I never understood the recent outcropping of horror remakes. I've seen a number of them, and I really don't understand them after watching them. What's the point?. More often than not, they are not any good, and suck all of the originality, cleverness, spirit, atmosphere, and scares out of the original concept. They all seem to be glossy, over-produced pieces of MTV entertainment for young modern audiences with shortened attention spans. The re-boot of "A Nightmare On Elm Street" is no different. To me, this, and the replacement of Robert Englund, was the most offensive of all the re-makes. I thought RZ's "Halloween" films took the cake, but this one being remade hit home more for me. Let's get started....
A good helping of the story should be familiar to everybody. There's no need to go into great detail about it or the story since it's basically the same, but with some differences. Freddy Krueger worked at a pre-school as a gardner, and a bunch of parents chased him down and burned him alive when it was suspected that he was molesting the kids there. Now, some of those kids are teenagers(Yeah, right)in high school, and they are beginning to have nightmares about this strange, burned man in a fedora, red and green striped sweater, and razor fingered glove, who can kill you for real in your dreams. Yeah, we know the story. As Freddy picks the kids off one by one, the remaining survivors try to stay alive, and awake, and survive this nightmare. The audience will be trying to stay awake as well.
It's hard to have your review come across as honest to fans of the remakes. There is so much hate out there for remakes, but they do have their fans too. Some people will think a bashing review is just some fan boy who wouldn't give it a positive one even if it deserved it. I am a huge Freddy fan. I grew up on these movies. I love Robert Englund. But I am also honest, and I can't honestly give this a glowing review or find much in the way of positive things to say. In fact, most of it makes me angry. So, let's get into what I thought....
A Nightmare On Elm Street 2010 is a movie made for modern audiences who are all about gloss, noise, and in your face absurdity and not even the faintest hint of intelligence, creativity, or scares. This is not a movie made for the fans. The powers that be could clearly care less about them, and only seem fixated on the buck. This version of Elm Street is a dreary place to hang out in, not that the "Elm Street" has much to do with the movie. There is such a cold, mechanical, by the book product at work here, that it's even hard to enjoy as simple entertainment. There is just not a lot of fun going on here, and that extends to Freddy himself. He doesn't seem to be having any fun. There is none of the demented glee in this Krueger. Just cold, monotonous killing. The only things that might bring a jolt to the fan is seeing a few iconic set pieces play out in the new film, but even then they are completely drained of any of the impact they originally had. Case in point being Freddy stretching thru the wall. The original version was more realistic and cool. Here, it's just a bad CGI effect that looks like a cartoon. The problem here, as with most movies, horror or not, is a concern for putting in lots of CGI and less worry on atmosphere or scares. That some CGI enhanced scene would replace or compensate for lack of everything else. The movie is filled with some MTV-type cutting, fake scares, and loud noises. The mood, tension, atmosphere, and creepiness of the original is completely gone, as is the heart and passion Wes Craven and Co. put into it. Again, this is just a product. A famous name to jump on and bring in a big opening weekend. That's all they care about. This is not the Elm Street I know. I feared what it would be, and got what I expected. I was hoping there would be something there for the fan, something to hold on to to enjoy, but it's just not there. The script is silly, and the "micro-naps" concept is ridiculous. An excuse to have Freddy appear everywhere and further diminish any creep factor, tension, suspense, or anything at all. But, then again, the movie was already disappointing on every front anyways. The kills aren't that cool or inventive, the dreams are not out of this world as you would think in this day and age, and the film is just drab looking. Director Samuel Bayer hasn't made any kind of impression with his first film. He films every scene so that you know immediatley what's going to happen and what's a dream and what's not. There is nothing sneaking up on you. It's been well known that Bayer didn't really know much about Elm Street and has said himself that he was never really a fan. Well, clearly. It definitley shows. If there is a sequel, get someone with a respect and love not only for the character and franchise, but for the fans as well.
How was Freddy himself and the cast?. I like Jackie Earle Haley a lot. Great actor. But he's not Freddy, and this just isn't for him. Just like there is only one Dirty Harry, Rocky, Indiana Jones, etc, there is only one Freddy Krueger. Robert Englund. Everything that made Fredy "Freddy" is gone. You just can't replace that, or start something new and think it's going to work as well. Here, Freddy is more of a pervy killer with no charm, charisma, or interest in teasing his intended prey or messing with them. In this one, Freddy is simply out for the kill with no real character or presence. Or point. Englund is sorely missed. Only he can be the "funny Freddy", and only he can be the sick, demented dream killer we fell in love with in the original. The changes they made in Freddy's crimes when he was alive is in extreme poor taste and makes for very uncomfortable, squirmiy moments. Not only that, but it renders the glove completely pointless. The original story gave the glove a meaning. Here, it has no meaning. He cut up a girl's dress a bit?. Give me a break!. The backstory is silly and on incredibly shaky ground. It renders this Freddy even less than he already was. Like I said, Haley is a fine actor, and this isn't entirely his fault. This wasn't right for him, but the script served him with absolutely nothing either. The rest of the cast fare no better. None of them are remotely interesting, and therefore you could really care less about any one of them. Our main heroine Nancy(Rooney Mara), seems like a secondary character who is thrust into the spotlight. The original Nancy was a normal girl who became very interesting. Here, Nancy is a gothy loner who isn't interesting and becomes less so as the movie drags on. All the others are even less, although I felt more for Katie Cassidy, who is the "Tina" of the movie. Still, the film wouldn't of faired any better with her as Nancy. No, there isn't really the jock or the dimbulb cheerleader and so on, but there isn't anything here in these drab, mundane characters either.
A Nightmare On Elm Street 2010 is just soulless. It's devoid of popcorn tossing scares and entertainment, a strong script, good characters, menace, atmosphere, and everything that made the 1984 original an iconic landmark in the genre. You want to see a good movie that has everything and does it right?. Then watch the originals. This movie is a classic for a reason. And producers, if you want today's youth to have experiences that was had by moviegoers who saw the original films, then re-release those in theaters or create your own original films. You can reboot a well known product, but you will never be able to emulate it or what the movie was or achieved. It just can't be done. Elm Street 2010 is a sad affair. Even sadder is the fact that it will probably do well, and will lead to unnecessary sequels to a reboot nobody wanted or asked for in the fist place. This isn't a movie made by the fans for the fans, but a movie made by a group of people who clearly have no idea what made these movies in the first place or what has made them last for nearly 3 decades. Hollywood has simply ran out of ideas, but is still full of people and producers ready to make a buck on a known product without the sightest clue as how to do it.