment wasted. The main meat of this disc is a compilation of extended interviews that runs almost as long as the average "Elm Street" flick. If you simply can't get enough after the four hours you've just completed, this piece serves almost as a fitting desert. Other features focus on Freddy phenomena such as the character's transition into comics, the music that was used in the series, locations, props and, of course, the fans. There's also a rather amusing bit with the famed Angry Video Game Nerd where he rips apart the Nintendo game based on the franchise, albeit, in a loving manner. There's so much here that it almost justifies its own release.While the release glosses over the recent remake (save for a few minutes of cut footage), it doesn't spare anything from the Robert Englund golden-era. Those who remember how great this series was in its time will no doubt eat up each and every savory morsel that "Never Sleep Again" has to offer. You're certainly getting the bang for your buck, and even if the studio itself isn't too keen on producing something this informative, it's good to know that independent film-makers with a love for the material are willing to do all the leg-work themselves. Without this DVD, your "Nightmare on Elm Street" collection simply is not complete.