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May 05, 2010

Comments

protoclown

I've been a huge fan of the franchise since the beginning, and definitely like the remake. Ever since it was announced, I hoped they would make crystal meth part of the plot. I think it would have made the movie more realistic (what would you do if you absolutely had to stay awake?) and would have allowed for a really interesting and twisted plot. I'm not saying all of them should have been tweakers, but I definitely think there should have been a bad kid who had an advantage.

matty

Haha, is that the protclown from imockery? LOL!

Anyways, I just get so annoyed with the remake machine, I get that there are some movies that had more imagination than budget and maybe should be given a second chance, but it seems like the only ones who get a remake are the ones that are already good enough to stand on their own.

At any rate, I'll probably throw the NOES remake into my pile of movies to watch...eventually....just like the Friday the 13th remake and the Halloween remake, movies to stay on my netflix queue until I find there is literally nothing else I want to see...

Kath

I know this is a bit off topic, Rich, but are you aware NPR did a segment on Morning Edition about the no cell signal trend in horror films? NPR.org links to your youtube compilation.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126391047

Alexis

I had a traumatic early childhood and I can't name anyone I went to prek-1st with. It's not so much that I can't remember ANYTHING, like as if I didn't exist, it's more like a fogged up mirror that my brain refuses to wipe clear.
So, that sounds plausable that they wouldn't remember each other.

D

Rich, great insights, as usual.

The original Elm Street is one of my favorites, for the reasons you identify--the surreal makes for great horror, the stiffling fear of being unable to get away, etc.

In remake, I agree with you that making FK a child molester is a good move. For several reasons--it makes him really a monster, one that is less likely to be co-opted as anti-hero; and the theme of the lingering effect of child abuse, I think, worked really well.

The problem I had, and what I think damned the movie for me, was that first 30 or so minutes without having a central figure. Again, you point this out, but for me, without Nancy front and center from the begining, I could not identify with anyone and felt like I was left adrift.

Also, I think the remake did less with the potential of the nightmare than it could have. The original is more nightmare-ish. With a few exceptions, the movie never felt dream like.

What really disappoints me is that with the changes they made, and Haley doing a great job as pre-dead Freddy, the movie could have been really great.

Dodger

I really wanted a tonguephone, or at least a tonguecellphone that could be flipped closed to hurt the tongue. But yah this freddy was way darker, and creepier. He's hardly admirable as a horror icon, which is kind of cool I guess.

EEE

Huh, I actually had no interest in seeing this movie, but you piqued my interest!

Kim

It's funny, because I saw Nightmare On Elm Street when I was very young by mistake one night on television and I literally did not sleep for at least 3 years after that. I was incredibly scared I was going to die in my sleep. Now that I'm an adult I've watched it many times (and I'm a huge horror fan now, go figure) and all it does is make me laugh and appreciate 80's horror (especially the tongue coming out of the phone part). I have mixed feelings on the remake, but the trailers look pretty good. That said, I'll probably wait until it's on a torrent somewhere and download it so I can watch it alone.

LittleEvie

I loved the original so much I don't think I could bear to see this. It looks like a Halloween episode of Melrose Place.

Bobbie

I'm still traumatized from watching the first one at a 5th grade sleepover in 1986.

rustyspigot

Hmm, I hated this movie. Nancy was comatose, the teens didn't seem to have any interaction with each other besides having a meal at the diner Nancy worked at and Freddy's creepy blade screeching turned into sparklers.

These remakes all focus on the villain character development and nothing else. And they could have done so much more creepy dream imagery. Hated it.

C.L.

Loved it! I think the original was awesome, but the horribly cheesy 80s musical background made me giggle at times rather than shudder.... The remake takes all of the great parts of the original, but adds great special effects and a more harrowing backstory.

Also, so glad they left the bodybag scene in...creepy!

Simon/Ripley

Great write-up. That is all.

RP

but it also asks you to believe that they’re all suffering from collective amnesia, thus they can’t remember Freddy or recognize his name or even realize that they all went to preschool together

Oh, let me guess, the writers were fans of Final Fantasy 8?

I don't handle horror well so I just hate that this review makes me want to see the movie.

Vanessa M

I loved the original and one of the sequels (Dream Warriors wish-bonus-had Patricia Arquette and a Dokken theme song.)I have broken down and watched a few of the horror remakes because although I'm not a horror fan now but I was back in the day when this shit first came out. Friday the 13th? Pointless. Halloween? Weird instead of scary. The Amityville Horror? A horror of suck. My Bloody Valentine? Actually, not bad but not particularly shriek-inducing either.

I was iffy on seeing this. Alas, your essay has pushed me into the want column.

David

I didn't hate it. Some part were quite enjoyable and I'll take dark, twisted Freddy over old, wise-cracking Freddy any day. Sure, he was fun but I never felt like I was watching a horror movie because of him. There would be some really good freaky parts and then he would ruin it with his jokes.

Earl Haley did a great job, but I think they could have done so much more with the other characters. Most of them felt so lifeless. Decent movie though! Great review.

Emily

Thank you! I've been trying to justify my enjoyment of this remake all week to the shock of my fellow horror bloggers who just want to bash another needless remake. This wasn't a perfect film, but it brought new depth to an old story and told it well.

Ryman

I really tried to like this remake, but I just couldn't stop comparing the first. The CGI of this century really took away the awesomeness of the Wes Craven masterpiece. I actually had to come home and re-watch the classic to remove the previous 90 minutes.

j

What the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" lacked in the way of exposition it made up for in tension. I felt none of it with this remake. Example: Craven's original, arguably epic mutilation of Tina in her own room compared to the 2 minute, hyperstylized quickie bang-and-slash Bayer delivers with this newly renamed "Chris" character. Style without suspense.

While the development of the teens as victims of Freddy was a noble turn (as noble as a plot involving child molestation can be) it never went anywhere for me and when it tried, it fell tremendously flat. Jackie Earl Haley's turn as Freddy was caustic, but you're reminded of how deeply rooted in the past his character is as soon as he utters lines like "Why don't you just fucking die already?!"

Acai Max Cleanse

I have watched the Nightmare. The fist half of the movie was worth seeing but the second half was quite boring. I just wasted my time and money.

Melissa

Most remakes of non-obscure or non-foreign-language films leave me with the same question: If the original was good enough that people are still interested, why think you can improve on it? And if it wasn't, why bother revisiting it?

Tony

That brain thing really freaked me out. Holy shit.

Charlie

I didn't like the lack of narrative center--the movie has a POV problem until Nancy takes up the mantle of the story about halfway through. It was really disruptive for me that the characters, whose POV was effective the narrator's, kept dying.

LisaL

I hated the remake. Well hate is a bit much, but I didn't like it at all. The whole thing was nothing but cheap Jump-Scares, and we didn't even get to know any of the characters. I could care less if they died or not.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Horror fans simply must check out the indie scene - it's where the best movies in this genre are being made.

Consider "Eden Lake," "Splinter" and "Rogue" as three examples. Even "The Descent: Part 2" is a satisfactory shocker, far better than this new "Nightmare" which is as weak as you describe.

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