Review Detail

I hold the controversial opinion of thinking that the second Elm Street film is actually quite good, and would put it at #2 in my ranking of the franchise, after the third film (call me crazy). That being said, it certainly has structural and pacing issues, and it's entirely understandable why fans would find it disappointing in terms of lore and continuity. Ray has delivered a take here that tries to reduce the "haunted house" element as much as possible, presumably to give the impression that things are limited to the dream world as per usual. Unfortunately, while that aspect is toned down, I don't think that it radically changes much of how the narrative of the film comes across. As we move into the final act, it's just apparent that dream and reality merge and there is no better explanation for it. So while Ray's cuts do work wonders for pacing and may temporarily reduce the original approach, I would personally prefer to embrace the film's nature and keep scenes such as the budgie death. I also miss some of the grim imagery that's been cut, such as the wound on Lisa's leg.

In spite of the above though, I'd like to emphasise that this is a marvellous improvement on the original in terms of pacing. I have a handful of nitpicks regarding some visual cuts - stuff that I found just marginally too quick, but not much I felt worth noting down (parts of the opening bus sequence, for example, feel a little rushed). Audio editing is also really good across the board, and the music and foley for the bedroom dance is nicely handled. A few things I picked up on:

- 7:25 - sounds like an audio glitch with the dog barking
- 34:40 - is some dialogue cut here? The conversation feels like it escalates a little too quickly
- 55:55 - it looks like there's a small jump in the visual, like a frame or two has been cut mid-shot

One fairly major issue I have with the narrative: Jesse's paranoia feels like it escalates a little quickly due to how much of events has been cut. This could be a structuring thing and might come across better if he reacts like this straight after the coach dies. As it stands though, he's only a little miffed after the coach dies and then seems to get more upset after some fairly tame encounters. The cutting of him nearly hurting his sister is probably what creates this disparity and I would suggest either putting that back in or cutting more so that his mental state escalates immediately after the coach's death. My preference is for the former though.

If the edit is to stand with its current narrative slant, there is a line at 45:55 that needs to be cut as it creates a plot hole. Jesse explicitly says here that he went to his sister's room in the night even though that scene no longer exists.

All in all, this doesn't replace the original for me but it's a very solid alternative and I do recommend it. The new pacing is great and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the film.