For twenty-six years I’ve managed to elude Freddy Krueger but tonight he finally caught up with me. Boy am I glad that I went to this film well rested. As a chronic victim of micro naps, especially in late night movies, I wisely took a snooze first. This is not a film to go to when you are tired.
Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger was a honor film staple throughout the ’80’s, but the mantle has now been passed to Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen) for a whole new generation. Through the first half of the film I felt that Jackie Earle Haley's talents were being wasted, but this Nightmare has given Krueger a back story. We get to see Krueger before he becomes the boogeyman and discover why he’s invading all these children’s dreams. Seeing Haley in these scenes makes him even creepier. He is a good choice for the role.
A Nightmare on Elm Street is not as scary as I thought it was going to be and I feel a little silly by refusing to go all these years. But perhaps the special effects and ideology was a little more groundbreaking back then. It has a really interesting premiss. When you experience evil and repress the memories deep down, they are going to find a way out. And I think that’s what this film is trying to say. But kids today don’t wants theories or morality tales, they want a communal scare and a place where they can laugh and scream together, and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) delivers.
The rest of the cast is full of television actors, some already with an impressive list of horror credits. We’ve seen Kyle Gallner in The Haunting in Connecticut, Rooney Mara in Urban Legends: Bloody Mary and Katie Cassidy in Taken, Supernatural and Harper’s Island. Thomas Dekker was John Conner in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Kellan Lutz appears in New Moon. For the adults we have Connie Britton from Friday Night Lights and Clancy Brown from Carnivale where he played an evil priest. Fine actors all, but it really doesn’t matter. This is a Freddy Krueger movie after all. And no one sticks around for long. Keep your eyes open and you’ll have a horrifying time.
Rating: First Run A new Freddy for a new generation
About Me
- Melanie Wilson
- My Reviewer's Philosophy: I believe that every film has its audience. One man’s Citizen Kane is another man’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre. My purpose is to help you spend your entertainment dollars wisely. A bad review never kept me from going to a film I wanted to see, but a good review will sometimes get me to a film I never considered. As a movie lover I want you to go to the movies. When more people go to the movies, the more movies get made. But, I also believe that if you enjoy the films you see, you naturally will be inclined to go more often. So join me in supporting our film industry by going to a movie today. Hopefully I can steer you towards a good one. See you at the movies. Melanie Wilson
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