Review Detail

REWATCH 1/11/23:

Watched Ray's recent Version 2 and it's a great update to an already solid edit. Some of my criticisms still stand, but the audio is a lot smoother and I detected no syncing issues. Audio editing and enjoyment ratings bumped up as a result.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

This is a very nice update to what is already the best film in the franchise. I had this on my list for the B+ series, but frankly, aside from some work I wanted to do on the stop motion, there's very little that I would do differently to how Ray has handled things here.

QUALITY

Picture quality is great, you can tell that the opening shots are cropped as some look a touch awkward and lower res, but this is a nitpick really and it isn't distracting. There are some small syncing issues, likely accentuated by bad dubbing. Ray has said he has plans to sort this soon. In the meantime, it is slight enough that most people probably won't notice.


EDITING

In general, Ray has done a great job on the technical front. It's clear to me that he's made a number of nips and tucks otherwise absent from the cutlist and the whole film comes across significantly better-paced as a result. Some things I did pick up on:

- 8:00 - the end of the scene here comes across a little abrupt. I can't remember if that's how the scene normally ends
- 11:15 - there's a jump in the audio here
- 16:30 - are two pieces of music being mashed up here? It sounds a little odd
- 28:40 - the audio suddenly dips in volume
- 51:40 - is a point where the dialogue seems significantly out of sync, but I wonder in this instance if it is merely a bad overdub from the original film
- 1:02:6 - the score suddenly dips in volume just before we cut away
- 1:26:08 - the shot slows down noticeably

The dialogue is also noticeably quieter in the Nurse scene, which I assume is a result of rescoring. But for the record, that whole sequence is generally really well done. All the foley work blends really well and the scene comes across a lot better than in the original. In the theatrical cut it's enjoyable and kind of laughable, but here it's actually quite a bit more thrilling.


NARRATIVE

I would cut the small scene in the hospital with Nancy. The delivery of "let go of him you bastard" and "oh my god" is awful. I'm also not keen on the "come and get him, bitch" being carved into the boy's chest. Partly, I think it's a bit lame, but it's also something you'd think would raise an eyebrow with hospital staff and prompt questions. You could argue that it's only a dream, but Nancy isn't dreaming, is she? That sequence is more or less the only thing remaining that I would prefer cut. But aside from that nitpick, I didn't detect any narrative issues; if anything, there's an argument for it being improved, since all the cuts only serve to make a better paced, more consistent and less cheesy product. I'm not a fan of the rape lore with Krueger either, so that was a welcome change. Great job.


ENJOYMENT

Overlooking my criticisms, this is easily an improvement over the theatrical cut. Basically a much tighter version that still retains the essence of the original film. Just the kind of approach to editing that I love and something I hope to see more of. Ray has clearly put in a lot of attention to detail and it shows. Excellent work and definitely recommended to fans.