A Nightmare on Remake Street.
Released: 2010
Genre(s): Horror, Thriller
As a child, Freddy Krueger held a special place in my nightmares: the bladed glove-wielding maniac was capable of terrorizing audiences in creative, new ways, while simultaneously dropping some of the most darkly-hilarious one-liners in horror movie history. Wes Craven had effectively crafted one of the most iconic and memorable figures of the genre in the original 1984 release of "A Nightmare on Elm Street." Jump ahead to 2010: Michael Bay has already begun to poison Hollywood with a slew of terrible remakes nobody asked for. "A Nightmare on Elm Street" is easily among the most disappointing. While Jackie Earle Haley's portrayal of Freddy is fantastic (albeit, a bit darker than Robert Englund), all the other characters feel like slasher fodder - no one is fleshed-out, rather serving only as Freddy's generic victims. This makes the movie significantly less scary than most modern horror offerings - not caring about the characters means not caring about their survival. Freddy is imposing and threatening, but the movie spends too much time focusing on his backstory, instead of trying to generate genuine scares. Unfortunately, even the kills are less creative than the original, and fail to incite any sort of visceral tension or terror. Overall, an incredibly forgettable, ho-hum remake, and an obnoxious reminder that Hollywood makes money by bastardizing soundly-established franchises.
Rating (out of 5): 2
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