Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) by Bradley W — 20 Dec 2012

I actually saw this film before seeing the original and I have to say; it's better. Now obviously my two star rating doesn't exactly scream better movie, but the fact is that while the original had some interesting ideas, it had an overall less cohesive plot and a cheesiness that is just⦠cheesy. I think some people have far too much of a tendency to look back on the original with nostalgia, when it was never really anything special; iconic sure, definitely watchable, but by no stretch of the imagination was it a great movie, so it's no small wonder that this isn't either.

This movie goes for a darker tone, which better suits the material than the almost comical Freddy of old. This film's rendition is scarier and more sadistic, though some of his one-liners are just as cringe-worthy; sometimes the less the villain says, the better.

Special effects are solid, and the tone and atmosphere stand out. The story is much more tightly focused, but lacks depth to any of the characters, which is a real shame. While the movie portrays Freddy as a molester, the film seems too timid about the subject; obviously the last thing I'd like to see is actual abuse, but Freddy and his obsession are barely covered at all. All we know is what he did, not why, or why his death turned him into such a twisted figure (mentally, the physical reason is fairly clear). He just jumps from a pedophile that is killed horribly, into a deranged psychopath presumably seeking revenge.

Also, one of the more interesting elements, namely, Freddy's ability to kill his victims through their dreams, isn't well explored either. If the film chose not to investigate his character further than it could have much more easily cast doubt on the nature of the dreams, the multiple depths and whether or not any of the events are real. At the start, Dean appears to kill himself, unlike later murders that clearly occur supernaturally, but instead this whole aspect is another wasted opportunity that really is just used to deliver a number of cheap scare attempts.

So, while I feel the film was a decent retelling, and an overall more focused piece, it still fails to live up to the potential of the character. Oh, and don't get me started on the ending; we all know by now a normal scene at the end means one last cheap scare attempt, really, it's just predictable. I'd like to see a reboot that tries to tell its story first, and scare is after, rather than using the story to chain together cheap scare attempts.