A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Death stalks the dreams of several young adults to claim its revenge on the killing of Freddy Kruger. Chased and chastised by this finger-bladed demon, it is the awakening of old memories and the denials of a past of retribution that spurns this hellish vision of a dreamlike state and turns death into a nightmare reality.

Samuel Bayer directs this reinvention of Wes Craven's 1984 slasher classic about Freddy Krueger, a serial killer who crosses the boundary between dreams and the waking world to gut his victims with his razor-sharp blade-fingered glove. As Nancy (Rooney Mara) and her pals fight for their lives, they also uncover clues to a shocking secret from their past. Jackie Earle Haley takes on the iconic role of Freddy.

"A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984) is a horror classic. Sadly, the remake can not have that said for it. "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (2010) is an okay movie. I won't say it is terrible or boring like many reviewers because it is not. However, if you are watching it, chances are you are also comparing it constantly to the original. In these comparisons, this film will always appear inferior. Jackie Earle Haley is a good Freddy Kruger. Sadly, he isn't close to being the iconic Robert Englund. Katie Cassidy's death is nowhere as bloody or violent as her counterpart in the original. There is no epic bloodbath like in the original's murder of Glen (Johnny Depp). There are no scenes that have that lasting appeal that the iconic imagery of Freddy's outstretched arms or licking of Nancy through the phone had in the original. Plus, I found myself looking for a strong adult character like the original had in John Saxon's character. Clancy Brown and Connie Britton were wasted talents in this one. This film was full of missed opportunities for horror greatness.


***/*****

3/5 Stars