A Nightmare On Elmstreet Review: A Nightmare On Remake Street

The 1980s and early 90s were without a doubt the heyday of the slasher film genre and as a child of that era numerous boogeymen from such films haunted my little dreams and made me scared of the dark without that Ninja Turtles nightlight on to protect me. When I would attend slumber parties at my friends’ houses their older siblings would often have rented titles such Friday the 13th Part 6 or Hellraiser and attempt to get us to join in the viewing but more often than not I ran from the room in a panic whenever things got gruesome with an excuse that I’d rather play with some Batman action figures. I eventually grew to enjoy the antics of Michael Myers in the Halloween films but there was always one horror icon that scared the bejesus out of me at every age and his name was Freddy Krueger.

Who could forget that burned face, that tatty red and green sweater, and those sick knives on his fingers that carved up so many teenagers like a butcher shaving ham? I couldn’t. It took me years of attempts to be even able to look at the guy without fingers over my eyes. I eventually sucked it up and watched Wes Craven‘s original horror gem A Nightmare on Elm Street from 1984 and began an appreciation for the story and the character of Freddy as portrayed with a sick and hilarious glee by Robert Englund. It is not the best horror film of all time by a mile but it certainly earns a place in history and should be required viewing for any teenager who likes to get a little scared on a Friday or Saturday night.

The last five years or so has seen a remake of just about every classic slasher film including Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, and The Amityville Horror and while none of these remakes were particularly good – it seemed inevitable that Elm Street would get the same treatment eventually. Sure enough, the announcement came last year that it was coming but from a first-time feature director, Samuel Bayer, and that Freddy Krueger would now be played by Jackie Earle Haley. The recasting of Robert Englund struck me initially as unthinkable but Haley is a good actor and was perfectly creepy in Little Children so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and held out hope for something great.

Boy, was I wrong. And I’m not just referring to Haley’s performance. The whole film is a dull letdown and at times all I could ask myself was “Why did they even bother?”

Anyone who has seen the original already knows the story but the gist of it is that the teens (played by people in their mid-20s of course) of some sleepy Ohio town are finding their dreams haunted by one Mr. Krueger who stalks and kills them while they sleep. The teens affected try to figure out why they are having the same dream and eventually learn that Fred Krueger was a child predator about 15 years ago and their parents burned him alive for his crimes in a sort of mob mentality. So naturally he’s out for revenge and the desperate teens try to stay awake to avoid his wrath.

What I find most depressing about the failure of this remake is that there is so much potential for this premise with today’s special effects, but the filmmakers failed to take it an extra step. In a dream or nightmare anything can happen in seriously disturbing and visually complex ways but director Bayer pretty much stuck to scenarios that we’ve already seen in the original film and simply reproduced them with digital effects. Incidentally, Craven’s original practical effects looked more realistic in some instances. I partially understand the desire to stick to things that worked in the past but why not use a little imagination and come up with some new scares and shocking visuals to make us once again afraid to go to sleep?

Beyond the lack of imagination in the dream sequences the film is also hampered by a weak script with shoddy dialogue and an over-reliance on scaring the audience with loud noises every minute or so. There are maybe two moments of genuine horror in this whole movie but even those were eclipsed by the creepy guy sitting behind me in the theatre rubbing his hands together vigorously every time things got tense on screen.

Some of these things might be forgivable if the cast were likable and interesting to watch but they were so dull and one-dimensional you can’t help but not be sympathetic towards them. Rooney Mara in particular as Nancy  was so lifeless that I began to resent her as being the main girl who makes it to the end.

On the plus side the movie looks good from a cinematography point of view and some of the gore effects are impressive but that’s really about it. I wanted to like Haley as Krueger but his take on the villain was kind of blah and the new makeup looks strangely rubbery. It certainly looks more like a realistic burn victim but the original Freddy had that wonderful demonic look to him that was both playful and frightening at the same time, and frankly I missed it.

I’m sure this remake will pull in a boat-load of cash but if you really want to be scared seek out the original on DVD again, because unless you get the same creepy guy sitting behind you that I had, you aren’t going to be satisfied with this remake.

Grade: D+

Photo Courtesy of New Line Cinema