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A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

2/24/2024

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Elm Street Reviews
Picture
After 'Freddy vs Jason' things seemed to be pretty well put to rest for a while. That is until Michael Bay's production company, Platinum Dunes started picking up classic horror titles to remake and crank out with 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre', 'The Amityville Horror' and 'Friday the 13th' just one year before this. I mildly enjoyed them each in their own way, but understood others' criticisms. Next on the list, however, was 'Elm Street', which was something I was pretty obsessed with at the time.

This was going to be the deciding factor for me as to whether or not I would keep giving Platinum Dunes a proper chance. Unlike many, I really didn't hate any of the previous titles - even 'Friday the 13th' which I actually credit for embracing its stereotypes and self-awareness. But Freddy Krueger was a character that an actor had to be very careful not to screw up, because fans were adamant at the time (and still kind of are) that Robert Englund IS Freddy Krueger, and simply cannot be replaced. To an extent, I agree, but it was also understandable that a remake would warrant a new actor, and frankly, I still think Jackie Earle Haley is fantastic for the job... he just needs a better script, and MUCH better makeup!

The Plot here involves a group of kids, headed by Nancy Holbrook (Rooney Mara) and Quentin Smith (Kyle Gallner). Together, they seem to be experiencing unexplained nightmares, all involving the same burnt-faced, bladed glove-bearing character. They, and a handful of others are collectively afraid to fall asleep, knowing that something is after them, and further witnessing the reality of these manipulative nightmares first-hand. Instead of running from it, however, Nancy and Quentin take it upon themselves to do the research on the "man of their dreams" only to find out that a creepy elementary school caretaker named Freddy Krueger (Hayley) is much more involved with their past than they could remember.

For me, this is where the movie sort of takes a nosedive. Wes Craven's original idea for Freddy was, indeed, to make him not okay for kids to be around for more reasons that the fact that he was a killer. This film plays with that idea, but that idea also kinda takes the forefront, overshadowing Freddy's dream killings without taking into consideration that the original film was probably better off without those things in it. These aspects were stripped from the original film due to relatable news articles and incidents of the time and, much like the lack of mechanical shark in 'Jaws', it made for a happy accident, especially considering that the invasions of one's own mind is honestly invasive enough.

The other huge area that this film flops on, and probably what irks me the most about it is that with Nancy and Quentin doing their research on Freddy, they find that, much like in the original, the parents seek him down and torch him alive for his crimes, taking justice into their own hands. However this time around, they make some attempts to make Freddy a sympathetic character, which was just a dumb move in my opinion because as a Fred-Head, I feel like he's the big incarnation of evil in the slasher genre. Even Pinhead from 'Hellraiser' garners more sympathy than Freddy upon learning of his past as he wasn't always evil. Freddy, on the other hand, was a complete monster before and after his demise.

Now, let's get to how incredibly disappointing the dream sequences are, themselves. There ARE some ideas in here that work on an interesting level, such as playing with dream time, not unlike 'Inception', and the concept of falling into "micro naps" while you're trying to force your body to stay awake. But as for the nightmares, themselves, don't expect a whole lot of pizzazz so much as a bunch of dark, 'Silent Hill'-like settings. You don't get much of the victims' psyche and/or fears from each nightmare, there are no cool transformations of any kind, and everything feels far too basic for a time when CG REALLY could have lent itself to some cool ideas. In other words, it's simply no fun for a Freddy flick.

At the time of review here, it has now been a solid 13+ years since this release, now barely outdoing the wait between 'Jason Goes to Hell' and 'Freddy vs Jason' (which I remember feeling like forever), and I don't know what future plans are for Freddy if there's anything going on at all. Englund says he's done with it, but last I checked, he has recommended Kevin Bacon for the role, which I'm not sure I can totally see, but I'd be willing to give it a chance. That said, at this point, I'd say don't even try if you don't have something awesome up your sleeve, and use this as an example of what NOT to do.



​2/5

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