'A Nightmare on Elm Street' Movie Review

The latest saga in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise fills in the gaps in Freddy Krueger's history, thrusting his backstory front and center in all of its disgusting R-rated sleaziness. This A Nightmare on Elm Street, written by Wesley Strick and Eric Heisserer, is deeply disturbing and just plain creepy, and when all is said and done, I realized after the screening that this 2010 version of the 1984 film showed me more than I ever really wanted to know about the iconic horror character. Sure, the story fills in some gaps, but they weren't ones that necessarily needed filling.

Instead of exploring how Freddy could exist, 2010's A Nightmare on Elm Street addresses why he is the psychotic killer who torments teenagers in their sleep. The how has always fascinated me - the why, well, not so much. It's been hinted at over the course of the previous films, but this Nightmare shows Freddy is in fact every parent's worst nightmare.

The way Freddy's perversities are revealed made me want to rush out of the theater and wash my hands. I'm not squeamish, and blood, guts and gore onscreen don't get to me, but this A Nightmare on Elm Street took a stomach-turning approach to Freddy's sexual preferences that left me never wanting to venture into the Elm Street neighborhood again.

The Story

If you're familiar with the original film, you pretty much know the plot of this 2010 remake. Five teenagers are plagued by dreams of a man with a burned face and a lethal-looking glove, and they try to come up with different ways of staying awake so as not to fall into his clutches.

Kris (Katie Cassidy) just broke up with her boyfriend, Jesse (Thomas Dekker), and is trying to help Dean (Kellan Lutz) understand why he's having nightmares. Quentin (Kyle Gallner) is on the swim team, a friend of Jesse's, and has the hots for Nancy (Rooney Mara), a talented artist who works as a waitress at the coffee shop where everyone hangs out. Even with Kris lending a sympathetic ear, Dean reaches a point where he can't tell if he's in control or if it's Freddy guiding his hands. How he handles that dilemma sets in motion the need for Kris, Nancy, Jesse, and Quentin to share their terrifying nightmares. They figure out the only way to keep Freddy at bay is to stay awake, but that's easier said than done. With Nancy shouldering the burden of figuring out who Freddy is, and with Freddy becoming a larger presence in each of their lives as they fall in and out of sleep, they must pull together or be slaughtered one by one.

The Acting

The young actors are decent, though it's hard to really root for any as they're such a depressing group from the get-go. The story picks up when one of the batch is already losing his mind, and the other four already appear to be suffering from insomnia from the first frame of the film. It's a lifeless group - again, no fault of the actors - it's just the way the story plays out.

As for the new Freddy, this madman's much darker, much more unflinchingly evil with scarcely any of the sort of wicked humor the old Freddy possessed. Jackie Earle Haley takes over the role which Robert Englund developed and embraced for seven films, and Haley does his best to put his own stamp on the part. Haley doesn't have all that much to work with here, with hardly any dialogue and his expressive face hidden behind layers of makeup. The burn victim scars look realistic but make it nearly impossible for Haley to change expressions. Without many lines to deliver, there's very little Haley could do as the new Freddy other than look menacing, which he does just fine. Truthfully, I don't think it would have made a bit of difference who was under the makeup in this case.

The Bottom Line

Unlike the original film, this Nightmare does actually help make sense out of the choice of victims and why Freddy's out for blood from the teenagers rather than their parents. However, this Elm Street doesn't provide any further explanation as to the rules regarding Freddy's interaction with his victims, and that would have been an avenue worth exploring.

What sets this film's plot apart from the original is what the kids uncover in researching why they were specifically chosen by Freddy. Wes Craven's original film glossed over that part of the story, as did all the various sequels, and Craven's Freddy - while still a cold-blooded killer - dispatched his victims while spouting gleefully demented one-liners. That sick sense of humor is part of the appeal of the Nightmare franchise and of Freddy, and it's missing from this Elm Street.

The 2010 Nightmare replicates some of the scenes from the original film, but even with a larger budget and state-of-the-art effects, Craven's Nightmare had more flair. There are visually arresting scenes in this remake, but this film never delivers a character to really latch onto, making it come across as a case of style trumping substance.

I think the real problem with this Elm Street is that it takes itself too seriously. I watch the Nightmare films to scream a little and laugh a lot, but with this one I remained pretty much silent throughout.

GRADE: C-

A Nightmare on Elm Street was directed by Samuel Bayer and is rated R for strong bloody horror violence, disturbing images, terror and language.

Theatrical Release: April 30, 2010

Disclosure: This review is based on a screening provided by the studio. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.