Movie Review: A Nightmare on Elm Street
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Reviewed by Geno McGahee
In 1984, Freddy Krueger debuted and a horror legend was born. There have been so many horrible sequels to the original and some that were mediocre. The A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET franchise is built off of the first one and the character that Robert Englund brought to life. Englund is greatly responsible for the longevity of the series, overcoming some horrible scripts to make watchable movies.
The last time we saw Freddy in action was in the mediocre 2003 “FREDDY VS. JASON,” and most thought that if we were going to see him again it would be in a sequel to that, going toe to toe with Jason Voorhees again, but with Michael Bay remaking as many horror classics that he can get his hands on, we have a new Freddy (Jackie Earle Haley) and some new twists on the classic tale.
We begin with Kris (Katie Cassidy) witnessing her friend killing himself, slitting his own throat while in a dreamlike state. This death got Kris and her group of friends talking about a common nightmare involving a guy in a red and green sweater and knives for fingers. The man is back…Freddy Krueger.
This movie, on the surface, has the same look that the remakes of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and FRIDAY THE 13TH had, but this movie had a lot more going for it. Haley’s portrayal of the popular character is very good…creepy and unique and totally different than Englund’s. I was very eager to see how Haley would do with the role, and he was really outstanding, and I’m glad that they began fresh. Although Englund was Freddy and will go down in history as the burnt madman, he had turned into a cartoon character over time, making the audience laugh more than jump. In the first entry, he was terrifying, but the one liners and absurdity got worse and worse with each and every entry. To make a scary remake, they needed a new Freddy.
A new twist (spoiler) concerning the Freddy character is that he was a child molester that worked as a yards keeper at a daycare. The parents got together and burnt him to death, much like the first one, but the idea of Freddy being a sexual deviant, is very creepy. That, along with Haley’s performance, make the character an intimidating one.
Nancy (Rooney Mara) and Quentin (Kyle Gallner) become the two survivors that have been avoiding sleep as much as possible and eventually come up with a plan to take down Freddy, which involves bringing him out of the dream world as they did in the original. The problem is that he is a pain in the ass when he’s in the real world too and he’s already dead, so there’s not a lot that they can do with him. There were some hints that they were following the storyline from FREDDY VS. JASON, when Freddy tells Nancy that he lives in her memories, possibly going in the direction that if everyone forgets Freddy, he will not be a problem anymore.
Haley’s Krueger has brought the series back and unlike the remakes of the other films like ROB ZOMBIE’S HALLOWEEN, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and FRIDAY THE 13TH, this movie actually has some substance to it, and has something to build on for a sequel.
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (2010) is a pleasant surprise and it does leave you wanting more. The back story involving Krueger is interesting and the performances all around were pretty good. Fans of the original should enjoy this one, as I did, and I had zero expectations considering that Michael Bay is involved, but if you make enough shitty movies, eventually you will make a good one by accident and here it is. I highly recommend it.
RSR Rating: 7.5/10. A decent remake.