A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)

Looking for a good, scary move to watch this Halloween season? Sorry, but this isn't it.

Unlike the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, this "re-imagining" is boring, and far from scary. It's a shame really. Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger is inspired casting. Even Robert Englund gave him his blessing to take on the role. He does a good job, but nothing can save this movie from itself. Even the makeup could have been better, I liked that it's meant to look more like actual burns, but it was too, dare I say "grotesque"?

The filmmakers marketed this movie as a serious take on the character, and repeatedly said that all the one liners, and comedy from the original series would be left out. They lied. The awful one liners are still there, only they aren't meant to be funny, which makes the scenes unintentionally funny. It's awkward to watch. You're not sure if you should laugh.

With the original film, we had Heather Langenkamp as Nancy, and she was a fleshed out character, and you felt sorry for here. You rooted for her against Freddy. There was a sense of Good vs. Evil. You knew there would be an epic showdown before the credits rolled.

In this remake, we have Rooney Mara as Nancy. She's the dullest character ever put on screen. I wanted Freddy to kill her. Even when the plot of the story is unfolded, and discoveries are made about Freddy, I sided with him. Maybe it's a generational thing, but I just can't relate to the soulless, whiny teens depicted in this movie. Then again, if the movie had a decent script, a different cast, and a different director, things may have been "different".

Rated R, Runtime 95mns