Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) by Brad S — 19 Feb 2014

Don't mistake this film for a remake. It's a complete re-imagining of the franchise. Granted a few (at best) names are the same and all of the kills are relatively similar in setting, this film didn't care about living up to the past. It only cared about living up to the precedent of horror films in the present. It's not the 80's anymore where Freddy spouts off clever one-liners every time he slaughters another dumb kid.

Jackie Earl Haley had his fair share of grim yet humorous lines, but he didn't quite project the essence of the Freddy Krueger my generation grew up with. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. He was very frightening and did a good job of keeping us (the audience) on our toes.

This film is intense through and through. You can never quite tell reality from Freddy's dream land which gives a great "edge of your seat" type of feel to it. The acting was done well (by most) and it didn't drag in any scenes, yet I still find myself wondering how I truly feel about this film. I am a fan of the original series and I even quite enjoyed the "Friday the 13th" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remakes/imaginings for what they were (also done by Platinum Dunes) but, for some reason, I'm not feeling the same about this one.

Almost all the other killers in the horror realm are silent behemoths. Freddy Krueger is a complex character who creates a complex universe for his victims. The timing was right, the effects were decent and it kept my attention the entire time. Good enough for me!