Nightmare on Elm St. 2010

Boy, did this remake suck the big one. Thanks to Michael "explosions" Bay and his Platinum Dunes studio for this lethargic remake of what's arguably one of the best slasher films of all time. Platinum Dunes have yet to have a critical success,but every release always makes its money back and then some.

I didn't know what I was in for when I went see this in theaters with my wife, then girlfriend. Nightmare on Elm St. is one of my favorite horror series, easily beating out Halloween and Friday the 13th, but this remake joins 2009's Friday the 13th in the crap pile.

Before I dive into this, let me say that I don't entirely hate this movie, I prefer crappy movies, the crappier the better.

Let's start by talking about old pizza face, Freddy Krueger, this time Kruger is played by Watchmen star Jackie Earle Haley and I'm already unimpressed.

As far as I'm concerned, Robert Englund is Freddy Krueger, and though I think Haley did a good job with what he had to work with, his portrayal of Krueger is incomparable  with Englund's. His look of an actual burn victim wasn't frightening to me, if anything, it made me feel bad for the guy. I understand that they were going for a more realistic look, but sometimes over exaggeration is the way to go; it's a movie about a guy killing people in their sleep, realism should be the last thing this movie tries to achieve.

One big problem I had with this movie is the use of CGI-computer generated imagery. I prefer practical effects, which can be costly and hard to perfect. CGI saves time and money, sometimes at the expense of the value of the movie. Take the recreation of the famous bedroom wall scene, the one where Freddy presses against the wall above a sleeping Nancy. In the original Nightmare, it was a stuntman pressing his body against a sheet of spandex, in the 2010 remake, we get a CGI Freddy coming out of the wall in a ghost-like image.

Tina's death scene was also recreated, with new character Kris( Katie Cassidy) and while it did stick to the original, it was also neutered. No where near as creepy or bloody as the original.

The pairing of Rooney Mara and Kyle Gallner As Nancy Holbrook and Quentin Smith could be possibly worse than Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. Gallner has what my wife and I like to refer as Chronic Sad Face, just look at this guy's sour puss, looks like he'll burst into tears at the drop of a hat.

Mara doesn't fair better as the "new" Nancy, she's suppose to be this awkward outsider that has no friends, which is a possibility, as the movie barely features any other characters besides Freddy, Nancy, Quentin, and the kid's parents. Heather Langenkamp's Nancy went through a character change and by the end of 1984's Nightmare, Nancy was a badass holding her own against Krueger. 2010's Nightmare has an insta-change from timid Nancy to a ball-busting badass. 

This movie has its highs,but it also has too many lows, but that could just be my opinion. I don't outright hate this movie and it was leaps and bounds better than say, Hellraiser: Revelations, which I also own. Overall, I'd say 2010's Nightmare was just a bad dream, you'll remember it, but it doesn't mean you liked having it, or in this case watching it.

Thanks for reading

- N.R. Perez

Thanks Freddy.