Nightmares necessitate shenanigans when stubborn disenfranchised millennials navigate unrestrained inconsequential nights of insomnia with technology in hand on a well-known avenue.

Written and directed by Andrew Jara, Are Millennials Killing Freddy? is a short film parody of the iconic A Nightmare on Elm Street film franchise. Is the next generation truly safe from the bastard son of a hundred maniacs?

The plot centres on a nameless woman played by Priscilla Rios who is about to go to bed…but not to sleep, she’s talking with her friend on the phone while binge-watching streaming services. All the while Freddy waits in the wings for his moment to strike. Freddy is played by Dion Lewis. The former is funny as the relatable night owl busy too busy with social media and entertainment to be bothered to sleep. The latter is hilarious as the impatient infamous child killer.

It makes interesting social commentary about the younger generation’s obsessive usage of technology. It does a good job of showing, not telling by not saying much about the topic but instead, it puts an example on display. Freddy’s comments are about the woman’s actions, which is where the satire lies.

Overall, what starts as a strong satire ends up pandering to the audience with an anticlimactic ending that raises more questions than it answers. As funny as the actors are, they can only do so much with the material given. I couldn’t help but feel as if the writer didn’t know how to end Are Millennials Killing Freddy? and went with the best takes by the actor’s improvisations. It wasn’t enough to ruin the experience it was just confusing. I’d still recommend this for Freddy fans. It’s not great but it’s not bad, it’s fine. And remember…One, two Freddy’s coming for you…unless you’re an insomniac.

Give it a watch below!

6 out of 10