Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) by Michael J — 16 Aug 2013

You figured that with 26 years of 7 films, pop culture influence, and the avenue of modern technology backing them up that a remake would be successful.....

I realized that it also takes passion and a visual eye to make these films. Sadly Freddy fell into the hands of Platinum Dunes who are infamous for making uninspired remakes simply to cash in on the popularity of the source material and the name. This film is no exception.

This is a visually dull affair with a cast of actors that perform only one note of acting.... emo. There's not a distinguishable personality amongst them. The only element that pops is Jackie Earl Haley as Freddy, but unfortunately his make up is so restrictive that he can barely emote.

The use of cgi is also shameless. There's not too much, but when you have a 26 year old film do a more convincing job of having freddy come out of a wall using cheap white spandex.... you got a big problem. The dream sequences are devoid of imagination, and the murders are neither shocking or inventive.

The biggest problem is that this Nightmare is not scary.... at all. They cheapened the legacy with jump scares.... poorly done jump scares at that. Freddy deserved better.

Now the story wasn't bad if anything it expanded the original quite well. The problem lies in the execution. There was a bare minimum approach to the efforts involved. They used the source material, but didn't transform it or transcend it. I didn't see any passion or creativity on screen. All I saw were dollar signs, and judging by the box office results so did the hack producers. They laughed all the way to the bank.

Not the worst film ever done, but it is one of the most unremarkable genre offerings, and There was nothing new or inventive about this film. It makes the sequels look like a work of genius. Such a misfire especially since its based on popular iconic material.