A Nightmare on Elm Street (remake)
| release date | April 30 2010 |
| studio | New Line Cinema |
| director | Samuel Bayer |
| writer | Wesley Strick, Eric Heisserer |
| starring | Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Thomas Dekker, Rooney Mara, Kellan Lutz, Katie Cassidy, Clancy Brown, Connie Britton |
| rating | R |
| tagline | Welcome to Your New Nightmare... |
| site | nightmareonelmstreet.com |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
Been anticipating this since it was first announced on B.D…im a huge nightmare fan but not a fan of remakes at all…way to much CGI, but i guess thats something we might as well get used to. The freddy “death” scene was almost identical to the one from FvsJ, even down to the one-liner. Ok i guess, ill give it a 6…
I really liked the story development but I thought for the most part the movie fell flat,I thought the end sequence was a HUGE let down in the original it is a long drawn out fight and it felt like Freddy was dead in under a minute.
First off let me say that I actually enjoyed the “Friday the 13th” remake more then this movie.
The opening scene was very weak. Reminded me too much of something out of TCM. I can’t put my finger on it but the opening to this movie just put a bad taste in my mouth. The acting overall, was fantastic, while the characters on the other hand, lacked a lot of depth. The story was well written but was just missing a better backbone, or rather a driving force.
What really made me dislike this movie (as it did with the F13 remake) is that all the kids knew from very early on that someone was trying to kill them, and that their dreams was the cause of it. They needed to keep the character of Freddy in the darkness longer (in more then one way, I’ll get to that in a minute). The entire movie was kids panicking and trying not to fall asleep. I am one of those believers of “what you don’t see or don’t know, is scarier”. They failed on that front in every way possible.
Now, let’s get to JEH as Freddy. Very impressed. His style, his walk, his little signatures were all spot on for a new Freddy, doing Mr. Robert Englund proud. He was dark, he was brutal and scary, and there were a few scenes where I actually jumped a bit. They paid homage here and there to the original which I always really enjoyed, but at the same time it pissed me off. It wasn’t the movie that pissed me off, it was the mass of morons around me that did it. For example: There was a homage scene to the original where Nancy begins to fall asleep in the tub, and Freddy’s glove comes up out of the water but then sinks back down slowly when Nancy’s mom wakes her up. Great scene. But for whatever reason, the group of ignoramuses I was so honored to be sharing a theater with, found this scene hilarious. Just sad really…
On to the character of Nancy. While the actress was very good and convincing, the actual character lacked everything that made the original Nancy special. She had no balls, and relied too much on everyone else to help her, unlike the original Nancy who took charge and did what she has to do, by herself! The other characters were just, for lack of a better word: Lame. The end scene was a mediocre homage to the original ending, and I just can’t find anything to like about it.
The shadows… Makes everything more creepy, so why did they find the need to light up Freddy’s face in nearly every scene he was in? We get it, he is burned, but keep him concealed, and the chill factor is that much more intensified. Jason wears a mask to hide what we fear, forcing us to fear something else entirely: A white mask. When that mask is finally lifted for that brief moment, we cringe at what we MIGHT catch a glimpse of. That is what horror is all about. If Jason ran around for half the movie without a mask and we see his face clear as day in every scene he is in, then he is wearing the mask come the other half of the movie is pointless. Directors, especially those in the horror genre need to step up their game, get back to the classic roots and realize this! Horror is not about loud orchestral hits to get the viewers to holt in their seats. It is about what our minds can perceive out of not seeing what scares us. Until horror directors get that back into their minds and start applying it to their movies, the slasher genre is on a downward spiral to extinction.
I think diehard NOES fans will be pleased with how this movie came out, but all those other nit-pickers out there like myself, will understand what I am trying to say. This movie had a lot of hype and was very enjoyable, but it lacked TRUE horror elements that could have made it an instant classic.
ugh.
I expected this to be Jackie Earle Haley trying to give a character as much body as he could with whatever opportunities given…but likely surrounded by a few kids trying to launch a career (maybe snag a “hills” spin-off), and an over-produced, studio and script-strangled vehicle to do so in. I was right. He’s just fine…I’ll even go as far to say as “Nancy” (Rooney Mara) and “Quentin” (Kyle Gallner) would have been fine given the right surroundings and writing, but thats about as far as it goes. A small handful trying to pay their respects whilst sinking in sewage.
A few examples of its weakness: Dialogue is terrible, especially noticeable in the first half of the movie with “Dean”, “Kris”, and “Jesse”. The rest of the writing isn’t much better…they more or less follow the original with a few weak and telegraphed changes/twists and some obvious scares. Oh, and basically everyone is thick as a brick / slow. One of Freddy’s first (maybe THE first) appearance is immediately lost because shots containing him have a gritty grain effect, while every shot of the girl and the rest of the sequence are completely clean (made more distracting by the quick inter-splicing of these shots without any attempt to transition)…and they don’t even try to use the effect after this one instance. One of the most memorable effects from the original is butchered by half-assed CG.
The good? I guess I kind of mentioned, Haley is a good Krueger and the few scenes showing his past and origins are the strongest in the movie. Nancy and Quentin are believable and natural enough, though again the script never helps.
There, no spoilers, though if you’ve seen the original there wouldn’t be too many anyways.
Save your dollars.
It’s pretty bad, but on the other hand any critics that completely trashed it are looking at the original with rose-colored glasses.
SOME PROS: The casting, surprisingly, is probably the best part. Of course a lot of people are going to this because of Jackie, but I happened to like this Nancy much better than the original, and quasi-boyfriend guy was much better and more useful this time than Johnny Depp (who, if you recall, wasn’t particularly good his first time out). Nancy’s mom is a vast improvement (though I wish they kept her an alcoholic), and Clancy Brown is the man, as usual.
SOME CONS: Goddamn jump cuts and ridiculously over-the-top audio stings, which really do make up about 90% of the so-called scares (the only really good one happening during the video blog ). Some critic described the movie as like a jack in the box, and they were right. I originally thought the concept of micro-naps was pretty cool, but the filmmakers just use it as an excuse to continue having Freddy suddenly spring up out of nowhere. Obligatory scenes like Freddy coming out of the wall (terribly over-the-top via CGI) and the glove in the bathtub are completely ineffective this time out, and not because we’ve seen it before, but because it was done much better before.
Like a lot of remakes, it manages to improve on a few things from the original, while fucking up pretty much everything else.
If you’re gonna see it, see it this weekend in a crowded theatre. You’ll likely have a better time than watching it at home a few months from now, where the flaws will really stick out.
I was pretty happy with this. It played well off the original but really had its own feeling also. Jackie did a pretty decent job. I got into him more and more as the film went on. I really did like the back story a lot. It gave Freddy an even deeper disturbed feeling. What i loved the most were the little things from the original like the Jersey Chris was wearing was the same number as the one Johnny Depp wore. Overall good job
Job well done by platinum dunes, period. They kind of been treading water for a while now but they managed to get one right. Jackie Earl Haley played a superb Freddy and my hats of to him (pun intended). Great debut for Mr. Sam Bayer as well. His dream portrayals actually captured your pre-dream haze and made you feel the euphoria you get right before you doze off and slip into your rest. Excellent for a first major motion picture. I felt all of the other actors and actresses served their parts well and didn’t come off as to bland or typical. The future looks pretty bright for Kyle Gallner if i might say so myself. That kid has got it: timing, emotion, humor. As far as the young crop of actors polluting Hollywood at this moment goes I’ll take this kid over 98% of them as he has yet to display a crap performance when handed the ball. I thought Kris was the only bland teenager (would’ve rather had what she tries to look like: Kristen Bell). Rooney was about as good could be expected with the role that was handed to her. Very creepy at times in the flick when they touch on subjects like pedophilia, but Jackie and Rooney sold it like it was the cure for cancer. My only real complaint was then ending, seemed way to predictable and I would’ve preferred something a little less inconspicuous. Perhaps a subtle hint that he’s still there, something among those lines that just came off as creepy instead the “in yo face” ending. I think we had one to many of those over the course of the film. Overall I would probably score this movie 8.5 outta 10. Going for a second viewing tomorrow, and then perhaps a third if I can squeeze it in this weekend. This is Tungbandit’s two cents, over and out…….
Well what can i say, i will proably be in the minority here but i really enjoyed this movie. i know everyone will proably hate me but honestly i never got bored or wanted this movie to end. Sure there are some flaws as with every movie, mosy notably for me was the scenes they tried to recreate but the rest of the movie i was very impressed with. I’m honestly in shock at how good Jackie was. I thought he did a very good job and made freddy his own. This is crazy as im sitting here typing this because i am a die hard Englund fan and i think Mr. Haley did justice. In fact i almost think he earned “Beast” status. Well it may not be the original but i feel as if this was definitely Platinum Dunes best to date and i did not like the Friday the 13th remake.
The movie was horrible. I think the acting was good but the characters themselves were terrible. This movie had a sequel feel not remake. What I mean is it feels like the director expects everyone to have seen all the films to save them time for having to actually develope characters or explain things. Also they spent way to much time trying to explain backstory on Freddy. The CGI is godawful. I mean it’s bad for the sake of being sad. The final showdown between Freddy and Nancy is boring, and weak. Another PD turd…/sigh
I’m most definitely going to be in the minority for this one (just like Halloween 2 :p) but I thought this wasn’t a half bad remake! I thought that Jackie Earl Haley did a remarkable job as Freddy. The only thing I was not to fond of was his makeup. It seemed to look like it was cgi’d on or something towards the end. Probably wasn’t but that’s what it looked like to me. I can see why people thought it was boring but I didn’t notice at the time. I was just to pumped to be watching a new Nightmare film. I’m hoping they do another one and use all their new ideas to a fuller extent. I was pleasantly surprised by the cast as well. Besides the guy in the beginning, they all did very well. Sure there’s certain things that I wish they would of kept from the original but the changes they did make I accepted pretty fast.
My favorite part and line in the film was when Freddy was talking to Jesse in the boiler room. Freddy-”Can you bring people back from the dead?!” Jesse-”No!” Freddy-”I didn’t FUCKING think so!” haha Jackie Earl Haley was a little bad ass in this film. I hope everyone goes and sees this movie and keep Freddy alive!
bring on part 2! katie was awsome by the way!
Longer review: no genuine suspense, tension, or scares. It’s just jump scare after jump scare after jump scare. It takes no talent or skill to have someone jump out of the shadows with a LOUD musical stinger behind it. It’s cheap and worthless. Also, while Jackie Earle Haley does a good job with Freddy, I just couldn’t get passed the fact that … See Morehe was too recognizeable. It’s just the Rorschach voice with a slur. They also shone too much light on his face. Part of what made Freddy so effective in this first place was that he was only seen in glimpses and slivers of light.
The make-up job is very good, but again, I could see Jackie in there. After watching him for 12 episodes on Fox’s “Human Target,” his face is very familiar to me. Whenever I saw Robert Englund as Freddy, it was Freddy. I didn’t see Robert in that face, at least not for the first few films. Once they started putting full light on his face, exposing the rubbery make-up, it didn’t matter anymore anyway. I did like somethings Jackie did with the character, if only in mannerisms that were entirely new and original.
Simply said, it’s about what you’d expect from Platinum Dunes. Which means, don’t put much hope into it. The cinematography is stylish and atmospheric, and the CGI is of a mixed grade. Some of it is cartoony garbage, but the more subtle stuff comes off well. Though, there’s no blatant camp humor in this. They try to keep it very solid, focused, and dramatic. But it’s not without it’s poorly delivered attempts to one liners stolen from previous Englund Elm Streets. Also, the music leaves something to be desired. It’s by Steve Jablonski, the same composer Platinum Dunes always uses, and always produces less than memorable work. The Charles Bernstein “Elm Street” theme appears only ONCE – when the film’s title slams onto the screen. It is never heard again.
I think the biggest shortfall of the film is the lack of genuine suspense and tension. I was only afraid of another jump scare coming out of nowhere, and frankly, it kept me too on guard. I kept bracing myself for another cheap scare. And some of the gags are so blatantly setup that I call them before they happen. The result of all this is the fact that Freddy doesn’t feel built up enough. He’s not a looming figure screwing around with you making you squirm. He’s the boogeyman jumping out at the shadows every chance he gets.
And while the supporting cast is decently acted, no one stands out. No one really takes the stage and defines themselves apart from anyone else. Maybe that’s the writing or directing to blame, but who knows. I do think it was a poor decision to NOT have a John Saxon style character here. A mature adult character with compassion and a level head. The whole film does feel like it’s playing it a little too safe, including the acting. If they pushed the boundaries further, maybe it would be more engaging and potentially scary. Simply put, there’s no entertainment value here, and there’s no one to really connect with. Everyone’s acting on the same blah level, and with an actor like Clancy Brown, I am astonished. Anyone should remember his scene-stealing turn as The Kurgan in “Highlander.” It was the most verbose and larger than life villain to still be taken seriously, ever.
In the end, there’s no reason to really care about this film. No one involved really seemed like they were trying to make you like it all that much. It’s forgettable even next to SOME of the lesser Elm Street sequels. It’s extremely distant from brilliant, and right next door to mediocre. This isn’t the kind of film that sparks up an entire franchise of films to be remembered for generations to come. No one tried to make this film standout. It just simply exists to exist. There was fertile ground to build on from the original Wes Craven classic, but none of that potential was ceased here. This film totally lacks potential. Platinum Dunes is a death nail in any horror franchise’s hoped-for revival. Another franchise snuffed out, unfortunately.
-NJM
All in all…..Pretty decent remake. Jackie Earle Haley did an excellent job portraying Freddy. Rooney did ok as well with her portrayal as Nancy. All the other characters I didn’t really care about which is one of my beefs with the film. You didn’t really get a chance to care because the main focus was on Freddy’s character development and story. The CGI was bad. Many fans will be disappointed with Freddy coming through the wall scene, as the originals was more realistic. You might be comforted knowing the director handled the subject of pedophilia very lightlly and cautiously, which was a concern of mine. The biggest surprise for me was that they kept Freddy’s sadistic humor without over doing it. Many people, myself included, were under the impression that this remake was going to have very little of the humor. Not the case. The ending was ok, but i felt they could’ve been more successful with a more subtle approach imo. I must say Platinum Dunes actually churned out a decent remake. Not good enough to forget their shortcomings, but good enough to keep me from boycotting! 8/10
the best of all the platinum dunes remakes and better than the halloween remakes. it had its weaknesses but it was overall great, and Jackie Earle Haley was FANTASTIC! i would’ve liked to have seen some more creative deaths, most of the kills are just the characters getting slashed. also, the wall scene sucked, they should’ve done it the way they did in the original with the spandex. also, the bath tub scene would’ve been cool had it shown her being drowned like in the original.
otherwise an awesome film
Hmm… I’m not totally sure how I feel. There were definitely aspects that I enjoyed, and then parts that sort of let me down. I’m 30 years old and grew up on Freddy. He’s like a weird stepdad to me, so I was VERY familiar with all things Elm Street. I have been anticipating this movie for a couple years, and that may be my biggest problem. I really loved Jackie’s movements and new take on Freddy. The limpy walk was awesome. Voice was pretty good, except I wish he had been angrier when he spoke. While Freddy DID have a couple jokey lines, I truly appreciated the LACK of humor from the rest of the cast. I was a serious movie overall. I was terrified it would have shit humor from awful characters like FT13th did. I am one of the few that like what Platinum Dunes does, the Texas Chainsaws are still the best, and this is a decent movie to add. I’d say a 6/10 overall. I also HATE that some cool scenes and lines from the trailers/commercials aren’t in the actual movie. I think I need to see it again. Worth checking out if you’re on the fence.
I loved it!! Im a huge fan of the original series, if you don’t compare it, you’ll enjoy it!
Huge disappointment. I went into this with an open mind and to see if it could live up to all the hype. This movie fell flat in just about every area. Horrible acting. Bad writing. Jackie Earle Haley could have brought so much to Freddy, but Freddy comes across as dull. Platinum Dunes movies have a reputation for being all style and no substance. The no substance part is right, but even the style wasn’t that impressive in comparison to their other remakes. 4/10
I came into this film with an open mind about everything.This film was made for a new generation so I already knew it wasn’t gonna be close to the original and it wasn’t. I fought with myself to get over the biggest factor A NEW FREDDY would be born!No more Robert Englund who most of us in a crazy way felt grew up with us from the first film too FvsJ it was like seeing a uncle everyonce in awhile.I sat down looking forward too a so-so film and left thinking it was better than what I thought. No it’s not perfect or a great remake. No Jackie Earl Haley wasn’t a better Freddy. No the storyline wasn’t the best. Yes this was a some what quality film I would say atleast give it a chance. I think this film suffered from editing and gave it a rushed quality that I think offset the whole film, with that being said I would absolutley love to see a unedited or directors cut (hopefully for blu-ray).I listened to reviewers before I seen the film and didn’t agree with 90% of them and that’s what I would tell anyone who is thinking about watching this film. Go to the your local movies come in with an open mind and draw your own opinion I’m a die hard Freddy fan and I like what Jackie did with the character. I absolutely loved the micro-nap scenes but film they could have done much more due to this being a film about a dream killer. I though the dream murdering could have been more creative but for the most part leaving it to Freddy gave him more of a visceral sense to me. This was not the Freddy we grew up with this was a really pissed guy who habors true hate in his heart with no compassion or remorse. The visuals were great Samuel Bayer did a great directoral job I just wish he had a better script of more to work with.When all said in done if this was a 120min plus film vice a 90min plus film I think reviews would be much better. Since Freddy is so near and dear to us all we hold any “re-envision” to a high standards I think no film would be able to reach.I urge you go see this film draw your own opinion and think about this “Would you rather have this Freddy than no Freddy”?
Much better than i thought it would be. A few bumps here and there, but overall, pretty solid. I liked this new dark take on the series. Freddy was a sleazy bastard. He was creepy. And the new Nancy is good. better than the new Laurie. I’d like to see them duke it out. Maybe in Freddy vs. Michael.
I cant believe that BD gave Friday the 13th 4 skulls and this 2 skulls, I mean come on it was at least just as good but to me it was leaps and bounds better. I want to say welcome Jackie Earle Haley as our new Freddy you brought your A game to the role and kept it dark and superb. Now dont get me wrong it had its flaws like the overkill of micro naps and the fact that the Quentin character didnt die, but they tried pretty well to keep some of the elements and scenes from the original in tact. Never forget you cant go into this movie with a classic on your mind and start comparing it will never work. I do feel if Wes Craven would have been able just to sit in and give an opinion or two the movie would have blown the roof off, just look at the Hills Have Eyes remake which to me is still maybe the best yet. All in all a way better movie than the Friday remake but at the same time a remake and never going to be a classic, I hope it beats the Friday numbers at the box office but I doubt it will with the summer blockbusters starting next week. And for the sequel I hope they think about asking Craven to sit in and have Robert Englund as a cameo. WELCOME BACK FREDDY !!!!!!!!!!!!
SPOILERS
In my opionion, this is the best NOES since 1984 and the best PD remake so far. Jackie was scary as hell and I LOVED his voice, especially his creepy laugh and the way he sounds when he gets pissed and yells in a deep voice. Englund never seemed really pissed off like that. Freddy is definitely way more evil than he’s ever been. I was really pissed off when I found out that they turned him into a molester because I thought there was no possible way that it would be as frightening as a child murderer. I was so against this that I protested it all over the internet for months. I was wrong.
First, the molestation stuff really helped me to feel for the characters and actually care for them…more so than in the original movie. Especially when nancy sees what Freddy did to her in the photographs. I thought her acting was very strong and I can’t believe some people are saying that they didn’t care about her. I definitely did. She’s not supposed to be the strong-willed Nancy of the original. This Nancy is very sad and damaged on a subconscious level from what was done to her as a kid.
Also, the workbench and “cave” underneath the preschool were SO disturbing and frightening. It also seemed very plausible and a reminder of how screwed up this world is. When the parents find the claw marks on nancy, I couldn’t believe it. That was so messed up. What Freddy did to the kids really was more evil than killling them.
I don’t understand why BD rated this so low. I think it’s ten times better than PD’s F13.
Went to the midnight showing of. A Nightmare On Elm Street 10′ and to me it was by far the best remake to date besides Friday The 13th. I fuckin loved it jus how they showed some orginality by mix and matching iconic scenes from the orginal and putting their own twist on the storyline and fitting them in perfect with the new story and premise. Also love and I mean love how they went in the roots of freddy and made it show how he was connected to the Elm street kids and his sick and twisted history that right there was some fuckin awesome shit! Jackie Earle Haley was the best Freddy to date his performance was BEAUTIFUL.Theres So much more I wanna say bout this movie but can’t cause it will be one long ass review and I don’t wanna spoil anything. In conclusion all I can say was one thing I did not like was the names of the rest of the characters in the movie. They were good names don’t get me wrong but, I just wish they kept the original names like Nancys that was the only thing I didn’t agree with about this movie. Other then that A Nightmare On Elm Street 2010 Gets 10 Skullz out of 10 in my books. Great job once again Platinum Dunes you ROCK!!!!! P.s. Going to see it again to night 4/30/10
Jackie was great as Freddy. Probably should have kept him as a child killer instead of molester. I think this movie was way too fast paced. It felt super rushed. There was very little character development. There were great scares and deaths and really cheap scares and deaths as well. This movie needed more suspense and story. Not just speed through deaths. How Freddy was “killed” was too quick and easy as well. Rooney did a better job than I expected. Although she needs more emotion in certain scenes. Sometimes her mouth just moves and that’s it. It’s more than just saying a line! This Nancy isn’t all strong with emotion and setting booby traps. This Nancy is quiet and disturbed. Nancy Thompson is definitely different from Nancy Holbrook! There are stupid moments in the script like when Nancy and her mom are fighting back and forth. That was dumb when they were acting like kids saying you’re a liar! Are not! Are too! I liked seeing the dog slashed and hearing Freddy laugh saying he was just petting it. LOL. The Tina bedroom death scene was laughable at one point when you see her swing upside down from her waist up. Made me think this was something that would show up in “Scary Movie”. This is not better than the original. That movie keeps me feeling scared and on the edge of my seat the whole time after watching it dozens and dozens of times since I was 4. I know what’s going to happen but I still have fear running through my body and still get nightmares. This was a fresh take on Freddy. He was more serious thankfully. He came off as more perverted than scary though which was kind of a let down. The film was a little boring. I’m glad Jackie had some funny one-liners. It was just lacking in depth story-wise. Hopefully they can get a better script that is completely original, suspenseful, and less fast paced for Part 2. I feel like they shoved a bunch of kill scenes down my throat without telling me enough of the why. They could have had a better story if they delved more into Freddy possibly being innocent. To me this was just a fun ride. It didn’t really scare me except for a couple of moments. I loved when the cam panned down and Freddy was laying on the bed. Unexpected and very creepy. Anyway, I hope they have a better script put together for part 2 and 3 without redoing a scene from the previous films. I have always wanted a new Freddy movie that made him scary and less of a jokester with a great story. This was closer to that but needs work. I liked this movie because it’s a fresh fun and more serious take on Freddy. I didn’t like the fact that it was too fast paced. It felt rushed. Slow it down, build up the characters and the suspense! I want to feel fear even when someone isn’t being killed at the moment! Just like the original does for me every time I watch it! 3 out of 5 stars for me.
Some weak points, like the cgi coming from the wall, but other than that i was really impressed… I hated Friday the 13th remake, but i really like this one. One thing i was really happy about was the fact that freddy still had his sense of humor which was one thing they said he wouldnt, so ill rate this movie pretty good.
The movie is littered with negative criticism so far. I’m going to review it focusing on some of that criticism.
There will be spoilers, but I will attempt to keep them to a minimum.
I think a majority of the negative points are no-win situations. Yes, the movie is full of jump scares. The movie had creepy moments, depending on your taste in films. I read complaints about both parts being poorly done, over done, yadda yadda. Fact was, in my screening of the movie, people jumped. People got creeped out. Adding more creepy parts or more jump scares or taking out either would have made the movie far less entertaining. And come on, we’re talking about a movie that was born in the era of the music driven jump scare. Jump scares are ALWAYS predictable, and the fact that people actually responded because at least in this movie, they were slightly off of the beaten path was good. Even something as simple as the web blog scene. We all knew something was coming, but it took long enough to happen that it was still a bit of a startle. And Freddy doesn’t need to be unrealistically creepy. Adding more of that horror to the movie would have made it to similar to every crap ghost movie that’s tried to slowly creep us out in the past decade. The movie was a good mix. Any more either way would have been overkill.
The new look. All I have to say is, it looked good for the most part. I think everyone is in agreement by now that the wall scene could have been cut, but the rest of the sequences were done well without going into campy mode. One thing that bothered me was what appeared to be bad voice dubbing at certain points, but half of them were from a left profile, where his mouth was hardly moving, and the other half I can write off as not important. Hell, it was a dream, and seeing a burned guy with razor fingers and good annunciation with bad dubbing skills would scare me to hell. And as for the general look, well…it looked like my hometown. I dug it. It was gritty, it was simple, and the settings were mostly background. Which made the important ones actually stand out.
The flow of the movie. Deaths in the beginning, real plot stuff didn’t start kicking till the middle, confusing. Some of the best movies in my opinion have confused the hell out of me until the middle and in a way more migraine enducing way than nightmare. Sure, the first half focused on dream sequences and kills and developing a couple of characters just to kill them…at the end of the day, it is horror. My lack of issue is that if they had done plot at the beginning, death at the end, I’d have been disconnected with the plot by then. Having a lot more of the big dream sequences at the beginning, before the characters realized they needed to seriously stay awake, was fitting. They slept longer. They were confused. As was the audience. In my opinion, that fueled it some…why should we be privy to knowing stuff so soon in the movie? Just to fully grasp what’s happening? I was pleased with not having to focus too much on plot for a bit. Gave me a chance to just enjoy the look, and…what everyone was wanting to see…the dream sequences. Anyone who was disappointed because they weren’t fantastical enough, well…go watch Breckin Meyer being Nintendo’d to hell.
The characters. Flawed. Acting was better at parts than others. I’m sorry, but I would much rather have actors who come off as slieghtly tacky than super professional. That’s how people I know act. Like idiots. They say and do stupid things. I don’t need John Malkovic being victomized in a horror movie. Personal preference. JEH was awesome as Freddy. The fact that people aren’t comparing him to Englund, but preferring Englund or (in some cases) him speaks to that. He didn’t try to copy Englund. He built his own Freddy off of the baselines. He was creepy, slow, slurry, you couldn’t sympathize with him all that much, and he was fairly single minded in what he wanted. He was flawed. I’ll take that. Especially in a genre that is glorious because of it’s flaws. We love seeing beauty destroyed. So why focus so damn much on perfection?
I think that modern horror and the proliferation of complaints about it is what is giving this movie such bad reviews. I went into the movie with some expectations while trying to keep an open mind. I didnt think of it as a remake. I went in for the experience. And the experience was pleasing. I liked the kills, I liked the voice, I like the discomfort I felt knowing how fucked up Freddy was. And the lack of “mystical” crap at the end made up for the wall CGI
Sure, Platinum Dunes/Bay hav terrorized the genre. It could have been better. But after seperating from the genre and going in with the objective to just try and enjoy a movie for what it is, it was..well…good. Horror isn’t so esoteric anymore. That’s why it fizzled and is so overcritiqued. Original, remakes, reused ideas…it’s hard to please us through the fodder. I was happy with Nightmare.
no lengthy review here. I’ve been a die hard nightmare fan since I was boy. And maybe its just the fan boy in me but I think this was outstanding. the deaths where top notch, freddy was “scary” again, everyone involved seemed like they were trying.
i’m not sure what movie many of you so-called “horror fans” went and saw, but it was not the same movie i saw. This is possibly THE WORST remake yet.
The people that enjoyed the movie need to grow a pair.
p.s. – That dudes joy division shirt cant give this movie enough cred to save it.
Thanks platinum dunes for turning freddy into a little, hollow character. YOU DESTROYED FREDDY.
It was good folks, lets not deny it it’s due.
Welcome Freddy.
Jason, as much as I awaited your return.. Your movie sucked giant rotten eggs. This was way better, thankfully. I look forward to sequels with Freddy being scary once again!
wow andy, you need to change your tampon and quit being a little girl. If it was exactly like the original freddy what would be the point of seeing it? Its a REMAKE, a REVISION of what the writer thinks freddy should be. I dont care if you dont have an open mind and enough imagination to like the movie, but dont take it out on us. I enjoyed the movie, it was different, didnt have any stupid comedy and got right to the point.
I saw the midnight screening last night for NOES 2010 and I have to say – it was not at all as bad as a lot of the reviews would lead you to believe. I am a HUGE Fred Head, and an avid fan of anything Krueger. That being said, I think for what this was – which was an “update” of the film that started it all 26 years ago – it was good. Sure, it had its flaws, but what movie doesn’t? This is a nice addition to the Elm Street franchise, and overall Haley’s Krueger was genuinely creepy, and yes…at points, even scary. This was definately worth the wait.
As for those individuals saying “the people who enjoyed the movie need to grow a pair.” – why? Because they enjoyed the movie for what it was and didn’t scrutinize it for every little flaw or area you thought it should have been different?
This was a movie that had a tough job at pleasing both the already established avid fan base, as well as drawing in new, younger viewers to the Krueger experience. It succeeds at doing just that.
this movie is gritty, disgusting, terrifying, and most of all importance a breath of fresh air for horror. i can honestly say i have never seen anything like it. as i sat in the theater i was uneasy, sweaty and excited all at the same time. I am probably the biggest nightmare on elm street fan out there. and as i waited in line i couldnt help but smile the whole time. You see when i was a kid i tried and tied to sit down and watch the nightmare on elm street movies, and i just couldnt, they were simply to terrifying for me. i had nightmares about fred kruger without even seeing the movies all the way though. i would watch 1 scene at a time..i just couldnt take it. We should all be so lucky growing up in the 80s as a little kid not being able to go see the movies in theathers back then because of being to young, now being able to go and actually see it on the big screen! fucking wow. and i must say i have watched the original nightmare at least over 100 times now…this movie is by far the better movie. Not to make the classic that is Wes cravens a nightmare on elm street less important.Because it is the most important horror movie ever! but if you compare the movies side by side, and the effect it has on the body, this movie wins out.
I think I might have actually enjoyed both Friday the 13th and Halloween better than this. Platinum Dunes has completely ruined this character, it’s almost like they did it on purpose. No self-respecting fan of this series could have looked at this in post production and thought it was a good idea. The makeup is awful, it’s worse than the trailers showed, he looks like a fucking monkey. Which wouldn’t be so bad if you hide the makeup, something the first one did and they didn’t even do it intentionally, they did it because they thought the makeup wasn’t good enough. This one actually glorifies it’s terrible makeup which is a bit ironic considering they tried so damn hard to keep the makeup a secret.
I can’t exactly say Jackie Earl Haley was bad, the material was not very good, the script didn’t even allow him to give a good show. With that said, his height is noticable, his voice is strained and he just seemed off with his movements. Could be Robert Englund’s genius hanging around in my head but I digress.
The film builds no tension, actually less tension then the F13th remake and relies a ridiculous amount on jump scares and loud shrieks that lead to absolutely nothing. The blood is actually less so then the original IMO, although they try to make up for that with the “more violent” approach, but the kills were actually boring and not innovative, something that is a staple in the Nightmare on Elm Street series.
The story does wind up following one of the scripts that were out there, I’m not gonna disclose which, so I don’t spoil it for anyone, but yes we do get a clear answer on whether he was guilty or not. It’s not exactly a surprise either.
Which leads me to the biggest downfall of this film to me. The effects. I shit you not when I say the original’s effects were done better than this film. Every film trick that Wes Craven utilized in the original is dumbed down to the use of CGI that isn’t even remotely passable. We get the ever insulting CGI blood, CGI slashings, they even fucking had a CGI glove.
And I think that sums up this movie. A lazy effort by a lazy, talentless director that doesn’t even have a purpose. It’s not fun, it’s not scary and it’s forgettable as soon as the credits roll.
Good movie.
so saw this flick at the premiere on tuesday =D. was thinking, this is either going to suck major ass, or it was going to be very good. thank god it ended up with very good. im very happy they stayed true to the original but added extra things. i really liked kris. i think she did an awesome job. nancy was one of my least favs in this. i dont know why i just tont think the actress fit with the character well. jackie did an amazing job on freddy. love that they kept his smart ass-ness and the fact that we get to learn his past a bit more. one of my favorite scenes is where the blood falls from the celing. i can tootally understand why some people didnt care for this film. but tell me, when was the last time you saw a remake and truely loved it? i put that in the back of my mind b4 watching. “its a remake, it cant be that good” and i think , thinking that helped me appreciate this and the other platinum dunes remakes. overall this was a good film. and i payed to see it again last night at midnight. bravo samuel bayer, cast, and crew. great job. i hope there will be a 2nd nightmare =D
so saw this flick at the premiere on tuesday =D. was thinking, this is either going to suck major ass, or it was going to be very good. thank god it ended up with very good. im very happy they stayed true to the original but added extra things. i really liked kris. i think she did an awesome job. nancy was one of my least favs in this. i dont know why i just tont think the actress fit with the character well. jackie did an amazing job on freddy. love that they kept his smart ass-ness and the fact that we get to learn his past a bit more. one of my favorite scenes is where the blood falls from the celing. i can tootally understand why some people didnt care for this film. but tell me, when was the last time you saw a remake and truely loved it? i put that in the back of my mind b4 watching. “its a remake, it cant be that good” and i think , thinking that helped me appreciate this and the other platinum dunes remakes. overall this was a good film. and i payed to see it again last night at midnight. bravo samuel bayer, cast, and crew. great job. i hope there will be a 2nd nightmare =D
yeah, there were things about it that i didnt like, and would have changed. but i still loved this interpretation of the original. im so bummed at all the negativity towards this remake. now, there are a handful of Platinum Dunes offerings i havent taken it yet, but of the major character revivals [texas, friday, and nightmare] this is certainly my favorite.
everyone talks about how dark and brooding the main characters are, and how nancy’s not the goody two shoes heather langenkamp was. well i didnt wanna go in seeing the exact same movie, i could have watched my blu-ray again. and i did that in the afternoon already, i wanted to see something new. i like roony’s nancy. she isnt heather langenkamp, nor does her nancy have the same back story. of course shes gonna turn into a lil artsy brooding emo girl SHE WAS MOLESTED AS A KID. and i liked that quinten doesnt take no-doz, he takes something like ritalin or adderall. this is Nightmare on Elm Street in the NOW.
Jackie isnt Robert, but that doesn’t mean he sucks. he’s certainly not the same Freddy, but not completely without one liners, and i thought they were nice. all of the nods to the original i thought we’re tastefully done, with the exception of the CGI Wall thing, that was horrible. but if your not going to have any thing in the movie referencing the original, your just a sequel without the number, not a remake.
yeah, some of these scenes might have been done better in 84, but it was still nice seeing them represented on the big screen somehow again. this is a tribute to the classic. and if you don’t like Nightmare(2010), just because it was made doesn’t mean the original vanished into thin air, it still exists. its still amazing. and more people will still find it. i really enjoyed this and i hope you do too.
I saw A Nightmare On Elm Street remake at the 12am Premiere last night and I have to say, I’m not sure why it has gotten such bad reviews? Scroll down and look at the others, they agree with me that this is a decent film, at least most of the posts about it. There were many things that could have gone into more in-depth with, and tweak around a bit although. I think they made Freddys face “TOO” scared, as in it should have been more of a fresh burn than a scar that looks like happened years ago. They also should have kept some of the ooze coming off his face as in the original haha. But anyways, I think the first few deaths came a little too quickly, and yet they were still decently entertaining. Tinas death (Kris in this version) could have been better, they should have added the blood before throwing her around the ceiling and walls, but it was still very well performed. I think they should have waited a little while before the first kill scene although. Now, the scene with the computer blogger. I think they could have added a little more to that, but its only a small matter. The main thing I am kinda dissapointed about is Freddy’s STORY. In the original they made him a Child killer…now he is a Child molester?? (Spelt wrong i know hah). But still I think they should focus more on him KILLING children next time instead of “likeing” them. I warn you guys, DO NOT READ THE ROTTENTOMATOES.COM reviews. It is a bunch of critics who have NO PAST WITH HORROR FILMS AND THEY DO NOT KNOW OW TO JUDGE HORROR FILMS.
Here is my finaly statement. Nightmare On Elm Street (Remake) is not AS good as the original and i’m sure everybody will agree with me. But this film had potential which did not show much, but overall it was very entertaining. I would go see this again several times if I could. I highly reccommend you all seeing this because it is a well made movie. There has already been talk of a sequel and if they just dig deeper into Freddy I am positive it will turn out great next year or so. So In my opinion….WELL DONE, VERY WELL DONE. I enjoyed this much as a true Freddy fan (Ive been obsessed since I was little). I’m only 17 and I have seen basically every horror movie made, no lie. And I truly believe although it could have been better, that it was still an AMAZING movie.
Ok the movie had it gripes but for what it was it was a good horror ride, into a different concept of what scared us all when we where kids. I feel the director was a terrible pick, the script was really just built around Freddy killing teenagers. Was Freddy cool as hell, Yes he was, was Nancy a badass, yes she was. Krugers one liners although not as good as Robert Englunds they were catchy and Freddy still had a since of humor. Now could this movie have been great as the original, yes it could have been, was it rushed, again yes it was. I feel it was a good way to bring back Freddy, without revisiting the past to much, the concept that he was a child molester, and not giving away the story how all the characters where connected was decent Writing.
One thing we as movie goers of the pretty much dead genre “Horror” have to realize is, Horror movies aren’t being newly created and the studios think that a few cheap scares, and a lot of blood are gonna sell, well it does cause it is entertainment. I dint love this film like I did the original but I did love Jackie Earle as Freddy, I didn’t love the, the script being built around Freddy and just adding some characters to get killed, but I liked the tie-ins. The one thing that made the original so great besides being one of a kind at the time was I felt the characters genuine fear for going to sleep, and they didn’t know what was haunting them, but I feel in the reboot they rushed the film, they just threw the characters together bonded by something and pushed on from there.
I love horror films, and I love Freddy Kruger, I think Platinum Dunes did a lot right and a lot wrong. But in the end I got a feeling of what this film could have been if they went back to the drawing board pulling out certain elements. With all that said it is a decent movie, will we remember it 10yrs from now, no probably not. Was it a good way to jump start an iconic horror film yes. Weather u a new to the series or a veteran of the old Nightmares I feel there is something in it for everyone who sees it. New people will like the story and Freddy himself. Old veterans will love to once again see somebody as evil as Freddy Kruger, reign terror on the kids on Elm Street, and a character as strong as Rooney Mara (Nancy) rise up. “Welcome to my World Bi$tch” (Nancy A nightmare on Elm Street 2010)
This movie was awesome! It wasnt perfect(what movie is) some of the CGI effects could have been sharper but for me the best special effect in this movie was Jackie Earle Haley! I loved everything about his Freddy the look, voice, and mannerisms(like his nervous sissoring of his fingers in anticipation of his next kill). Jackie Earle Haley not only sucseeded in making Freddy scary again he also made him twisted, sick and brutal. The tone felt much more dark and Haley was able to give us a more disturbing yet realistic character. Robert England is still the man, and the Original movie is still a classic but Jackie Earle Haley owns Freddy and this movie was a great,fun ride. Welcome back Mr. Krueger!
***SOME SPOILERS AHEAD***
If somebody held a 12 gauge shotgun to my head and demanded to know my opinion on ANOES (2010), I would kiss my own ass goodbye. I just don’t know where I stand with this entry. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it. The opening of the film was quite weak in my opinion, however as it progressed I found myself liking it more and more. We don’t get much character development, but that came as no suprise. I did feel that way too much time was spent on Kris, she was too old for High School and we all knew that she was going to bite the dust. Nancy was dull and can’t even been compared to Heather Langenkamp’s character. I did like Quentin on the other hand, he came across as very genuine. At the end of the day, the acting was better than expected. So no complaints there. I was very let down by Jackie Earl Hailey’s portrayl. It was not his fault in the least though, the script never allowed him to spread his wings as far as I am concerned. Had there been a quality script, he could have reinvented the character. I did end up digging the look of Freddy, even though he looked like a hamster in a fedora at points.
Just to clarify on something, prior to the release there was a lot of discussion regarding a lack of gore and the possibility of a PG-13 rating. No way folks, this flick was brutal. The red stuff was flowing and I was lovin’ it.
This reboot cannot hold a candle to Wes Craven’s 1984 masterpiece. Yes, masterpiece. But that was expected, so I was not dissapointed when it came to that. The one aspect that I preferred in this film as opposed to it’s predecessor was the backstory. It made a hell of a lot more sense that he was a pedophile and not a child killer in this entry. Not for anything people but most child murderers don’t kill children just to kill children, they almost always seek sexual gratification beforehand (I’m a criminology student for the record). That was the one issue that I had with Craven’s original. But the background that the kids had with Kruger definitely made his vengeance more undestandable and frankly more believeable.
In the end, ANOES (2010) couldn’t avoid the classic Platinum Dunes syndrome. Like the abysmal Friday the 13th (2009), we get a terrible score, horrible pacing, and a climax that felt rushed and left me with a “you’ve got to be fucking kidding me” feeling. I will say that this film had a TON of potential. It all comes back to the script for me. Perhaps the Dunes boys will have a shot at a sequal at some point in the future. Because if they do, I feel that they could easily right their wrongs and give us an entry that we as fans could hold our heads up high about. So to wrap things up, if you go in with an open mind, you may end up being relatively suprised. But if you go in looking for a remake on par with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), I say…dream on.
Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep. Simple advice, but it became challenging for me as I watched this at a midnight screening last night. I went into this not expecting too much, and was surprised by a few really good scenes (one involving a vlog, another a necklace) … brief scenes to be sure, but they were effective in how emotionally charged they were. Also, the filmmakers did a strong job of slowly unraveling the mystery of Fred Krueger’s past, and why he was hunted down – very well done, and the biggest source of suspense in the movie.
Aside from that, nothing about this movie is distinct or has any impact. JEH as Freddy is passable – his performance is pretty one-dimensional, and his dialogue bland. The same can be said for all the other actors – they just seem like they’re there, doing their thing, and there’s no real impact or strong sense of pathos in their performances. Unfortunately, this cripples the Nancy character the most, for unlike Heather Langenkamp’s Nancy, this new one comes across as palled, hollow, weak, and dull … again, due to a poor combination of acting and shoddy characterization and dialogue.
I was at a horror con’s NOES panel a few years back, and Robert Englund came out in support of a remake, proclaiming that with the advent of strong CGI, the possibilities for dream scenes would be tremendous. Unfortunately, not in this movie. Like everything else, the dream scenes were bland and mundane, with barely a fraction of the imagination and creepy imagery in the original.
What made the original (or “real”) NOES movie remarkable and helped it reinvigorate the stagnating slasher genre in the 80s was the bizarre, psychosexual, and violently perverse phantasmagorical imagery that permeated it, especially the dream scenes. Think about Freddy’s arms growing to reach out and scrape the alley walls, or him cutting off his own fingers just to show how powerful and gleefully maniacal he was. There was nothing this visionary in the remake. Whereas he licks Nancy through a telephone in the original, here he merely licks her face to face. Dullsville.
And because this movie had no imagination, it relied almost entirely on jump scares, the cheapest horror tactic out there. Any movie can make an audience jump with sudden movements and loud noises. Hell, my brother can scare me that way, and I don’t have to pay him 12 bucks to do it. So you have a glut of jump scares in this movie, and because you begin to anticipate them, they lose their effectiveness, and pretty soon you’re just watching a second-rate Freddy carve through a group of second-rate victims in a second-rate movie with no surprises, no emotion, no real scares, and a weak, almost laughable ending.
This flick was not an utter waste, and it did have its moments, but for the most part it seemed like a transparent cash grab where the movie existed to bloat New Line’s second quarter returns, not to revitalize a series. The director, writers, and actors in this movie seem like they failed to take their own advice, as they sleepwalked through the entire production. This falls just short of mediocre.
Ubelievably bad. Rooney Mara could’ve been out-acted by a dead stump.
Plus, the script is REDICULOUSLY terrible.
Platinum Dunes (and more specifically, Brad Fuller and Michael Bay) just dumped one more shovel-ful of dirt on Freddy’s grave.
@skulls will kill
Jackie Earl Haley play freddy better then Englund? are kidding me? this movie was AVERAGE at best.
Was pleasantly suprised. I assumed the film would have been a hundred times worse. Was definately better than recent remakes. Jackie Earl Haley did a better job than anticipated. That being said Englund will always reign.
Despite all the bad reviews and all the haters trashing it prior to actually seeing it, I liked it. I thought it looked good visually, which is ironic for such a gloomy movie. The kills were pretty good. And most importantly I thought Jackie Earle Haley did a phenominal job undertaking the task of playing the iconic dream demon Freddy Kruger. He really did make it his own. Is it close to Heath Ledger’s Joker, kinda but nowhere near the tour de force that Ledger put on The Dark Knight. Now I did have 3 issues with the movie. 1. The pacing was insanely fast. 2. The ending could’ve been better. 3. Not enough Freddy. And to be honest PD’s TCM remake was still the strongest remake they did. Back to Freddy, love it or hate it your still gonna see it. I give it 3.5/5 Skulls.
Well, Lest see, Just got home from NOES and I thought It kicked ass. The beginning was Good and pulled you right in from the start. Ive read Alot of mixed reviews and Here’s what I have to say:
If your expecting to see wes craven and robert englund’s portrayl of freddy then just stay home and dont bother. This is a new, Darker, More evil freddy and jackie earl haley has earned my respect as well as platinum dunes. I think they did a great Job on the movie. Not alot of kills or gore but I understand. This is there first NOES and PD did’nt wanna overdue it. I give PD respect for actually having the balls to take on a character like freddy. Anyone can do myers,jason,leatherface,etc. cause they have a mask and dont speak. Freddy is clever, wears no mask,has to be able to manipulate his victums and pull the audience in as well, And has to sound scary and dark at the same time and haley nailed it in my opinion. The ending was also great too and left room for a sequel wich definatley has my support. “Englund was great for his time, but the glove has been passed to a new Evil,Darker,Colder Psychotic Freddy Krueger
Best of wishes To PD and thank you… One of your Best fans, JOSH
All in all a good horror film. It had immense shoes to fill. If you didn’t grow up watching Freddy then it’s one of the best horror films of recent releases.
Really, I’m looking forward to the next one. This one was good but was a remake and at times it was forced feeling. The next film (if it makes it’s own story) will be something to behold.
Not a bad film overall……you can’t start comparing the originals with the remakes, because the new ones will always fall short. These Platnium Dunes remakes are definitely for the newer audiences that weren’t born when these soon-to-be classics were made…but i digress..on to the review..
i thought JEH did a great job as freddy. i really liked the more sinister killer compared to what freddy had become in the original series. the movie was made more for the BOO factor tho’ which i thought was a tad annoying.
and i agree with another review…being that the parents were the catalysts behind freddy’s origin, they should have been a bigger part of this movie than they were.
but overall, i enjoyed the movie, as i have with most of the remakes. ‘they are what they are’ so if you’re a purist, don’t bother. otherwise, go see it (or rent it) and have a good time!
This will not be a comparison to the 1984 Robert Englund Nightmare on Elm Street!
Just thought I would make that clear right now!
I will be doing a comparison blog about ’84 to ’10 but not now.
I walked in expecting things I read online about the kills, etc.
I walked out in partial disappointment.
Let me explain:
The new kills were great!
The CGI, however, killed it for me.
STOP USING CGI FOR EVERYTHING!
I understand it’s 2010, we’ve updated A LOT; but if you continue to use it in everything, it kills the movie.
Wayne Toth, where were you?!
This movie was good in it’s own way but it could have been better.
Sure, everything can be perfected in one way or another, but when taking a film that has already been made [especially one that was made about 25 years ago], things are expected and if they are not lived up to we, the audience, are going to be extremely disappointed.
Jackie Earle Haley did a fantastic job as the horror icon, Fred Krueger.
Rooney Mara was fabulous as Nancy.
Katie Cassidy was great as Kris, for the short amount of time she actually was in the movie!
I loved the use of micro naps for the simple fact that it’s something people do experience!
Insomnia, sleep deprivation, etc. are all real-life experiences.
When Quentin & Nancy begin experiencing the micro naps it has you hoping and wishing they would wake up.
Truth is, when you deprive yourself of sleep for a lengthy amount of time, your brain doesn’t function properly and you begin to hallucinate.
What seems real..isn’t. This was a key factor in the movie that drew the audience in because when we dream, we truly believe it’s happening.
One thing you can count on is you will connect to the characters.
This is a rare jewel that tons of horror movies fail at!
When I sit down to watch a horror movie, I don’t want generic characters that have no meaning except to be butchered to death!
No!
I want characters I can connect with, if it’s even for a couple of minutes (case in point, Kris).
What struck a chord in me was having a character I could relate to in some way or another and seeing her go through the struggles and horrors of what was happening made me, in turn, feel what she was feeling whenever she began to doze off or was being chased and cornered.
Let’s talk more about the “uh-ohs” of this movie:
The Bed Room Kill:
Extremely satisfied up until the point where Kris is laying on the bed after being sliced up and her eyelids twitch as if she’s still alive.
Which brings me to my next point:
Jesse, Meet Freddy:
Jesse is captured in his dream after being arrested and put in a jail facility.
He accidentally falls asleep and when Freddy slashes him through the gut, he hangs him and tells him “After the heart stops beating, the brain functions for seven minutes. We still have six minutes to play.” [or something to that effect].
I just couldn’t understand this one; is that even true?
Gwen and Fred Meet Once Again:
Okay, Nancy’s mother, Gwen, was one of the many parents that burned Fred Krueger after he was accused of “the crime”.
At the end of the film Freddy gets his revenge on Gwen with the help of some of the worst CGI FX I have seen.
It was like something you would see on the SyFy channel! Yes! That stupid.
Really, the only thing I think would have made this movie better would have been better effects, lengthier, less “BOO!” jumps and, well, no Kellan Lutz :]
Honestly, I understand Fred Krueger is the “bogeyman” but even the bogeyman wouldn’t use CGI.
All-in-all, Jackie Earle Haley was a scarier looking Fred Krueger with the melted burn ward face; but I’m sure Englund would give him a run for his money had he been given a melted face ;]
Til we meet again!
This movie was absolutely horrific, and not in a good way.
All of these damn remakes use the same stupid (loud noise jump method) for every stupid scare. The story, which we already knew was even made more pathetic. In a nutshell they basically took a Simpson’s episode and made it into a Freddie movie. Kruger in this version was actually a groundskeeper, just like groundskeeper Willie who often spoofed Freddie in the Simpson’s Halloween episodes. So big bad brilliant Michale Bay couldn’t come up with anything other than a Simpson’s script.
I swear that myself and 3 random member from this site could write a more engaging and better script.
So disappointing what Hollywood Horror has become. Shame on me for supporting those bastards (at least it was only a Matinee)
Party in the Theatre! Movie was Great! One Two Freddys Comin For You and No Joking Around this Time Freddy is Reborn!
Party in the Theatre! Movie was Great! One Two Freddys Comin For You and No Joking Around this Time Freddy is Reborn!
Party in the Theatre! Movie was Great! One Two Freddys Comin For You and No Joking Around this Time Freddy is Reborn!
I think a lot of the “haters” (gosh, I hate that word!) are giving this film a bad rap because it was produced by Platinum Dunes. Ok yeah, ‘Friday the 13th’ pretty much sucked for the most part. But c’mon, this film kicked ass. The CGI – I will say – was lame, and with how far we’ve come, there should be no excuse. But other than that, the film was great.
AND – dare I say it? – while Robert Englund held his own, especially in the original, Jackie Earle Haley gave a much better performance, in the sense that he was cracking a million stupid jokes, and he was ACTUALLY scary.
Aside from that, the movie actually managed to make me jump, which doesn’t happen very often.
Good job, PD. Good job.
thought this was a pretty good movie. there were some flaws to it that held it back, the kills should have been more like the first one. and i think they should have put the sleep monitering scene in there. and the whole molestation thing doesnt really go with the flow of the film. I thought that Jackie Earl Haley, Kyle Gallner, and Rooney Mara were awsome in it. All and all not a bad movie at all
They stole the ending of Freddy V.s. Jason, well directed, horribly written… had no substance and no feeling, no emotion just a stale remake. Jackie Earl Haley is great but this movie was just not working.
Watchable
I just came from seeing it, and you know what? There was pretty much nothing wrong with this remake. The only two complaints that I can actually level at the movie: 1) Freddy’s makeup was a little bit too well-lit. It wasn’t the best look in the world for him to begin with, but I can see what they were aiming for (burn victim who still looks a lot like he did before the burns). 2) The CGI was pretty bad. The only good one that I saw was at the end with the fall from the ceiling. Aside from that, I think most folks are just nitpicking AND basing their opinion of the movie upon a comparison to the original. If there were no original, this film would do just fine on its own. I liked it, and yes, it was better than Friday the 13th Redux. (Hell, I’ve had the micronaps in real life, and they do become pretty freaky.)
I can see how some people dislike it, Wes Craven is far better than this director. He gave it a shot, and it was better than Frid13. Although it ripped on hallow
I was so disappointed in this film! Jackie did a great job as Freddy, but the story was terrible and it felt very forced. Perhaps being a long time Nightmare fan has skewed my view on this remake.
mixed reveiws……….cant wait till next week when released in u.k
Ok, just got back from seeing A Nightmare On Elm Street. I have to say it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. It was a good film but as with EVERY re-make it was a let down from what I built it up to be in my mind. I think it had some good “scares” even if they were cheap ones. I like how they done the back story w/ Freddy but I would have opened it with the “chase” scene and burning of Freddy but not revealing why they were doing it until Quints dream scene and then showing all that and them remembering why and all that. I liked the ending with the Mom getting the claws in the eyes and sucked into the mirror. Now onto Freddy, Jackie is NOT ROBERT ENGLUND!! I didn’t care for his Freddy, it was ok but I don’t think it was near Robert. The “Freddy Laugh” was missed in this film and the voice didn’t click for me. The Claw was ok looking I liked it. I liked the left side of Freddy’s face but other than that I’d ather have the “Original” look(s) of Freddy. I would have wet back and cast Robert as Freddy even though he is in his 60′s or whatever the film would have been SOOOOOO much better. I think Jackie is a good actor but not as Freddy. There attempts at little “Freddy one liners” fell flat I don’t think they worked AT ALL!!! However the film is worth going and seeing.
best Nightmare On Elm Street yet
Jackie was incredible as Freddy
such a bad ass
so after almost a whole year of anticipation and counting down the days, it comes to me. i was there two hours early. one of the first in line. aaaand i get totally let down. Jackie was phenomenal as Freddy, in my mind. and that’s where the good ends. Katie Cassidy…ohh dear god. i was so glad she died so early on. for the first 45 mins or so, the acting was almost unbearablee. the CGI was as bad as everyone says. sooo yeah. i’d reccommend it to 12-15 year olds at a sleepover.
If this remake was a book it would be titled ” A Nightmare On Elm Street for Dummies”. It took all the major beats of Wes Craven’s infinitely superior original and surrounded them with crap. Jackie Earle Haley’s Freddy Krueger isn’t physically imposing enough to be frightening,the nightmares themselves are dull and repetitious, and virtually no suspense is generated at all. So disappointing! Wes Craven must be smiling…
Alright so just got back and I have to say I really enjoyed it. I am really puzzled about the negative feedback but anyway lets get some things out of the way that I had some problems with. I agree with the idea that the kids believed that Freddy was responsible for Kris’ murder way too quickly in the movie. Other than that I really enjoyed the fact that the kids were not sterotyped assholes and actually cared legitimately for each other and that Kris was not made out to be a slut like in the first movie. JEH was great and I can’t wait to see him suit up once more. Long live ANOES.
I couldn’t agree more with this review. The movie was very boring. I’m hugely disappointed. The old one was and will always be my fav horror movie and villian. Where do I start? Once again they took 10 mins to show us a fuckin title card. Just like friday the 13th. That pisses me off. it’s just distracting to me. Ummm the actor’s were wasted very fast in the movie with uninspiring death scenes. That looked like they were taking from a WB show. Freddy was lame, and like one reviewer on shocktillyoudrop said he called him a pussy. I couldn’t agree more. The voice was weak, the makeup wasn’t scary one bit looked like two face’s brother. For some odd reason he turned Asian in like one scene. The ending was the funniest thing ever esp with that crappy music right after. There wasn’t all that much blood at all it was pretty dry. I was actually really bored, and wanted to walk out like 4 times but didn’t. And it really doesn’t help when you have tweens screaming and talking too. And all the jump scares were cliche to the higher heavens. They use loud music and in your face scares which pisses me. I just don’t know how you can fuck up a beloved classic like this. I really don’t. It pisses me off. Like great job guys. The only cool thing was the ending, and fred’s back drop. Other then that if you can see it for free do Like I did. If not skip out on this or DL or wait for tape. Other then that stick to the old one. For a fri night. I think it’s time for PD to back up there bags and stop fuckin up our movies that we love. Or do remakes for shitty horror films. I’m giving this a 5 out of 10 becaus katie cassidy is a babe, and even though jackie sucked as freddy. I give him props for taking it on. Sorry just didn’t work for me I tried really hard to like it.
I can now honestly say that Jackie Earl Haley was a beret Freddy than Robert Englund. Don’t get me wrong, I love Robert, but Jackie was just creepier and had a better story than Robert.
I just got back from seeing it and I feel ummmm different like I liked but I kind of didn’t. I was OK throughout the movie until I started picking up on things for example they started taking stuff from the other Nightmare on Elm street movies. I was really disappointed when they used the Freddy VS Jason pull Freddy from the dream technique, I was sitting there thinking No don’t use that Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes, but when Nancy pulled that piece of sweater off of Freddy and brought it back into reality I was pissed. The movie was full of jump scares, which isint a bad thing because you know there kind of fun, you know it’s going to happen then BANG awesome. They did get the story in the hour and 35 minutes but I wish they had more in there and perhaps space it out a little bit and not just cram it in there and make kill after kill then 10 minutes later kill again, just space it out a little. But overall good movie, I will purchase it when it comes out.
This movie was fucking awesome!!! Such a great remake. I loved that they made Freddy seem darker and less funny. In the original it seems like Freddy kills just cause thats what he loved to do but in this one he kills just to get back at the parents who killed him. He seems hell bent on revenge against the parents. Also I love the idea of personally connecting all of the main characters to Freddy. The kills in this movie are beyond amazing. Freddy is a fuckin bad ass! I was afraid Freddy would just kinda cut ppl and it would get really boring but instead he stabs through chests, slits throats, stabs through the back heads, and rips stomachs open. The people saying its boring need to check themselves for a fucking pulse cuz this movie is definitely not boring. Its very fast paced and Freddy isnt really off the screen for more than like 5 minutes. Its great Freddy is constantly hunting the kids down. Oh and the micronap idea was pure genius. The only thing i didnt like about the movie was that almost every scare was one of those pop out, loud noise scares. You know where its all quiet then BAM Freddy jumps out. Now there were some very nicely set up pop up scares, but their were just to many. It got a little annoying. When u watch it on DVD it wont b as scary, but thats pretty much the only negative. I thought the acting was very good especially from the main three: Freddy, Nancy, and Quinton. Great movie definitely worth a view or two or twenty.
AWFUL film. Soulless, bland and incredibly uninspired. It’s a movie that had so much potential to revive the series but it instead opted to be a typical horror film. If you like cheap scares, uninteresting dream sequences, and bad cgi effects then you’ll love this. The best thing about this movie was Katie Cassidy (Kris) who dies midway through in a remixed version of Tina’s from the original. It’s also disappointing that some of the scenes found in the trailer and that were talked about by bloody-disgusting were no where to be found. I was expecting to be entertained but didn’t get anything.
It was amazing. Jackie did a fantastic job making Freddy a serious character. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Robert’s Freddy who pulled all the one liners but Jackie’s Freddy was just a bad ass. He was creepy and dark and brutal! I really like how Freddy used the glove to kill his victims in such brutal ways. In the old ones, the glove was just there sometimes. However, I did miss Freddy turning into some nightmare-ish things like a giant work like creature that was in part 3 or a TV but the kills that are here are very satisfying. I can’t wait to see it again!
God, I am so torn! I have been dying for this since f13 opened. But that very well have been my down fall.See I was let down but only(i think) because I had built it up so much.I absolutely loved the first 40 minutes!!!Katie Cassidy really is an amazing actress!Rooney Mara on the other hand is not! She really was probably my biggest problem with the second half bc in the first half its all pretty much Cassidy and let me tell u folks that a good thing! I dont feel she was given what she should have got because home girl can act! She should have been Nancy!Whoever cast Mara should be shot! I know it was her first big role but damn she got on my nerves! Look at Jamie Lee and Heather Lagenkamp and Sigourney Weaver! THEY WERE AMAZING!!!And it was their first roles. Another problem was it felt rushed! Other than the terribly boring 20 minutes or so after Katies ummm spoiler death.It felt ssooooo rushed! Until we get to nancy and quintin and it drags so bad! Kylle Gallner was great though.He really is a great little coming up actor.Also my other complaint was all the CGI!Way too much!Y they gotta have Freddy so fast?AND unrealistic! He was never that way before.But I have to say if not for the homages and same character names it would have been a great prequel if Wes’ script would have remained the same with the molestation instead of killer.It was fun and in no way the worse of the Freddy films.Its right in the middle for me.If your a Freddy DO NOT MISS IT! Just don’t have your hopes up thinking its gonna b the best since the origianl.And by the way can all the freakin horror sights stop comparin it to the original!!!? Duh its not gonna be as good!
Saw it tonight and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Very few things I would change.
Jackie was phenomenal as Freddy and took him to a new level of character and evil that I truly admire him for.
Best remake since TCM.
This is literally, one of the worst movies that I have ever seen. A total disgrace. Do NOT see it. For more of my thoughts as to why, see here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179056/board/post/tt1179056
Jackie Earle Haley is the only positive thing I would give the movie. It’s just bad.
One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. Laughably bad(literally, people in the theater were laughing.)
Jackie Earle Haley wasn’t as good as he could have been(which was 100% the director’s fault, he NEEDS to stick to his music videos.) Felt so Hollywood and polished. Ugh. Was just plain awful.
Brad Fuller and Platinum Dunes REALLY needs to stop neutering our beloved characters. What a hack.
I was sick to my stomach to see people actually applauding this garbage at the end credits.
This movie was absolutely terrible. First of, Freddy, did not look, or even capture the essence of Freddy Kruger, Freddy is so great because of his personality, but this Freddy Has 0 what so ever. Half the time it looked like one of james camerons avatars got set on fire, and put on a striped shirt. Everything is CGI mostly, and it looks terrible. The cast sucks, the plot is weak, Theres not much else to say, except that this movie truely killed freddy Kruger, and this was his funeral.
About a year ago I read an interview where Wes Craven said he was angry about the new NOES because the producers and director did not want or ask for his input in terms of the remake. I now understand why he wasn’t brought onboard. Someone at Platinum Dunes probably knew that if Craven got one look at this film he probably would have done the whole gang in with a couple butter knives himself. What you have here is quite possibly one of the poorest executed horror films I have ever seen. The acting is atrocious! The story is put together with the wit of a 2nd grader. The kills are beyond unoriginal and boring. The Direction off the film by Sam Bayer is horrible. And, to bounce back to the acting I have rarely seen such flat out bad acting as Rooney Mara. I mean…this girl should not be acting. The entire film she does nothing but spit out wooden after wooden line. What this girl does in the film is not even worthy of being called reading off cue cards it’s so pathetic! Give me Heather Langenkamp as Nancy Thompson baby!!! As for Jackie’s portrayal of Kruger…..it’s nothing to even remember. England blows him away. There’s hardly any scenes where he actually “ACTS”….he does nothing but jump out at people the entire movie. And his voice is so distorted….it doesn’t even sound like the actors voice at all. Sounds electronic.
The other problem is that there is no even pacing to the film. From the moment the film starts it just feels like 2-3 minute fragments pasted together to form 95 minutes of pure Blaaaaaaahhhhhh! I was so disappointed walking out of the theatre. This is just a complete waste of film and a sad excuse for a horror film. It is not scary. Every single so called attempt at being scary is nothing more than things jumping out at you and really loud noises and the sound of freddy’s knives on pipes. But what can you expect from a director who has done nothing but commercials right? I’ll tell you one thing….this piece of rubbish doesn’t deserve the right to have the NOES name for it’s title….and ill tell you what, it sure as pie will not have a place on my horror movie collection shelf. It can stay right where it is! Nowhere!
I didn’t like this remake at all the actors sucked and there was no plot what so ever.
I was 6-years-old when I saw the original Nightmare on Elm Street (NOES) back in ’85 and since then I was a fan. My favorite nightmare films are in the following order: 3rd, 1st, New nightmare, The Remake, Freddy vs. Jason, 6th and the last 3-films are in the same pile-of-crap with the 4th being on top.
NOES IMO isn’t a “great” horror-film. Great horror-films are of the likes of The Exorcist, Dawn of the Dead (original), Jaws, Rosemary’s Baby, IT, Poltergeist, Scream, and 28 Days/Weeks Later. One can find many things wrong with the original NOES such as the non-spectacular acting with the exception of Robert England, the poor special effects, the pizza-faced Freddy make-up. The film was scary when I watched it as a kid and it had a “rawness” to it especially with its synth-driven soundtrack. Nowadays NOES isn’t very scary, but the entertainment value is there. The reason why NOES is still entertaining is because of Freddy; he is entertaining to watch. Freddy is the Sinatra of horror if there ever was one.
The remake is truly a different direction for NOES. It’s good in its own way and here is my breakdown of the movie:
The Good:
Jackie played a great Freddy, but he is a different Freddy from England’s. He is very angry and very scary. I would rather meet England’s Freddy in a dark alley than Jackie’s; with England’s Freddy I might die with a smile on my face, but with Jackie’s I would die pissing in my pants.
The imagery was great
The special effects, with some exceptions, were good
The young actors did a good job. Thomas Decker and Katie Cassidy did good jobs. I would have preferred them to play Nancy and Quentin instead of the other two actors.
The Bad:
The film relies too heavily on “jump” scare tactics, which gets annoying after a while. Jump scares aren’t permanent scares and I’m sure the films scariness will wear-out after a few run-throughs. The best scary films continue to be scary for years such as the Exorcist and 28-Days-Later. I just hope for the sequels they rely less on the jump-scares and more on situational- or survival-type scariness.
The Ugly:
Let’s just say Dean’s demise was probably one of the most violent and gruesome deaths I’ve seen in a while.
Good stand alone movie and I like the “jump scares”! horror movies are supposed to frighten you but at the end of the day it’s about having fun and this movie was fun. Unfortunately, if these posts are any indication, there’s very few in here that know that. because of instead of having fun most in here think there a critic for sundance or the cannes festival. Pretentious cry babies.
Well although i didnt really get too scared (did jump a few times in the beginning) i did have fun with it. Over all it was an enjoyble experience, but never really has a stand out moment. And like the BD review said, the homages to the original were subpar. But on the bright side, Jackie Earl Haley does a great job ( love the rubbing of the fingers together) and Sam’s film is beautiful. Though his first major directing job was iffy, i look forwward to his future work( hopefully not making the inevitable sequel).
What I liked about the Friday the 13th remake a year back was that it wasn’t trying to be an exact copy to show to a new generation, it payed homage to all of the previous films for fans of the original, sadly, the A Nightmare On Elm Street remake didn’t do this. It was still alright and had some good quotes from the older ones, but most were use at bad times. It also never said if Freddy ever killed any of the children he molested, he was just a pedophile in this film. There’s a difference between scaring and startling they should have been reminded of.
Best Platinum Dunes remake, by far, and a worthy addition to this franchise. In fact, were this not a remake of a classic film which spawned seven sequels, there can be little doubt that most of its detractors would be singing a different song. The nightmare imagery is potent and imaginative, the dream sequences are well-staged (including effective new versions of some of the original’s most iconic moments), Haley’s Freddy is wonderfully evil and unrepentant, and the movie manages more genuine scares and suspense than any three other recent remakes combined. Does it reinvent the wheel? No. WOuld it be heralded as an all-time classic were it a standalone entity rather than a remake? Probably not. But what it does do is make excellent use of its director’s visual flair, and restore the character of Fred Krueger to the malevolent presence he was when Wes Craven first conceived him. In all, a very good time at the movies, and a film which will (whether you like it or not) influence a generation of young horror fans for the rest of their lives.
Freddy Krueger gets a makeover…
Having been a fan of both Platinum Dune’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre films as well as The Amityville Horror, I held high hopes that they could nail Elm Street. Then I remembered what happened when they butchered, I mean, produced The Hitcher and Friday the 13th. Unfortunately this new take on a classic falls under the aforementioned films.
2010′s Nightmare follows the original’s story very closely with the exception of a few variations. Gone is child murdering Krueger, in is pedophile Krueger. I actually like this change as I feel it makes for a more disturbing backdrop for Freddy. The film is just as dark and straight laced horror as the original, and never intentionally falls into campy territory. Key scenes taken from Craven’s film are copied and put into this updated version with little to no creativity at all. Kris getting thrown around the room mid-air is really tame in comparison to Tina’s same death scene in the original. Freddy coming out of the wall above Nancy while on her bed is poorly done CGI and laughable. Freddy’s gloved hand coming up from the bathtub between Nancy’s legs also lacks the impact that the original had. With that being said though, I must say I was impressed with director Samuel Bayer’s visuals, the film maintains a clean look while feeling gritty.
One problem with this film falls on the cast shoulders. They are all pretty generic performances that you can see in just about any mainstream horror film. Character development is painfully absent. Nancy, played by Rooney Mara is no Heather Langenkamp, not even close. Instead of a strong willed female heroine, we get a Nancy that spends most of her time alone in her room, listening to her iPod and painting pictures- quite the bore. Hardly any change of emotions comes from Rooney during the duration of the film, with the exception of the third act. She just comes off as stiff and uncomfortable in front of the camera. Katie Cassidy might have been a better choice for the role of Nancy as far as I’m concerned. She’s one of the few who actually turn in a descent performance, but this comes in the form of playing the character Kris. Kris seems to be the only one who actually seems concerned about her ongoing nightmares, shows emotion, and genuinely looks scarred when confronted by our severely burnt killer. Quentin- Kyle Gallner essentially in the Johnny Depp role – is a good counterpart to Nancy.
The one bright spot for the film is the casting of Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger. He’s no Robert England but Haley makes for a genuinely fearsome Freddy and puts forth a great effort in making the character his own and even adds a couple of good one-liners. You can tell he tried and gave it his all to give a chilling performance. My only gripe is he’s physically too slight, which does not make him very menacing or scary for that matter. The more realistic burn victim makeup looks top notch as well compared to the “pizza face” makeup England had in the later Nightmare sequels.
The addition of micro naps is a great concept to the film. Micro naps are when our sleep deprived teens are dreaming while still awake and they don’t know it. This makes for more screen time for Freddy, which is a plus. The final confrontation between Nancy, Quentin and Freddy, even though somewhat rushed, was a high point for this viewer. I felt it really made up for some poor pacing issues that took place earlier in the film. Here Freddy is really given the opportunity to unleash all his fury and anger towards Nancy and Quentin and doesn’t disappoint. Nancy finally shows us a glimpse that she has some fight in her as well. The ending is yet another poorly done CGI moment that makes less sense then the last scene in the ’84 film. The Everly Brother’s – All I Have to Do Is Dream- hauntingly playing as the end credits rolled was a nice touch I enjoyed. Overall this new Nightmare has its moments but never amounts to what it could have been and is still inferior to the original that hit the big screen almost 26 years ago.
Well, well, well…. This may be my first review typed into this information super highway called the internet on any movie, or anything for that matter,I have done. But rest assured I can blabber on with best of you fellow greasy pimply horror bastards. On to the the movie that was put in front of my face tonight: A Nightmare on Elm Street, THE REMAKE.
First off, I’m not going to compare it (too much) to the original. It’s just not fair to compare to something that dazzled our eyes as children to something our overly critical eyes hunt for on a screen. On the other hand I will admit I don’t and never could have liked it more or near as much as that original movie. Wes Craven’s movie was just super dirty looking and it was a mind bending movie for it’s time, and for audiences now. They should really just try releasing old horror movies in theater again and put one extra fart in the movie, and that’s the remake. Not a person in the world would be angry at that unless your sense of humor is zero on the scale of laughing.
So with that said, there were really cool things with this movie and there were some major problems. I’ll start with negatives and end with positives because I am such a classy dude (not at all. I dutch oven my wife all the time). His face was just way too much computer action. I don’t understand why most of that couldn’t have been practical make up. I’ve seen a lot cooler things than his burnt, melted face done in make up in other movies and they looked way better. Maybe we need to CG the holes in his face in a FEW spots (one), but not completely change the structure of his face. I just didn’t understand the choice to do that. It was very reminiscent of the scene in The Devil’s Rejects when she throws the knife in her chest and it looks like a cartoon. A display of completely unneeded computer graphics for Freddie’s CRUCIAL face. Also, on the drive back from the theater ( OH YEAH! We live in such a shit town we have to drive at least 20 minutes to catch a halfway decent movie. Appreciate your nightlife, yuppies.) we discussed that we used to really dig when Freddy would hurt himself to instill fear into the dream victim. Crap, I just compared it. Whatever. Also the acting wasn’t the best, but when has it ever been in a Nightmare On Elm Street movie?. Wanting a Jaime Lee or Sigourney Weaver from Rooney Mara is ridiculous. Put your hopes down man. You live in 2010 which means you’re programmed to hate people of your time. I am afflicted by it too, I understand completely. Give her 20 years and you’ll be begging her to sign your poster because the new remake of the remake of Nightmare totally sucked ass. Yeah, she was a little flat with the character, but keep in mind she hasn’t slept in three days and a guy that probably showed his “thing” to and cut her when she was little is trying to kill in her dreams. I’m pretty sure she will be worn out and a little emotionless to life surrounding her. The actor at the start that cut his throat was pretty awful, but it did rule when he cut his throat. That one guy that was the love interest should have smoked pot I think. It’s always cooler when there is a stoner because I always say to myself in the creepy Matthew McConaughey voice , “all riiiight”, and I just get a kick out of that.
I really liked Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy I will admit. I think the way his spacing of words and times he would add the gurgle to his voice were well executed and he had the right body shape for it. He did look like Martin Short when he was just regular, unburnt Freddy but that was extra creepy to me after we realized it. Why you ask? (You Probably didn’t) It is because you try imagining martin Short touching and cutting your children and you’ll get a shiver down your spine. The gore was cool too, in a way. Sure it was mostly CG, but they were neat ideas at least. The BIGGEST props goes to the sound crew for making the sound super interesting. Not sure if anybody pays attention to that stuff, but they way the utilized pans with Freedie’s voice wasn’t original but was done very smart. The highs were ear catching but not in a way where is was ear piercing. That is rare since most movies go for achieving scary by putting the ear drum in physical discomfort. In my opinion, tricking the brain to feel uneasy is way more affective, and this movie did just that.
I might buy it. That depends on how much money I will have and if the store will do that two for one package deal. It’s worth the theater experience unless you sit next to two girls who can’t stop their mouths and their texting. Just call the fat one Butterball and threaten to throw a drink at them and they go away though. Thanks, and listen to Corpuscide.
OH NO!!!!! Im a big NIGHTMARE fan …I was scaired about this movie being a remake and the obvious a diffrent actor playiong freddy. but I was OPEN TO LET THIS MOVIE SUCK ME IN…unfortunatly it didnt SUCK ME it just SUCKED.
Its saposed to be a remake yet … doenst do anything interesting even tho its totaly diffrent from the original. teh acotrs all are boring BLAH messes. and freddy is WIERD and not scary at all. Hes juts what he is a burnt guy killing teens. Whne I was little what mad me love the orginal wa s the way FREDDY GOT HIS ASS kicked at the end my NACY she had a plan..in this film there just like HEY ill pull em out we font knwo what the hell were gonna do but will try … CORNY BORNING and CHEAP.it seems liek a str8 to TV movie… a bad knock off of the ELM street FILMS. i swear wtahcing this movie I allmost had a MICRO NAP!
Loved this movie! Great to see a mean, sadistic and truly vile Krueger again. Gone are the stupid one liners that would make you laugh and think that Freddy sure is a funny guy. In is a more angry Krueger that spews one liners to make you uncomfortable and his victims as well. I especially like the whole exchange between Krueger and Jesse, just sadistic vile stuff there. Don’t get me wrong, I like the original up until 4, then it just got bad. Everyone saying this remake ruined Freddy should realize that the character Craven created was ruined long before this. As for the recycled ending and lines from previous films, quit bitching and be happy they payed homage to the originals. Overall, a fun movie and nice to see Krueger brought back from eternal camp hell!
This movie was laughably bad. The CGI effects were absolute shit.
I mean honestly, The Thing (1982) has some of the best effects of all time, and it takes a royal **** on this crap pile of a movie.
Aside from the terrible effects, the acting made me think to myself while I was in the theater: “This seems like it should be some stupid Halloween MTV made flick.” That’s because the acting is atrocious, and the movie’s pacing is all over the place. The characters themselves have little to no development, and when you realize what little thought went into this movie you’ll feel amazed at how easy it is to write a script.
You’ll see that they have these nifty items that they find, and use, that have no effect thirty seconds later.
You’ll find out that Jackie is a good actor, but obviously doesn’t have much to work with.
It’s not scary, unless you’re a ten year old girl.
The suspense that the original Nightmare had is pretty much non-existent. Little build-up, but it falls short of a mindless killfest.
I give it a two, simply because of Jackie. His sixteen lines of dialog were delivered in an all right manner.
I guess if you go into this with an open mind, you’ll think it’s an all right movie to mock, just due to the director’s flaws, and the terrible acting. The kills, all though terrible looking and predictable, are somewhat fun.
What isn’t is Freddy. He dos honestly very little. In fact, not much nightmare too it, honestly. It’s more like this movie should’ve been named, “Move fast, booming loud noise.” Because that’s all the ‘scare’ you’re going to find. It’s pretty laughable, especially when you have an unlimited scenario to use high quality cgi with, such as a dream. Instead, you get some mid-tier kind of effects, lame gore from time to time, and cheap scares instead of making the character everyone wants to see memorable. No more: “No, this is God.” What little Jackie delivers is all right though, even though he’s in a movie with talentless actors.
So if you like bad pacing, modern horror jump scares, and terrible acting it’s for you.
Terrible. I wouldn’t say a one I guess, but not a two either. 1.5/5
I have loved A Nightmare On Elm Street ever since my dad let me watch the original on Television when I was five years old. After that I couldn’t stop watching horror movies and I couldn’t sleep by my self either. Seeing the character Freddy (From the first nightmare) was a little traumatizing.
So readying a review last year of a preview of the film I was worried that the film was going to be a disaster but I was wrong. After Dune’s did a re-edit of the film I think the trailer became more exiting. Ever since the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake I have had to come to terms with the fact that remakes are never as good or as scary as the original but I come to see the greatness of the remake of TCM so going to ANOES I new that it would be nothing like the original and by doing so felt relaxed about seeing the remake. Maybe it was because I smoked a bowl before going into the movies, that’s how we watch films in Cali; I really like the movie, I loved all the death scenes, all the through back scenes and dialogue. Being a “Bay” Film I would have expected to see some naked girls but that it way I am not giving it 4 out of 5.
Going to be buying this one on Blu-Ray.
Just came back from seeing the movie. I must say, it was very impressive. The film had great scares, acting was great(especially Jackie’s), interesting back story, and sweet visuals.
Jackie’s new Freddy is pretty different from Robert’s and thats a good thing. He made the part his own and it paid off very well. He is really creepy, he delivers fantastic lines (sometimes humorous)but even then, it’s still very scary, twisted, demented, and angry.
I loved this movie! It has you glued to the edge of your seat from start to finish(Not slow at all.)
Overall, this was a fantastic re-imagining of a classic horror film that grows onto the original, and takes on a life of its own. It was a very fun horror movie and at the same time tense, and scary.
I applaud this film and am sorry that’s its getting so much undeserved negativity. But, I look forward to the inevitable sequels.
A Fantastic Remake. 5/5 skulls
I went to an advanced screening of this on Wednesday and sadly myself and half of the audience laughed at the screen instead of jumping away from it. As soon as I saw the first “high school” student on screen with more facial hair than me I got worried.
The acting in this was flat out horrible as I felt like I was watching Twilight throughout. Also the poor decisions make the movie laughable especially after the opening sequence when a girl witnesses the death of her boyfriend and the mom leaves her home for the weekend as she has to catch a red eye flight. Take a day off bitch and be with your greiving daughter!
Another dissappointment was the horrible CGI effects. The wall scene in the bedroom was terrible and to top it off it ended with a shock scare (you know the one where music blasts really loud even though nothing really happens). It also seemed that Fred’s face had some CGI effects to it too and looked very alien like.
Any originality went out the door from the beginning. The end has already been done and before you can even dream of what shock ending (the after after ending) happens, the credits are rolling.
Jackie Earle Haley was a good fit as Fred, but it’s too bad the script sucked and he’s so short. All in all a good performance from him.
This movie is going to make an assload at the box office so here’s to hoping that the sequel has a decent writer behind it and better actors. WB needs to spend that money on improving the franchise since they just ruined it.
If you see this movie be prepared to facepalm during and after it because your intelligence has just been ignored.
I don’t want to waste much time reviewing this. Love the original, had insanely low expectations for this, and on that note it delivered, in the worst way possible.
First of all, the makeup was terrible. It wasn’t scary to look it. In fact it was just weird. I got that uncomfortable feeling I get when I see a real victim. Maybe that was the goal, but isn’t this a horror movie and not a sideshow exhibit?
Plus, you see Freddy too much. There’s no mystery; nothing is left to the imagination. This is the same thing that made Friday the 13th boring and scare-less (except for god awful jump scares). There’s no shadow, nothing you don’t see. It’s all there in its suspenseless glory.
The dream sequences and kills were so unimaginative. The character knows they’re asleep because the world has turned green or blue or red. Then Freddy shows up, guts them with his claws. Next. The only imaginative kill was ripped right out of the original, it wasn’t even done as well.
Overall, it just felt like there was no thought, heart, love, or effort put into the script or the film. It was just “well, we’ve remade everything else. Let’s manufacture NOES next.”
The only aspect I enjoyed was the dream sequence explaining Freddy’s origin and the mystery over whether or not he was innocent. That was a good concept even if it wasn’t implemented perfectly.
I think I’ve said my piece. There isn’t enough redeeming quality to this film for me to recommend it. Don’t waste your money.
Not at all surprised at some reviews of this film but to each his own. I loved the film and thought that they took a classic and just updated it to todays expectations of a horror film. Yes we all love the original but this one is great by itself. Jackie E.H did a great job as Freddy.
I am not sure why there is such hatred for this film, well of course because it’s a remake, which I understand to an extent. This movie is not very similar to Craven’s original, it’s a completely different movie in most aspects. I thought the way Freddy acted, spoke and even looked was done brilliantly, I’ve heard people complain because he uesd the F bomb, so he can murder and molest and that’s fine…..but oh no, he can’t swear! Give me a break. Anyway, Freddy was vile and twisted, and he was made for the audience to hate, not cheer for, and thank God someone had the balls to make a villain like that!! We SHOULD hate the murderer! The pacing of the film was painful at times, it kept stuttering, but the final act made up for that, it was fairly intense. Some bad CGI in there, sure, but 4 seconds of CGI won’t RUIN a film for me, I’m not insane. JEH as Freddy, I again, don’t get what the haters are getting at, he did an excellent job as Freddy, he was brutal and sick. He had tons of anger and aggression. You can’t compare JEH’s Freddy to Englund’s Freddy, they are polar opposites, comparing them is like apples to oranges. Comparing this film to the original is also ridiculous, they are again, polar opposites. The acting was dry and stale at times, yes, find me a horror movie where that’s NOT the case! The dream sequences were crafty and seamless, the way the characters would shift from one place to another, I found it terrific. The story was well done also, and it made sense, regardless of what the haters say, they story was also well crafted. Overall, I can’t find to much fault with this movie, simply because there isn’t much to find fault with, the movie did it for me. I also found the ending amusing, while similar to the original, much more of a wicked punch!
Just about everything they copied from the original was better in the original. The wall scene was horrible in this. The ceiling death was much better in the first. Bathtub….again…better last time. All in all, a very forgettable movie.
ok. let me sum this up.
number 1. why do you let a marketing asshole run a movie? isnt fuller supposed to be tucked away in an office sumwhere.
number 2. jump scare after jumpscare when in the original, just looking at krueger is enough to scare you.
number 3. the lighting. no makeup job in this fucking worl holds up to fuckin beaming lights. plus., krueger is by nature a coward. he hides in the shadows. would have made him a little more darker had he been shown a little less.
number 4. i loved the tweaking of the backstory and the motive behind why he does what he does. if only they would have stuck with that and not jsut knock off a few random classmates. what was the point of the diner scene at the start btw. krueger makes it look like a suicide. then never does it again
number 5. EDITING ROOM FLOOR. where the fuck was the church scene? or how abaout the “spider kill” i have heard about.what about the surreal landscapes and the “freddys version of elm street” that wasnt in there. the “zipper kill” also wasnt there. i believe they shot them.. jsut taken out before it was released.. why doesnt fuller jsut direct the goddamn thing himself if he has that much goddamn control.
plot holes. why did a non psycopahthic child molester have a glove to scratch up the lil kids? he only became homicidal and psychopathic after he died. why the fuck did he have the glove? they found the reminents of peices of glove in his lil area below the preschool. so he never finished it? if so, why did the kids hae claw marks.. i dont egt it. at all. maybe theres going to be like 100 deleted sce=nes. bet you when the dvd comes out, all the story will be in the damn deleted extras. so thats where the charcter development went.
its not the worst movie in the world. that title shall always go to H2. i will say it was entertaining for an hour or so. maybe a lil less. freddy dieing within the first minute and half out of dream world was bs tho. at least set soem traps or soemthing. jesus.gunpowder in a light bulb or soemthing. goddamit.
I personally was excited to see A Nightmare On Elm Street for a long time. I was pleased with some things and not with others. First off Jackie Earl Haley did a good job I thought off couurse he’s not Robert Englund but the makeup was really good. I thought the movie went to fast and it seemed people were getting killed off a record speeds. They could have done a lot more with the characters backrounds because I didn’t care if they lived or not. I hope there will be alternate kills on the DVD. Because what about Quentin B-D reported something different so I didn’t hate it but it could have been better especially if it was like 10-15min longer it felt rushed.
robert englund who? the movie was great could of been longer. no matter what the cry babies are still gonna cry jesus i wonder if theyre gonna cry themselves to sleep sayin omg robert englund whyyyyyyy ha pathetic roberts freddy is garbo he always was, the old movies suck and i grew up watching them to if you dont like remakes go watch ur garbage old version on bluray and go suck on englunds under cheese
Its not a bad movie and its not even close to the worst remake.. but its not a good movie either.. the movie just starts with the nightmares and it just feels like the story goes nowhere.. yeah, we get some backstory with our man freddy, Jackie was actually very good here. plot was wasn’t even there.. we have all seen the original but come on, at least have some character development or something.. i just didn’t care.. i was also a tad bored here and there.. i did enjoy the ending and i did enjoy some of the one liners by freddy.. i guess i expected this to be a forgettable movie but i was hoping it was going to be a ton of fun.. it was EH.. 2/5
While disposable and redundant, this latest rendition of the iconic namesake 1984 classic isn’t too shabby. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed it. We all know Jackie Earle Haley is a talented actor that can’t replace Robert Englund, who could? We all know that the performances aren’t on par as those with Wes Craven’s masterpiece. Shoot, we even know the film is only half as good. So why am I recommending it? Because its a film that stands on its own two feet that has its own merits.
First off, I thought the acting was pretty decent. A majority of modern horror flicks are prone to have abysmal acting, not here. They aren’t “good”, but I actually cared about the characters, with the exception of Katie Cassidy, which delivered a dry performance. Second of all, while nothing inventive, I found the story to be great. I like that Bayer made Krueger a child molestor as it gives him a more human portrayal and amped up the disturbance. Moreover, I thought the pacing was great. The movie ran at a brisk pace and nothing seemed too abrupt or slow. Furthermore, I thought the scenery was amazing and the film was inclusive to some cool deaths. I also liked that the director concentrated more on scares than gore. To add to that, I do like how the director added new elements, while keeping inclusive to the iconic, original elements. The homages were great.
Now onto the negatives. First off, I thought Katie Cassidy was terrible in this movie. She seemed so off and her delivery was dry. Furthermore, I know they kept original scenes for nostalgic factor, but some were so shot-for-shot, that that’s what made the movie predictable in areas. Lastly, I thought there was too many jump scares. Instead of being horrifying, it got a little annoying and seemed as a cop-out.
Overall, while flawed, I liked Bayer’s vision of the iconic classic. He made Freddy more sinister and actually made him scarier. I thought the characters were likable, the pacing was brisk, the deaths were cool, and I liked the script. I found this movie highly underrated and I really wish more people would appreciate Bayer’s direction. There have been so many horror slasher remakes that are mediocre(Friday the 13th, Halloween, Sorority Row) that honestly, this is the best one.
This remake sucked.Too much dialogue and weak scares.It might be scary or interesting if your 8.God,I hope after this bombs,the hebrews will bring back Englund.Him and Bayer would be a good matchup if they want that dark tone for a movie.
theres not a whole lot to say about this movie. defently one of the better remakes to come out in the past couple of years but still didn’t reach a level where ya actually care. the acting was actually tolerable for the most part, jackie earle hailey did good as freddy, no robert englund but that dosent need to be said. all in all not good enough to rant about and not shitty enought to complain for an entire year after it’s release which they shoulda went for cuz i’m thinkin a month from no one will even remember this movie
I understand why many people don’t like this film, but some of the reasons they give really are not accurate. First off, the filmmakers have long declared this to be a ‘reimaging’, though I think ‘different interpetation’ might be a more fitting term. This isn’t the original film re-shot scene for scene. The essence and many of the images from the original are still there, but it really shouldn’t be compared to the original. Is there anything wrong with that approach? Absolutely not.
So many people complain about remakes not bringing anything new to the table. This film did. And now those same people are complaining BECAUSE they told the story differently. There’s just no pleasing some peeps.
While the film did have fundamental flaws – whereas the original had a simple but straightforward plot, the new one’s plot gets convoluted somewhere near the start of the third act – but still maintains the creepiness of Freddy and his dreamworld. This one is more graphic in its violence than the original, but doesn’t go over the top to be an uber gorefest. And while the pacing becomes strained in the final thrid of the movie, and some of the dialog is questionable, it was not bad enough to ruin the movie. Hell, the original was ridden with faults, but it’s become a ‘classic’.
And while I’m sure most of the people who post on this site were’ent old enough to see the original when it first came out, sadly, I am that old. And while it was never blatantly stated, it was a given back then that Freddy was a child molester. Such a concept simply wasn’t portrayed as openly as it is these days, so those who decry that aspect of Freddy being wrong are themselves incorrect. Word is Craven’s original script had blatant references to child molestation, but they were later scrapped.
All in all, I still found the film to be quite entertaining, and while not the best of PD’s remakes, certainly a good enough one. I enjoyed it, and if you’re not Mickey, the crazed Tarantino film student or have unrealistic expectations about a scary movie, you likely will enjoy it too.
I enjoyed the film, but there was a few flaws with it. Jackie Earle Haley was decent as Freddy, the only problem was he had some shitty lines to say. The script seemed pretty bad. Rooney Mara was okay as Nancy, but she’s not nearly as good as Heather. The rest of the cast was pretty lame, nobody really to care about. Most of the scenes they copied from the original were way better in the original. The CGI looked like shit some of the time. However it also looked great in some scenes. Overall I can say I enjoyed it, but it still could have been so much better.
If ever a movie could be accused of just going through the motions, here would be a perpetrator. So many missed opportunities (chief among them: not nearly enough Jackie Earle Haley).
yea no enough freddy in this movie. i was thinking that while watching it. i didnt like this movie at all.
I think it’s pretty safe to say that few people were as excited for this movie as I was. When it comes to popular horror franchises, only The Evil Dead series trumps the original Nightmare On Elm Street films in my mind. Add the facts that I am also a big fan of the controversial horror remake specialists at Platinum Dunes (the film’s studio) and of Jackie Earle Haley’s (Freddy Krueger) recent acting work, and you can start to understand just how much potential I thought this movie had.
Unfortunately, my general opinion is that, while this film explored a number of exciting original ideas, it just failed to deliver a cohesive and gripping story.
For those unfamiliar with the series, A Nightmare On Elm Street chronicles the lives of some high school students who are being haunted and murdered by a mysterious serial killer named Freddy Krueger. The catch is that Freddy can only access the teenagers in their dreams, but can dispatch them in the real world by killing them in their nightmares. Right out of the gates, the new film places the supernatural dream killing element in the spotlight, instantly removing some of the mystique from the iconic villain. As a result, this film relies much more on cheap scares than on an actual atmosphere of mystery and horror; the sheer number of times Freddy appeared on screen unexpectedly accompanied by a sharp musical climax was ridiculous.
Oddly enough, the set designs used for the nightmare sequences were very impressive in general, with an early scene set in a dilapidated high school classroom being particularly ominous. In general, I found that the sets often equalled the revolutionary organic looks of Wes Craven’s original sets, with the CGI abuse only detracting from the film infrequently (as has been mentioned in numerous other reviews, the scene where Freddy appears behind a character’s wallpaper is laughable at best). Chalk the scenery up to Platinum Dunes’ huge budget for the film if you want, but it still identifies itself as one of the above average aspects of the film. Why the director chose to favour close up shots and the aforementioned cheap scares instead of exploiting the elaborate scenery with more panoramic shots is beyond me.
As with any filming style that doesn’t place too much focus on the scenery, a lot more pressure is placed on the actors to bring up the slack. Anyone who can honestly say they weren’t at least curious to see how an Academy Award nominee would portray the iconic villain (a role made famous by the brilliant Robert Englund) has to be kidding themselves, and the importance of Haley’s acting to the film’s success is similarly undeniable. What really surprised me though, is how much I felt the younger actors upstaged Jackie in the film. While I can applaud Haley for trying to play as authentic a burn victim as possible, I really thought the new Freddy’s scenes were generally cringe-worthy. His movements were robotic, his delivery was dry and void of personallity, and his dialogue was juvenile (the latter being an obvious fault in the writing and not in Haley’s performance). They really removed the lovable quality of the original character (come on, who didn’t get a little smile on their face every time Freddy appeared on screen for the first time in every sequel?) and degraded him to more of a Michael Meyers/Jason Voorhees killing machine with few redeeming qualities. Even the classic one-liners lifted from earlier films felt void of the maniacal emotion that made them hilarious the first time around. Overall, I think Haley’s subpar performance and the horrid scripting were the biggest flaws in this remake.
On the other hand, I generally enjoyed the performances of the other actors, or at least found them easier to stomach. All they had to do was act like scared teenagers really, and they never missed that mark by too much. My one complaint here is that the new Nancy (portrayed by relative newcomer Rooney Mara) doesn’t exhibit any real heroic qualities like the original film’s protagonist did. In her defense, the incredibly fast pace of the new film made any significant character development nearly impossible to include.
As should be expected, the poor pacing of the film presented a number of other issues, usually placing heavy limitations on the new elements brought to the story. Like I said before, there were a number of exciting elements introduced that I though had real potential, while other changes only created some questions of continuity. For example, the concept of micro-naps (brief periods where the sleep-deprived characters lapse into dreams while awake) was an intersting development that didn’t really affect the grand scheme of things all that much. Also, the flashbacks to Freddy’s human life were one of the inclusions about which I was most excited when the film was detailed a few months ago. In these scenes, Haley’s performance was very entertaining, but the light-hearted portrayal really didn’t make much sense. In the original series, clear connections could be drawn between Englund’s living and undead characters, with both having similar demeanours and nuances. On the other hand, Haley’s two characters come nowhere close to meeting at a common middle. Perhaps one of the most obvious reasons for this is that, in the original, Freddy was a child murderer in life and death, while in the remake, he was only a molestor in life (why a child molestor even needed the trademark razor glove is anyone’s guess). With further regards to Freddy’s backstory, the remake also introduced a really interesting plot twist in that all of the evidence gathered seemed to point to Freddy’s innocence; unfortunately, the characters are able to prove his guilt only 15 minutes later in the film. All in all, these new ideas were excellent concepts that were never fully realized or explained.
When all of the in-depth analysis is ignored though, the bottom line is that the film is an enjoyable watch; if it didn’t have the original to contend with, it would have completely blown me away. Hell, I even greatly prefered the new climax and ending presented here, as it strays from the deus ex machina stylings of the original’s conclusion. When all is said and done, drawbacks such as poor acting, pacing, and filming styles plague the film throughout, which might be too much for the casual fan to overcome, but diehard fans will find the hints of new elements enthralling, even if we’ve been forced to actually explore them fully in the realms of our own imaginations. If the film encourages new fans to check out the original series, that’s good enough for me.
Not a bad movie, but I got a headache from the loud-ass music that played during every single one of the 1,859 jump scares. Also, I didn’t like Rooney’s portrayal of Nancy. I’m not a gigantic fan of the original – especially Heather Langenkamp’s mediocre performance – but it was much more scary than this remake, although I felt like the remake was more concerned with making the audience jump than they were in scaring them. Either way, I enjoyed it. Kyle Gallner gave a great performance. The others… well, not so much.
way better than i thought it would be, it had it’s flaws but still awesome remake
I loved it, and after seeing the original just hours before I think it surpassed it in my eyes. I was annoyed that the original never explained why exactly Freddy was killing these kids and not they’re parents, and I was so glad they actually bothered with a plot in the new version instead of just having a kill and some dialogue in-between to lead to another kill.
I also loved how much better the acting was from the kids. Really the only gripe I have about the movie is that sometimes they overused the faux scare. But other than that I think it was an excellent retelling of a classic story to scare a whole new audience, (because trust me watching the original elm street nowadays is anything BUT terrifying)
I may have made a mistake. I recently bought the Nightmare on Elm Street blu ray, so I decided to watch it before the wife and I left for the midnight screening of Platinum Dunes “re-imagining” of said title. This means I was in uber-critic mode. Not only that, but I also watched the “Never Sleep Again” documentary that shows how they created all of the most memorable scenes from the original. The reason this was a mistake is, it shows how all those memorable scenes from the original, were created with some of the most simplistic practical effects. This means, when it was handled with CGI in the remake, it disappointed me more than it might have otherwise. Don’t get me wrong, I’m always a supporter of 100 percent practical effects, but sometimes, if handled well, the CGI can blend. The scene in the original where Freddy’s pushes his face through the wall was handled with a sheet of spandex, bought from the fabric store down the road. The same scene in the remake looked like a cartoon. It was completely CGI. The sad thing is, the sheet of spandex looked so much better.
Now that I have that rant off of my chest, let’s stop comparing the two flicks, and just talk about the remake as it’s own film. Much like the other Platinum Dunes remakes, Nightmare is polished, flashy, well shot, and well financed. All the acting is passable, although some, you can tell, are around a decade past being a high schooler. This doesn’t detract from the movie though, and if you really think about it, they’re better about that kind of thing now than they used to be. The original “Tina” was supposedly 15 years old.
Jackie Earl Haley did a good job as Kruger. While Englund’s absence is obvious, Haley does a good job at making Freddy scary again. He also squeezes out a few pretty decent one-liners. My main problem with Freddy this time around is that part of his face was CGI, and if he turned his head a certain way, it was very noticeable. Other than that, I had no problems with him, in appearance, or presence. He was a little less humorous, and a little more vicious/aggressive than the Freddy we knew before.
Instead of being treated to subtle ominous hints that we’re no longer in the real world, we’re given some music video style quick cuts, and different things of that nature. It doesn’t have the charm of the original, but works on it’s own level.
I’m going to catch a lot of shit for giving this movie a positive score, but I don’t give a fuck. I’m sick of the bullying that goes on in the horror community, and I’m sick of the elitist attitudes. I won’t be intimidated by bitchy little snobs who bash a movie like this simply because it’s not the original. You know what? It’s not the original, It’s a film of it’s own, and it deserves to be watched as such. If you can manage to pull your head out of your ass for 90 minutes, and watch this movie without the “original” blinders on, you might find that you have a little bit of fun at the movie theater, I know I did.
6.5/10
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I enjoyed it not gonna lie. Rooney Mara is beautiful <33333333333333
I must say that this really doesn’t have much to do with the original series, going into that mind frame that this film is its own separate stand alone film makes it quite watchable. The only negative things I have to say about this film is they should’ve went by the old saying LESS IS MORE. The CGI was terrible,they ruined the wall scene, and the last death was overdone. The other thing was not explaining the glove-like it just came out of nowhere. Making him a molester rather than a serial killer kind of takes away something from what makes Freddy – Freddy. But the kills are good-they could’ve done a lot more with “Tina’s” death scene,however other creepy elements in the film made it stellar. I liked the dark aspect of the film and the ending was expected/yet not expected-hard to explain that. This was definitely a lot better than some of the other remakes that Platinum Dunes has driven into the ground and I expect a sequel to be out next year I am excited to see what they can do with a sequel since the original sequel was a complete bomb.
Alright so here are my thoughts on the movie. Overall I actually enjoyed it. It wasn’t the greatest movie but I really did have fun seeing it. The pace bothered me a little bit. It seemed too rushed. And because it was rushed there was no character development. Honestly I didn’t mind not having the theme. It would have been cool, but I loved the score to this movie. I liked the opening and the final scene a LOT more than what they originally had. The one thing I really didn’t like was how the dream swquences didn’t stand out at all. They had so much potential but didn’t do anything spectacular. Other than when all the kids exploded into ash, that was pretty cool. That was my biggest beef with the movie. I do agree that Katie Cassidy would have been a better Nancy. And with Freddy, I really don’t have too much to complain about it, other than he could have sounded more angry and evil. But I liked Haley’s Freddy. The look doesn’t bother me anymore, it really is the least of my worries. I think it would have been smarter to keep him in the shadows though for the most part. I think that would have helped with a lot of aspects IMO. But overall like I said, I really enjoyed it and had fun. I would give it an 8
What a hard movie to review, as an avid fan of the original I had a kind of a difficult time accepting this film. A couple of nights later, and in retrospect- I suppose that it has been 18 or 19 years since there was an official Nightmare on Elm Street sequel, and in order to bring Freddy back to the basics in a big screen format, it was pretty necessary to remake the original. It’s too easy to pick and tear this film apart, and in fact it’s actually a pretty fun movie if you can just take it in stride.
Jackie Earle Haley is definitely worthy of the fedora, green and red stripped sweater, and razor tipped glove. He doesn’t try be Robert Englund, and really makes his own Freddy.
The rest of the cast is acceptable, though far from memorable. Rooney Mara in particular really seems kind of blank all the way through this movie. Maybe it’s supposed to be the character though? The parents in this movie are laughable, and really kind of awkward. In the original you can see the effects of ‘the past’ taking their tole on Nancy’s mother, she’s an alcoholic and in the grips of denial. In this ‘re-imagining’, Nancy’s mother comes off as unnaturally peppy.
Again, mediocre supporting cast [and a bad CGI shot or two] aside, this movie is far from being the complete train wreck everyone seems to describe it as. Freddy’s back, and at his dirtiest and meanest. The dream sequences are pretty well shot, and the sets are incredible. Once this movie gets into gear, it is really fast paced.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010 might not be as organic as the original and if you’re a big time fan of the original its destined to poke a few nerves, but overall it is far from terrible. This movie had a lot going against it before it was even shot: the remake trend is and has been old for quite a while now. For the sake of resurrecting Freddy Krueger it was worth it, and overall it’s great to have him back on the big screen.
I liked it overall. Some of the deaths were pretty brutal and I enjoyed it. But I was wondering where some scenes went. I mean, in the Set Visit to NOES they described a scene where Quentin wakes up in an abandoned church and Freddy says, ” Confess your sins” or something, and also another one when Freddy “pops” out of Quentin’s head or something, where they had to get an enlarged version of Kyle Gallner’s head to pull it off, but Quentin lives in the end. Is it just me?
I enjoyed it. There, I said it. I can even feel the wrath of the internet coming down upon as I type this. Its a satisfactory remake; its no Dawn of the Dead (2004), but it tried something new, and updated a horror classic. I hope they go ahead with a sequel on this one, because JEH is fucking creepy as Freddy.
First off let me address some of the things people are doggin this film for.
“The movie has too many “jump scares.”
First of all ALL 80s horror was chalk full of “jump scares” and the original Nightmare was NO EXCEPTION. Yes the new Nightmare had many “jump scares” in it, but at least they weren’t lame jumps like, oooh, I don’t know, ROD JUMPING OUT OF THE BUSHES AND TACKLING GLEN,,,,,,,,,,,,you know like in the original Nightmare,,,,,,,,,wait you guys have watched the original in the last 10 years haven’t you?
“The new Freddy was not scary like Englund’s Freddy was.”
Jackey Earl Haley’s Freddy was a creepy pervert whose evil spirit after death picks off his child victims one by one, because he is pissed that he was killed. Robert Englund’s Freddy was a “child killer” who danced and giggled and killed people using cartoonish slapstick humor. I love the original Nightmare films, I have every single one of them and they will always hold a place with me, but Robert Englund’s Freddy = funny as hell, Jackie Earl Haley’s Freddy = sick, psychotic, demonic, son of a bitch. This Nightmare is LOADS darker than any of the original Nightmare flicks. We have to remember the original Nightmare was released in 84, times are much darker now. Had this Freddy or this movie played out like original in todays age and in front of todays audience, it would have been billed as a horror comedy.
“The story was lame and had plot holes.”
Try paying attention to the movie, try LISTENING to what they are saying in the flick instead of twittering your thumbs in between kills. You might understand what is going on more. The story was fine, and actually interesting,,,,,,,,,,,unlike 90% of horror.
“The scenes that they took from the original Nightmare weren’t done right.”
In 1984 they did not have the money or the technology to do what they can now. The death scenes they used from the original movie will pay out differently today. The biggest thing is Freddy IS A GHOST, so when he kills folks, to someone watching, it would look like these people are being slaughtered by thin air. Chris’ death scene I thought was not only well done, but masterfully done as she looked like she was being slaughtered by a ghost, looked like something in an exorcist film. In the original Tina just sorta writhed around on the ceiling, crawled around on the walls a bit, then was sliced open.
“This movie was more like a ghost film than a slasher.”
No shit? Maybe because Freddy Krueger is a GHOST, A SPIRIT, A DREAM DEMON!
“The new Fred’s make up didn’t allow for much expression in his face.”
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO you don’t say? Any of you actually see a real severe burn victim? Ill post videos if you like! When a person has their head that badly burned their nose goes, eyelids go, ears go, and the muscle tissue is so badly damaged that after they heal their facial movements are really rigid and they loose most of their facial expression. A burn victims face tightens as it heals making it difficult for them to do things as simple as blink or talk.
A Nightmare on Elm Street was an awesome movie that was made to be a stand alone flick, and even though I adore the original (more so the first movie and a couple of the sequels) series, I love this updated version. When I go to see any remake I want to see something very different than the originals because if I want to see a scene by scene copy of the original I’d stay home and watch the DVD. I expect a new vision of a character and story to be actually,,,,,NEW! This remake did the trick, they updated the story, the characters, made changes, made it different in both mood and content, and at the same time kept around a lot of the characteristics that made the original Nightmare so popular. I was not at all disappointed in this movie and now I will be counting down until it’s DVD release.
As far as all the haters go, I look at it this way. We entered an age of media addiction, and now we have entered an age of media snobs. With the sheer amount of constant media thrown at us all the time it is no wonder people have sort have become very cynical when it comes to movies. At the same time if you go into a movie with that cynical mind set, ANY MOVIE, you will no doubt not enjoy yourself because you have already decided not too. Movies USED to be reviewed by their entertainment value first and foremost and today we are living in an age where people expect every damn movie to be some huge epic, and that is delusional,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,especially when going into ANY horror movie.
All and all I loved the film, it looked good, sounded good, and just was a GOOD film all together.
i really enjoyed it..i wasnt expecting 2 get my mind blown away like dark knight or anything..but hell, i was entertained
You can’t compare this one to the original, it’s a waste of time, the original is untouchable. This movie moved a little fast for me but all in all I thought it was good. JEH did ok, the voice just didn’t seem there but I thought he did well. Seems like a lot of the scenes were cut out of this movie, wish it were a little longer.
Not sure where all the hate is coming from, this movie was fun. I hope they make a few adjustments for the next run.
So, is this new take on the Krueger myth any good? In a word, no…but there are a few things to suggest that Bayer should be given another chance in the genre, beginning with the wonderful look of the film. It’s gorgeously rendered, with extremely detailed sets and a dark, airy atmosphere that could have culminated in a good film, if the script were not so poor and ill-conceived.
But the biggest question that most people with interest in the film want answered is “How is Jackie Earle Haley in the role of Freddy?” The answer there also lies in the script, as Haley, a fine actor, does what he can with the limitations of the dialog and the speech impediments created by the unfortunate makeup. He looks like a cross between an animatronic puppet, Dr. Phibes, and some sort of creature that may have emanated from the original series and eventually modified itself into Englund’s Krueger. In short, it’s largely ineffective and actually detracts from what Haley may have been able to contribute. Instead, we’re left with stilted speech patterns and very little by way of facial expression, and not much there to actually scare film-goers.
In the original series, there are obviously some abysmal entries, but the entertainment factor is pretty much always present due to the gleefully creepy presence of Robert Englund as Freddy. No matter how bad the films got, how terrible the dialog, there was always something to watch in Englund’s lasciviously inspired performance. in comparison, the new film has neutered Haley by not really giving him any kind of compelling or story or lines, and it’s actually made worse by the fact that you’ve pretty much seen everything done in the film already, except that it was mostly all done better before. Even the effects, which seem artificial by today’s CGI standards. None of it feels very real, so there isn’t much by way of involving the viewer emotionally, because there’s never a sense that anything of any real weight is actually occurring on the screen. When a person is attacked by Freddy, the first thought shouldn’t be to point out the obvious CGI of the scene. Even the most quaint practical effects of the first Freddy films are more effective than the artificial scares generated by the new movie.
The acting in the film, aside from Haley and a couple of others, isn’t very effective for the most part. The Springwood teens are pretty, posey, interchangeable, and mostly uninteresting. Kyle Gallner provides a couple of interesting moments as a tortured soul (he even wears his Joy Division shirt like a uniform), as does “the new Nancy”, Rooney Mara (probably the most ‘real’ teen as far as characterization goes, which honestly isn’t saying much). Overall, the characters are all pretty forgettable; not a Nancy Thompson or Alice Johnson in the bunch.
The first Nightmare film was high concept, high scare content, and dark. It’s impossible to stop comparing the new flick to the original, because it borrows so heavily from the first film. This is another of the movie’s many problems; the remake brings literally nothing new to the table. No real twists, no surprises, even the dozens of jump scares fail to cause a reaction beyond the first few, because the audience comes to expect them. The original film kept Freddy in the shadows often, and the overall feeling was that he actually treasured the moment of fear in his victims. Even when spewing his one-liners with glee, the notion that he was pursuing the fear factor above all else is prevalent.
In the new film, the one-liners are still present. In fact, they come with more regularity than one might expect given the extremely dark subject matter and the filmmakers’ apparent goal of creating a meaner, more focused Freddy. But by the end of the film, even the most casual fan of the original films will probably just wonder what Robert Englund would sound like delivering the same lines.
like many others, i find this film very difficult to review. it hit well on some areas, and failed miserably on others. (quick note – spoilers are definitely ahead)
SO, i’ll start with the good.
stylistically, it was phenomenal. i think sam bayer did a great job blending elements of reality and surreality damn near seamlessly. it’s got an extremely dark tone, perfect for a nightmare film. also, the opening credits creeped me the hell out.
the effects during the dream sequences were out of this world.
the acting from rooney mara and kyle gallner was terrific. much much much better than expected.
jackie earle haley, in my personal opinion, was great as freddy. he was hands down a balls out, creepy, scary, insane, demonic, psychopath. everything was great about his performance. congratulations jackie earle haley; you made freddy krueger scary again.
NOW for the ugly.
the script was just a horror abortion. no further explanation necessary. it should have been left in a dumpster on prom night.
too many jump scares. granted, most 80′s movies were 90% jump scares, but in this day and age, you’ve do more than come around a corner and say boo.
the gore, at times, seemed a little over the top. i mean, really, we didn’t need to see a dead dog for no fucking reason other than for freddy to deliver a one liner.
the acting (outside of mara, gallner, and haley) was pretty awful.
NO MR. THOMPSON. wtf? seriously? one of the best parts of the original was the tough presence that john saxon brought to the screen. nancy being raised by a single mother is just bullshit. /rant
so, there you go folks. to sum it up:
-yes, JEH was good as freddy.
-yes, it was dark, gritty, and good looking.
-yes, i’ve taken shits that are better than this script.
-yes, there is a blood explosion.
overall, if you look at it as a standalone entry, and not a remake, it’s pretty bitchin. if you go in comparing it to the original, you’re in for a fucking disappointment.
A fine remake! Nothing will ever touch the classic original in my opinion, but this is a fantastic effort that most fans should be able to get behind. The new Freddy is very well portrayed, and is creepy again! The acting is good overall, but some of the “teens” (hardly!) were a lame. I enjoyed the differences in storylines from this and the original, especially the children spirits. No longer from murder victims, but portrayed as the lost innocence from abused children. A fine touch.
The gore was top notch (the beginning’s neck cutting was extreme!) yet not in abundance. Just the right amount.
All in all…this is finally a Platinum Dunes remake I can stand behind. Bring on the sequels!
This movie rocked. Don’t be swayed by the few people who post here that know NONETHING about Quality Horror. it was a great time. I took my 16 yr old daughter to see it and she loved it… Scared the Hell outa her!!
I was udderly disapointed by this movie. There was no flow to the script, the acting was horrible, and Freddy was absolutely laughable. I didnt care who died or how it was predictable and without an origional thought to maybe make this movie their own. Changing the back story of Kreuger was probably the first nail in the coffin…I mean we can like a child killer, but a child molester i think not. Jackie earl Haley lacked the edge Englund gave us there was just no personality(remember this is the reason we love him!) Sam Bayer should really just stick to music videos….its not 1992 anymore get over the grunge astetic already. God I just hated this movie and everything about it.
For all those Rob Zombie Haters… At least his movies brought a more brutal killer to us not a washed up CGI infested wreck of a beloved killer
i cant believe that they actually released this movie, i was so annoyed after leaving the theater. the script was awful, and it lacked the most important elements of the freddy character. if you are going to do something do it right. am i mistaken or was there a pedophile relationship going on with nancy. no no no no
this is not how it goes, and what about the hanging of the kids in the boiler room, his voice he sounded like he was mentally challenged. Correct me if im wrong though wasnt he scary and funny? Please if anyone reading this has anything to do with the movie get in touch with the fans before you make another shit ass movie. I could have done a better job, you need a visiuon before you start. this movie lacked that
Better than parts 5 and 6. That’s not saying much. Bring back robert englund.
This was the worst remake and a complete embarrassment to the Freddy Franchise. The acting was horrible and dialogue was worse. 95% of Freddy fans could’ve created a far better movie. It should have started out as Freddy being a young guy and went more into the story there. Zombie would have hit this one out the park. Freddy sounded like a Kentucky Forrest Gump and looked like a little burnt ratboy. Im acting like this movie was never created and watching 1984 to get the bad taste out my mouth
Take the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, remove all sense of personality from the teenagers who all look like they are in their 20′s, completely scrap Freddy as you know him, and replace him with an apologetic pedophile who is 5 feet tall. Now dress that guy up like Freddy, but make his face look like an Alien, which keeps changing for the entire movie, now slap a script together, then rewrite a bunch of that script so that the pace of the movie is all over the place, use tons of flash editing, CGI and jump scares, and then rush the ending and TA DA ! Another Platinum Dunes special.
My friend liked it. I loved it. The rest of the theater seemed to be having fun.
And now that I’ve said this, I’m going to be labeled an “average movie goer” and not a “horror fan.” Whatever. I know what movies I’m a fan of and I don’t need to impress anyone by sounding prestigious or classy. I’m not “too good” or “too tasteful” to enjoy a movie of this caliber. It’s a slasher movie for Christ’s sake. Horror is famous for exploitation. Not tasteful art.
With that said, don’t expect a perfect movie. Sure, there are some flaws with the script. Sure, there are some pacing issues. But shouldn’t these things be expected by now? Again… it’s a horror movie, which is not the genre where perfection frequently visits.
And finally, it’s a remake. How come when Platinum Dunes deviates from the original’s storyline, everyone throws a fit? But when goth/punk/emo/immature idol Rob Zombie deviates from Halloween, he’s called the most talented horror director of our time? Hypocrisy much? Anyone?
The movie surpassed my expectations, but I can understand why it might not be everyone’s bag. I’m just sick of reading the same logic behind almost every one of the negative reviews.
I seriously wonder how many of you who bash the new movie have seen the original. If so when was the last time you saw it? Go back and watch the original and based off what you all have been saying about the new one, the original would get one star.
ok…ive had time to sit on this one all weekend before finally deciding to post my review. my final verdict for Nightmare 2010 is that its a great movie with a few flaws. lets start with the good. i loved the new nancy (Rooney Mara) and Quentin (Kyle Gallner). i thought they did a good job acting there parts and they made me like them and root for them and in the end, thats what will ultimately raise the bar on a horror movie. the story was pretty good as it followed the original but also introduced some new ideas to the mix as well(child molester instead of child killer) which we all know was suppose to be what freddy was in the original until they changed it last minute but atleast Platinum Dunes had enough balls to go with it this time. also the revelation that maybe freddy was innocent of all this and was wrongly killed? like i said, lots of interesting little ideas were added, but werent taken to the next level. the dream sequences were pretty good for the most part and i loved the idea of micronaps and how it can totally change the movie because freddy could literally pop up anywhere at anytime. the final confrontation between nancy and freddy was a love/hate thing for me as i did enjoy it but freddy kinda brought the whole scene down. now onto the negative which there really is only a couple of things to bring up. first and foremost is freddy himself. i thought Jackie Earle Haley did a very good job as a whole and i liked his movements as freddy and his overall attitude was good for the part. but the makeup, oohhhhh the makeup. i agree with everyone who said he looks like a hamster in a hat, an alien, a rat, gopher,i thought he looked like Davey Jones from POTC. yeah he looks like all those things. it was a horrible makeup job and it really ruined freddy for the times he was clearly visable. the times when he is in the shadows he didnt look bad and they should have kept him like that. toward the end his one liners were getting a bit stupid and i definately was having flashbacks to parts, 3,4,5 and 6. but thankfully there kept to a minimum and they dont ruin the movie. also the cgi was pretty bad, the wall scene is a joke and looked 100% better in the original which was done 26 years ago! havent we advanced since then? guess not.. overall it was a great movie which was fast paced, great cast (especially Rooney and Kyle) and freddy wasnt as bad as i thought he would be. very enjoyable and definately worth a watch. im only taking the score down a tad because of the cgi and makeup, too bad to ignore!
The Script is horrible and the acting is god awful. because of laziness i dont feel like lokking it up but the kid from the the haunting in Conn was ok. i like his charecter. Everyone eles was preety bad. Haley was good but i didnt like the take on freddy. People i am not some fan boy who hates to be cool or what not. i love good films…well ones that i like cause its all opinion and at the end of the day i wouldn’t watch this again… Id rather see jesse do battle with him andf all the homosexual over tones then to wate my time with this…. NANCY IS A FLIPPING SIDE CHARECTER FOR THE FIRST HALF AND THEN RUSHED TO BE FAITHFUL TO THE SOURCE MATERIAL. its your money use it when you need it… yes that was JG wentworth lol. you have been warned
I wonder how many people who are bashing this movie have ACTUALLY seen it. It’s a good question. I know how secondhand gossip floats around here, so that immediately eliminates about two thirds of all these reviews.
Now, let me have my say: I didn’t think it was that bad. It was better than Zombies’ Halloween and H2, it was more effective than the Friday remake, and frankly, it was more disturbing than the TCM makeover. Jackie is killer; the rest of the cast kind of drifts in and out, but frankly, it’s nothing too terrible. Maybe if I become a cynical and bitter fool then I too would hate this.
But honestly, this remake isn’t going to ruin the already established Englund Freddy. Some people seem to be forgetting that this flick will not undo the past. But hey, I got a keyboard, so that makes me competent, right? Assholes.
It’s watchable, Jackie is great as Freddy, there’s the typical bad Freddy puns…I will say that certain CGI effects were unnecessary; (the jump scares were in abundance, but no more than any other horror flick in recent memory)…
Bottom line: see it for yourself. I would honestly give it a 7/10.
Jackie Earl Haley was amazing and the movie was great.One of the better sequels.
I enjoyed it. A different take on the whole NOES tale. I liked how they made Freddy more of a slimeball. It’s pretty much impossible to root for Freddy whatsoever in this version. Definitely topped my expectations.
This was a pretty good movie. The blood was awesome. The acting wasn’t the best. The dialogue had a few gems like;
GIRL: “These dreams… they’re not real.”
BOY: “These dreams… they’re real.”
The jump scares were done really poorly. I liked Jackie Earle Haley’s voice but the makeup looked pretty stupid. The best writing was in Freddy’s lines, Freddy wasn’t such a stooge in this movie. I’d see this movie if you like scary movies, it’s really all that’s in theaters now anyway.
I stopped reading at Pittersplatter – I think that’s what needs be said.
People act like original versions of some horror movies were so amazing and yet they realize that many of them were low budget and/or not well regarded when they came out either. I’m not saying this is a good movie, but I think I will look at it as a standalone and determine its value from that.
I completely loved it, from beginning to end. From the effects, visuals, story, cast, and especially Jackie as Freddy. He was just incredible. PD has yet to let me down. PD is my favorite film company right now, just like New Line was my favorite when I was a kid. Kudos to the entire team and especially to Samuel Bayer. Thank you so much. Just one more thing, please make the sequel longer.
I enjoyed Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy. It obviously has its “Why was that even in the script?” moments. But overall this is one of the better remakes.
Allright I’m going to be short and sweet like I wish this movie would have been.
First off, writers did not dedicate to re-inventing Freddy as a scary child-molestor. About a third of a way through the movie it’s like they said “F it, let’s pull in some humor and completely throw the crowd a loop.” They also brought in some plot twists that I actually liked but went nowhere with it.
Second, the scenes they stole from the originals had absolutely NO effect whatsoever. I’ve been seeing these scenes for over 20 years…COME UP WITH SOMETHING ORIGINAL. Once again, they re-invent him, but use the same stunts he did before.
Thrid, Freddy wasn’t fun to watch, and I guess they realized this because I felt like he only had 6 minutes of camera time the whole movie. And he went from saying “bad-ass” lines like “Why are you screaming?..I haven’t even cut you yet.” to “Now this is a wet dream”. Just didn’t flow right.
They totally messed this up for fans of the series and ruined it’s rep b/c people who saw this that had never seen the series will probably like it, and now Freddy will have a new rep. A BAD ONE.
I think I would rather shove my arm in a blender than watch this again.
This is an honest review from a semi-big fan of nightmare on elm street. this movie only had only three things i loved; The new freddy (along with the whole child molester theme to him and pretty near perfect lines), the dream sequences, and some of these new deaths. But everything else was so bad!!! the script was bad, the acting by everyone except haley was bad, the jump scares were extremely stupid like really is that all they can do to try to scare us?, everyones lines besides haleys were bad, and the pacing…omfg the pacing, it was god awful! Overall to me this movie tried especially with the new freddy which i loved, but everything else was just flat out bad /: i remember when the the name A Nightmare On Elm Street came on and the original theme was in the background, i was like wooow…i really wish they would have kept that feeling the original nightmare had, because that was the only moment where the movie seemed awesome to me. hearing the classic sounds i remember from nightmare in the 80s.
this movie is worth a watch but by no means does this movie satisfy the way it should have.
thanks for reading (:
The movie was pretty good, well the second half. The first half where they killed like 4 or 5 characters in 5 minutes was dumb. I didn’t really care that those people were dead because they died about ten seconds into the movie. I loved the new plot added, and the whole realization about Freddy, but why was he NOT in the movie. He was barely in it. Oh, and how would all the kids who live on the same street NOT know each other until 6th grade/high school? I think they would remember. I LOVED the references to the other movies. Those were fun to find. I know it sounds negative, but it wasn’t bad if you think of it as a new Nightmare. Finally, there MUST be a ton of extra footage on the DVD. Where was the scene where Kris is crawling through the dirt from the BD set visits? Where was the church scene? Or Kellan Lutz standing on a fence at a party like in the trailer? (Pretty sure that’s where the reshoots came in) So there is probably going to be a killer extended DVD. Suggestion for sequel, no 3D. PLEASE! No 3D. Also, slow the deaths down a bit. I wanted to care that Kris died…but, I didn’t. Anyway, there you go.
Well, here I go! If you haven’t seen the movie, then I would recamend 1) go and see it NOW!! 2) Please don’t read this unless you want the movie to be reuined. Ok, I was a little nervous about this remake. After the bad review by BD, I was very dissapointed. But, I had to go see it anyway! As soon as it started I have to admit, it was a little slow. After the first kill scene though, I was blown-away! The one good thing I like about remakes it that they explain in more detail about what is going on. This remaked was full of detail and plot. Even though the characters are the same, their emotions are a little different and more normal like. Now, let me talk about Freddy. First of all, well done! The special effects were amazing, and the voice was very spooky. This Freddy meant business. The old one was great, but it seemed more like a comedy. In this movie, freddy was pissed and he wanted revenge. I think Kyle did an AMAZING job! His character Quentin was so life-like. I felt bad for him. I almost forgot that this was a movie! So, I give this movie an 8 out of 10. This is why: Great character, scenes, special effects, plot, and ending. The reason why it is not a 10 is because the beginning could have been a little faster and some of the acting could have been just a tad better. I give the most credit to Jackie Earle Haley(Freddy), Kyle Gallner(Quentin), and Rooney Mara(Nancy). Great JOB! This is now my second favorite horror movie series! Except they have to do better in the second movie to beat SAW. AWESOME MOVIE!!! 8 OUT OF 10!!!!
Did these fools ever seen A Nightmare On Elm Street movie before? I mean they got everything in this tepid remake wrong to the casting sorry but Jackie Earle Haley just sounded like batman on steroids to me and was way too serious with no spunk and wise craking personality like in the original with Robert Englund and the victims were too distant and boring other than Katie Cassidy who did a decent job. All of the set ups looked the same to me and were uninspired and not creative at all and all of the jump scares were cheap and forced leaving no suspense at all and the gore scenes weren’t that great other than the final act which step it up a bit from the dull and disappointing first act. I appreciated that they gave a pretty intriguing backstory to Freddy Krueger depicting why he was haunting eveyones dreams and later turning violent towards them but they went too far into it and wasted opportunities on greater potential and I liked it more when you didn’t know that much visually becuase this movie killed the mystery and spookieness of Freddy. The CGI effects in this movie were lousy and lazy and failed miserably at recapturing the 1984 classic and that’s what is wrong with hollywood because they rely too much on star power and special effects than focusing on the more important things and that’s why they fu!ck up alot of movies because they lose the heart and soul of the film if it had it at all. I’m also getting sick of directors of music videos all of a sudden doing a high budget remake that is usually always a bad sign, stick to what you know better and don’t mess up classics, do more research next time! I’m very disappointed in this remake because it could have been soo much better if it was in the right hands and with a much better cast and it’s funny that a movie dealing with nightmares makes you want to fall asleep than hide under your covers, they butchered a classic! Overall it was lame, different in a bad way, no connection and wasn’t truly scary, darkly humorous or entertaining and wasn’t fun or memorable, it was too freaking serious also in a bad way and they failed in every way possible and if it wasn’t for the pretty good last act I would have given it a lower rating. They should have not bothered this classic and don’t bother making a sequel because it will probably suck anyway even in 3D! Not recommended! More of a 1.5 out of 5 stars.
If I had never seen the original this movie would be just okay. Since I have seen the original series and am a fan of the series, it totally sucked! First, I think Jackie Earl Haley made a great choice for Freddy, however the voice was a no for me also, the burn effects on his face were horrid in my opinion. I saw where they tried to give props to the original like the blonde ceiling death, which really disappointed me and the body bag drag at school-LAME!! WTF was the point of that? I really wish there had been a lot more of Kellan Lutz, he is a lot more yummier than the other douches in this movie. Just STOP doing bad remakes of my beloved horror movies-PLEASE!
I Went to see The Remake on Opening Day and Then AGAIN Today. I Only Have a FEW Minor Gripes. One Instance of CGI used was Mediocre. And Two Lines of Dialogue were Kind of Corny and could of been Left Out. I’m a Diehard Robert Englund Fanatic , and I thought the Remake with JEH was AMAZING to be completely honest. My Unbiased Rating was an 8/10 on IMDB. I Rated the Original ANOES a 10/10. I wasn’t steered one way or another by Reviews and My Own Review is a Positive One. There Were a Few Scenes in the Trailers that were NOT in the Final Film. IE Dean Falling off the Roof, and Kris Covered in Blood Wearing Freddy’s Glove. Hopefully those Scenes will Be Included on the DVD Release. All in All I have to Say I was Pleasantly Surprised and Quite Enjoyed PD’s ANOES 2010. They Have Made Me Proud. The Only Other Remake I cared for that they Have done was TCM (2003). And I actually Prefered THAT remake to the Original. But with The Remake of ANOES, I prefer the Original and always Will. Robert Englund Himself was Correct about JEH and his Assumption He would Be Good Playing The Role of Freddy. JEH Brought the Old Sinister Freddy Back to the Screen. And I Have to Say, The NEW Freddy is More Sick and Perverted than in ANY Of The Originals. It’s a Good AND Bad Thing . It Works and Then it Doesn’t. Well, that’s My Short Review .
i think this is the best remake out there.definitely different from the original but it works.jackie is great.
I went into this movie after reading alot of mixed reviews. So I wasn’t expecting much. I was suprised, I thought this movie was great. I read alot of complaints about the bad acting from everyone in the movie except Jackie earl hailey. I sat in the theater thinking what do you feel like when you hav’nt slept for three or four days. You feel like a zombie, like everything is a blurr and left of center. These actors playing the kids really seemed to me to be sleep depraved. I have no complaints about the acting at all. I thought they all did a wonderful job. If you go into this movie, keeping the other nightmare films out of your head and dont try to compare Jackie to Robert then I think that people would actuall enjoy this movie. I went early afternoon on sunday thinking that there would hardly be anyone in the theater, boy was I wrong. It was packed, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves tremendously. Good Movie, I am recomending this to everyone I know!
I didn’t have many problems with the writing, it was the acting. Outside of Haley’s performance the cast couldn’t act their way out of a silent movie box. The CGI left allot to be desired, I’ve seen better CGI in many straight to DVD releases. The bottom line though is that I didn’t hate it, I can’t put my finger on why but I actually enjoyed it.
I really really wanted to like this film. I love the franchise and I liked what they did with some of the effects but the film felt rushed and had shitty editing in my opinion. Jackie Earl Haley did well but this was not as good as the original wes craven film and not even close.
I believe the could have done some really amazing things with restarting this franchise but this is half assed and all horror fans know it…
I like michael bay but this is worth watching on dvd maybe… if not seriously watch the first one again…
I personally Loved it, one of the best remakes, I do love the original also, but the remake was great, not a lot of deaths and playing with dreams but its the first movie.
much better than 4-6,im interested to see sequals mounted off of this new foundation. Jakie earle > robert englund
stop creating accounts to hype the movie up more. let honest regular viewers of the site give their opinions. I am not alone in saying I value the opinions of this site and have discovered a few good films thanks to the votes and reviews of fellow site members.
Now…the film is very poorly made. If you can get past the trademark Platinum Dunes cheap scare every other minute, then you can focus on the characters. This movie offed nearly the entire cast before you get a chance to 1)connect to/feel for 2)identify who they are 3)where they stand story wise. With that said, Nancy was depressing and quite weak in comparison to the original Nancy. But enough of the original. Let’s focus on this film. This Nancy was one of the worst portrayals of a female “hero” in a LONG time. She is moody, boring, and quite frankly, I wanted her dead after she poured the coffee for Kellan Lutz. Freddy himself was wrong in EVERY way. From the half assed glove, which is what fans were very excited to see btw, to the terrible camera angles that seem to make his victims appear taller and more menacing that he was. His make up was complete trash. WTF? What’s he going to do? Leave poop pellets in your mouth? He looks like a hamster, or some kind of animal human hybrid. He looked weird and not scary at all. The only thing scary about Freddy was the cheap shot sound effects that come EVERY TIME you see him. His lines in the film were very disturbing at times but too short. And what was with the delayed sparks? Is he electric? Why was it delayed cause that did NOTHING for the scene. Also there were parts of the film that just went NO WHERE. “The brain lives 7 minutes after the heart stops. So we have 6 more minutes together…” Then the shot cuts to the next scene. Where did the 6 minutes go? That was a wasted opportunity to show some more nightmare. The fact that ALL the children from the daycare died before these characters, and NO ONE knew something was funny in dream land? So are we supposed to believe that the parents didn’t know anything or did they know and just wouldn’t accept the truth? While we are on this road, why not show the other deaths. If you want to kill off a character every 5 minutes, then kill people we don’t care about in cool ways, meanwhile DEVELOPING the other characters. Then you kill them once we “feel” for them. It has more effect. The scene with the web cast video was pretty cool. But why not dive more into that? Why show it for like 20 seconds? Another thing, if Nancy and her emo lover can go into the same dream together in one of the final scenes, then why the hell couldn’t Katie Cassidy’s lover save her or even see Freddy? If one can do it then why not the other? Is that another thing we were supposed to assume? I guess it’s like we were supposed to assume that people who look damn well older than what they were supposed to be, are just TEENS. Another thing that I found a little off, the pacing of the film. It was like a roller coaster ride, you wait in line in excitement for the thrill ride you think is ahead of you, you see all the hills and tunnels and twists and dips, you get on the ride… and it’s over before you had time to process what just happened. That was the film in a nutshell. Now for the good things… I actually did like some of the death scenes. They were brutal, and minus the cheesy CGI effects (Katie bouncing on walls/ Nancy bursting through blood pimple) they were very fun to watch. The rage and anger I wanted in Freddy was shown through the deaths, but all were way to quick. They were good though. Nothing cheesy or campy. The film does keep the same tone through out. Serious. Dark. Creepy. But not frightening and not scary. I was looking forward to seeing my favorite horror icon back on the screen again, even if it was not with the original Legend who portrayed him. However, I did not see him here. I don’t know what it is about Platinum Dunes and their films, but they have yet to capture what made the originals great. If anything, they make these headache inducing, uninteresting, and well… a nightmare. And not the kind you wanted at all. Nightmare on Elm Street left me unimpressed, unchanged in my opinion of remakes, and quite saddened and disappointed. Cause I know there will be a follow up to this lackluster film. The only reason it will do well is curiosity. To each his own, but I want no part of this or anything else spawned out of this stinker.
Just because the original is a classic doesnt mean a remake to it is gonna suck. The original was amazing don’t get me wrong but this is a more than worthy sequel. Jackie Earl Haley was amazing as Freddie and defiantly deserves respect for his performance. A worthy heir to Robert Englund. Sure the movie had it’s flaws but overall I thought it was a great time. A very dark film compared to all the other ones. Great movie. Don’t listen to the negative reviews go check this one out. God I hope when the 2nd one comes out that it’s not in 3D.
I feel a lot of people are being to harsh in saying it not like the original or didnt like it cuz no robert englund. ITS A REBOOT not the original just rerecorded, i liked it a lot i felt for being a remake it stuck the original close enough and added its own taste. JEH was fucking awesome, sick perverted dark and just flat out brutal, the remainder of the cast was played well except the diner guy. Other then that awesome horror flick.
I will start by saying while this isn’t the best of Platinum Dunes’ output, its also far from the worst or most pointless (which remains The Hitcher). While I’ll agree with some reviewers that showing as much of Freddy’s face as they did made his presence less menacing it was not enough to make this film anything less than impressive by modern remake standards.
Pretending the original film was the holy grail of slasher films is unfair. Hindered by dated special effects and for the most part bad casting (aside from Englund), the film seems more a hodgepodge of random ideas joined with the film’s narrative. A few of the things work in the original that did not in the remake (Freddy coming through the wall, and the decision to keep to a minimum any shots of Freddy’s face), but for the most part the remake is a better paced, better cast film with definitely a better ending.
Much as was the case with the Freddy’s Nightmares series, even the original film occasionally falls into some of the same pitfalls as what would be considered campy by today’s standards. By comparison, this remake feels more deliberate and its villain more sadistic and twisted than the original’s. The script is more focused, the characters more believable (the way the parents were written as oblivious in the original Nightmare is not a problem this time).
For those that call this the worst remake ever or terrible, try taking a look at a remake that actually misses the point of the original film, like Prom Night, Wicker Man or April Fools Day. This film, on the other hand, actually addresses some of the original’s shortcomings and tries to improve upon them. While it doesn’t always succeed, at least there’s an effort on their part to maintain what little made the idea work the first time around.
Personally I really enjoyed this film. I think people need to calm down a little bit.
I liked the movie, but I wont say it was better than the original. Doesnt matter though, the 2010 version was worth going to see. I thought the movie had minor flaws here and there, but mostly was pretty solid. Although, I had one gripe. This is just my opinion, so take it as just that, but I did not like the tinkering with Freddy’s orgins. I always went or watched NOES movies to see Freddy. Freddy was the villain, but he was the one I wanted to see, and you could say even liked. However, the 2010 version makes Freddy more of a pedo or perv who is now killing. I just didnt like that. It was easy to like Freddy, although confirming he was a perv just took a little of the fun out of it personally.
I worried about this movie from day one. Not because I didn’t think it would be an enjoyable film, but because I know with a franchise as beloved as this one, many people would crap all over this re-make no matter the actual quality of the film itself. Sure enough, there are still those who say “They should have used Robert Englund” or “Hollywood needs to leave these classics alone!!!”. I get why people want to cling to the original movie. I love it as much as anyone else, but I kept an open mind about this movie because I enjoy the thought of this story being re-told in an altered light.
All that being said, the movie is far from perfect. There are plenty of elements of the story that should have been developed more. The bloodshed happens a bit too quickly and at such a frenetic pace that it ends abruptly and leaves us with a big gap to fill in the space before the climax. Few, if any, of the characters are likable, making them almost impossible to root for. I wanted this film to take me back to when I first saw the original “Nightmare” and I actually wanted Nancy to find a way to defeat the psychopath that was haunting her. It’s not like they were the morally bankrupt teens that I root for Jason Voorhees to slash to bits. I was more annoyed by these kids than anything.
The movie did have some high notes, though. I loved Jackie Earle’s Freddy. He’s not as over-the-top as Englund was with the character and I enjoyed that part of his performance. Though many of his lines fall short of being as menacing as they were meant to sound, Haley does what he can with a lackluster script. The re-make had enough cinematic nods to the original to make me happy without it coming across as almost a shot-for-shot copy of the original (I’m looking at you Rob Zombie). I loved the new Freddy look but they could have built up the reveal a little more (or at all). The story poses some great questions and opens some unexplored elements of the Freddy mythos, but in the end they remain mostly unanswered and unexplored.
Yeah, I’ll say I was disappointed with this movie, but it wasn’t a hot steaming pile of garbage and is truly enjoyable at times. It just failed to keep that momentum through the whole film and I blame that mostly on the writing. Those that are saying that this film is worse than all of the sequels including “Freddy’s Dead” are probably just bitter that we didn’t see Robert Englund and Wes Craven team back up and just re-create the original with modern special effects.
In short, I think I would rather watch this “re-imagining” or whatever than the originals, which I DID NOT grow up watching when they originally came out. Is it perfect? No. However, I thought the acting was on par or greater to that of any other in the series and Haley made for an awesome Freddy.
After reading countless negative reviews of this film – I felt the need to at least attempt to come to its defense. The major criticisms of the movie have been, thus far, Freddy’s new look and voice, the abundance of dream sequences, Freddy’s origins and diminutive size, the lack of likability for the characters, the lack of Robert Englund, and the use of CGI.
Foremost, we tackle Freddy’s new look. A great deal of people have been comparing him to a “hamster”. I’m not sure what kind of hamsters you’ve seen, so I can’t deny this outright. But I will say this – it is in my very humble opinion that hamsters are adorable little rodents that only the most phobic would cower from. With that said, I don’t think I’d cuddle up next to Freddy. He was burned alive, and indeed, he looks like a burn victim. Granted this is not the same look of the Freddy we have all come to know and love, but to think that someone else could pick up and run with Englund’s look is ludicrous in and of itself. I honestly prefer the burn look to the big nosed spaghetti-faced monster. No offense to Englund, he made Freddy the legend he is, but facts are facts. On JEH’s voice, I have only this to say…he’s not Englund. Yeah, we all have this bias on what Freddy is supposed to sound like – and the only person that can live up to that voice is the main man himself, Englund. With that said, JEH’s voice isn’t bad. If you drop your biases then you might find yourself enjoying the film. And while we’re on Freddy’s look, let us take a gander at his rather diminutive size. Many critics immediately attack the fact that Freddy just wasn’t big enough. Well…if he were supposed to be a lumbering powerhouse, sure you might bring that up. Personally, I was fine with his size. I mean, look at Zombie’s Halloween. Myers is supposed to be stealthy, a shadow, the boogie man. Instead, Zombie went for size…and Myers turned into a lumbering, killing machine. Which is fine…for Jason. But Freddy isn’t supposed to be that. If you want a big Freddy…watch Freddy’s Dead, pause when you see Super Freddy and soak in his magnificence. Now, we’ll turn to Freddy’s origins. In the original, Freddy was a child murderer (it was subtly implied but never specifically stated that he was a child molester). In ANOES’10, they make it pretty clear that Freddy really loves the kiddies…quite a bit more than he should. What we have to realize here is that we’re in an ever changing society – and that’s exactly what it boils down to. Ten years ago, you couldn’t find an album in Wal-Mart that wasn’t censored. Now you buy them with advisories, but all the foul language you can bear. That’s just a sociological fact. America is moving to a more liberal state of mind, and things that were taboo twenty years ago (though still admittedly wrong) are not so hush hush. Freddy’s origins really haven’t changed…they’ve just been clarified to the extreme. With that said, I’ll admit that it would have been a little better for them to keep both aspects of his origin, making him a murderer as well.
On the abundance of dream sequences…read the title. The film is about nightmares and it definitely lives up to that. In the hour and a half we’re there, we’re treated with an abundance of nightmare sequences. Not surprisingly, Freddy is the main dish of this film – and let’s face it, that’s who we came to see. Much like the F13 remake PD aimed to give us what we wanted to see. Freddy Krueger…and a lot of him. Forgive me if I don’t see this as a criticism…but it just doesn’t seem to work.
Now we’ll quickly tackle some minor issues. On the likability of characters, I have only this to say. I watch a slasher film to see teens die…and I have never once watched a slasher and thought to myself “oh no. I like you, please don’t die.” Quite often I find myself rooting for the killer…if your watching a film like this, hoping to like the people, maybe you need to get some real friends, so you won’t care when these die on you.
As Far as Englund not reprising his role, there’s nothing to say. Englund didn’t play Krueger. If that’s a major factor for you, don’t watch it. I found it disappointing, but what we need to realize is that Englund won’t be around forever, and an icon like Freddy will outlive the actors that portray him. That’s just the way it is.
And on CGI…I completely agree. Some of the CGI (like the image of Freddy pushing through the wall) was horribly done. It looked pretty damn horrible. With that said, the originals didn’t exactly have top of the line graphics…and neither does this one. So as far as I’m concerned, no harm no foul.
With all that said, the film was not all I hoped it would be. The kills were pretty unimaginative, and rather bland. Freddy’s snappy one liners were mostly recycled, though I did appreciate the homages to the past films (and it had a great deal in homage to ANOES 1, 4, and FvJ. It’s not the best in the series, but it’s certainly not the worst.
ok, i’m a huge freddy fan, so it’s hard for me to say this movie was great, because nothing is better than the original.
I HAAAAAATE the new Nancy. The old Nancy kicked ass. She was full of spunk. What the hell is up with this Emo Nancy? And her guy friend always looked like he was about to cry.
The cgi wall scene was terrible. i was groaning out loud in the theater.
That being said the rest of the movie was somewhat enjoyable. The artistic direction of some of the scenes (like the class scene and the snowy room scene) was really beautiful.
However, it was hard to like this movie. and i REALLY REALLY wanted to like this movie. i wanted to LOVE this movie. I just wish they would’ve panned out the story more. for a second they taunted you with the notion that he was actually innocent, then five minutes later they were like “nahhh, just kiddin he did it.”
oh well. at least it wasn’t full of slow-mo scenes like in “watchmen” :/
OK, this is coming from a hardcore fan, there’s much potential in a future franchise with Jackie as Freddy. The new film is flawed but certainly not an awful film. However it does lack the suspense of Wes Craven and poorly utilizes the famous moments from the original. Pretty solid acting for a horror film especially Katie Cassidy and Kyle G. who plays Quentin. It seemed like a reversal of good acting and likeability with Nancy and Kris. Rooney lacked the strength and classic looks that made Nancy. I party blamed this on the screenplay b/c Nancy doesn’t shine through until the last act so Rooney could develop her character like Lisa Wilcox did with Alice. Whereas Katie gives a very sincere and plays against the dumb blonde stereotype which the original and countless other films have done. It sucks she’s killed off but that was Wes Craven’s intent in the original to mirror Tina’s character like Janet Leigh’s from Psycho. Overall the script and director needed help. But the kills were great, the set pieces fantastic especially the opening, attic, boiler room, and flashback. I found the pedophile subplot much more unsettling than the child killer. I wish two more character could’ve been added to really let Freddy go nuts and kill in more elaborate ways other than clawing. I agree with most people on the famous freddy through the wall scene. It looks fake and loses the realness that the original had. It should’ve never been done in CGI Everything else that was CGI looked great. Honestly I hope New Line seeks a director who’s a total fan of freddy and really lets loose. The sequels need elements to really let the franchise great like Sam Raimi’s ingenious gross out moments that arc back ti NOES 3-5, The fantasy of Guillermo del Toro, the violent and original deaths of Eli Roth, the edginess of Alejandro Aja, and the suspense of Neil Marshall. I hope sequels do get made b/c there was great stuff in this new NOES but it just was mashed up in a bad way. I mean there’s a lot of room for originality and you don’t have to be Hollywood’s brightest and cash flowing writer/director to deliver a great product. The best stuff come from the unknown, that’s why we have Freddy today, b/c no one wanted to take a chance on Wes Craven and look at where he is today.
Just got back from seeing this movie at the palms in vegas. Driving home I just don’t know what to say about what I watched. I was born in 84 and grew up with Freddy being my favorite horror icon and favorite film franchise. That being said this last movie did have a few good things going for it. Freddy being a lot darker and explaining his origins was my favorite part about it. But the suspense just was not there, and I hate to agree with most people on here but Freddys makeup was god-awful and resembled a burnt hamster. This movie was ultimately for people who barley know the franchise and for the studio wanting to bank on the name. I wanted to give the new Freddy a chance but even though Robert was more comedic he seemed a lot more frightening, it could also just be he does not have the retro feel that the old movies had. But being a reboot you haft to put that aside. The dream sequences were to much of nothing that interesting. It looked amazing from a special effects point of view. The prison dream really is the only one that I thought was done correctly, and the way they all should have been. From watching the trailers the majority of the surprises went right out the door. If the sequel ever does officially get greenlit, I hope they work on a better story, better deaths, and fix the obvious flaws with Freddy. I really believe if you were to compare this to the other nightmare on elm streets this is below new nightmare.
Not surprised by everyone being angry at Dunes again. But I’m writing this review because I didn’t go into the theater with the mindset to constantly compare this film with the original. Honestly there is no comparison, Of course The original A Nightmare On Elm Street is better but this could also be considered a modern day Sequel
JEH’s as Freddy Krueger steals the show as he rightfully should. He dominates the screen anytime he’s on. After disappointing Nightmare Sequels and as Freddy’s jokes got lamer, I wanted to see the Freddy Robert Englund delivered in the Original. JEH in no means plays Freddy like Robert Englund. He makes the character his own leaving a creepy feeling. The fact that Freddy Krueger is a Child Molester and this Freddy dwells on it, all while being deadly and having twisted humor. My only complaint on Freddy is the voice It sounded like Billy Bob Thornton as Carl in “Sling Blade”. To me It’s like what Heath Ledger did as the Joker. He took the character to new heights and JEH Does the same.
The acting is So-So, wouldn’t expect much out of the teenage cast, but Rooney Mara is no Heather Langenkamp but She does have a very appealing look to her and you do learn to care what happens to her character, Btw 84′s Nancy’s last name was Thompson and this one’s is Holbrook. So not totally remade there. While Katie Cassidy is Nice to look at, shes not that into it in some scenes you could totally tell she was there for a check, oh well most of them was I’m sure of it.
Sam Bayer’s first film is nicely directed, and it has some beautiful cinematography. This film is paced well too. The first time I watched it I couldn’t wait for it to end so it seemed slow (I had to pee really badly but didn’t want to miss a thing lol) But a second viewing showed me that it had a nice pace. I enjoyed it just as much the first time I watched it. It was full packed crowd too and the audience was into it screaming every scare that came there way.
Saw it opening day in Vegas on a bachelor party. Could rate it until now, and I’m sure everything that I’m going to say has been said. So I’ll keep it brief. I liked the movie. I was glad for a different take on the story and the characters. My favorite scene was Freddy and Nancy’s interaction while Nancy was pinned down on the bed. I enjoyed the dialogue. My biggest complaint was that Nancy was really a hero in this movie, she just seemed to stumble her way thru without any real plan. Overall, I would like to see this again in the theater.
No matter how good the movie was, there will always be someone who cant help but compare this film to the original. I think that is a bullshit mindset that inhibits you from enjoying innovation. with that said i really enjoyed this remake. Compared to the other famous killers (Michael Myers/ Jason) this one beats the others senseless. Jackie Earle Haley is a great Freddy in my book, and kept Freddy’s dark humor which is liked. It was cool seeing some older scenes re-done, with a little twist thrown in to make it fresher. All around i think it’s a great remake.
Really enjoyed this movie. The original movies changed my life but this was an awesome update. Its refreshing in a no nonsense kind of way. Jackie rocked as Freddy, he absolutely stole the show. I love the original, but Englund was no Pacino, they’re both good in their own ways…I can understand fan’s mixed emotions but this movie entertains! Highly recommended!
“Remember me?” I sure do Freddy! You just weren’t this scary before!
I will start this review with the bad…
Bad acting: Some of the actors needed to go back to acting school and I have no idea how they got to be in this film, this complaint is headed by Kellan Lutz.
He is the torch runner, the opening shot and he isn’t all that good. Maybe twilight has sucked him dry (pun intended), but his performance seemed lazy and unconvincing.
Now, please don’t take that as all of them were bad actors that’s not the case. It was honestly just him and the fella who played Jesse.
The beginning was boring and semi predictable, once again I blame this on Kellan Lutz’s performance.
I hate that kids face, also. No, not Mr. Lutz’s but the lead male, who played Quinton. He always looked like he was smelling poop or that he had to take one.
Positive:
This movie was gnarly. The death scenes were perfect and the twist you didn’t see coming.. I really thought they were going to carry this movie in one direction and BAM! they didn’t… It was a nice disturbing surprise.
Jackie Earle Haley was born to play Freddy, no doubt. His creep factor shot through the roof especially during the flashback scenes. Maybe I’d give this movie a lower rating if it wasn’t for those scenes, they really delivered a message.
Clancy Brown was perfect in his role as the concerned father. He made you believe what he did was necessary and you felt for him, felt the pain and fear that his character felt as the events from the past occured.
This movie is NOT your daddy’s Freddy flick. It’s a lot creepier, more unsettling, and may even scare you in fact. Rumor has it a sequel is being prepped and let me tell you, I’ll absolutely see it.
1 2 Freddy’s coming for you
3 4 Better lock your door
5 6 Grab your crucifix
7 8 Better stay up late
9 10 Freddy’s back again…
What is up with all the love on this website for this movie? Did we see the same movie? Because the one I saw absolutely sucked. The acting was wooden and uninspired, it was completely, totally, horribly predictable. The jump scares were over utilized to cover for what was otherwise an incredibly boring and mundane script. In between the kills, I actually had a hard time staying focused. (And awake)
The CGI was horrific, Freddy was ridiculous (just about the whole crowd I saw it with Saturday night were laughing at him and his voice and his stupid one-liners) and the whole thing was extremely poorly done and ill conceived.
I overheard two girls from the gaggle of 16 year olds there were at my showing talking and it was evident they didn’t even know it was a remake. I’m saddened by the fact that this will be their entry into Freddy’s Nightmares. A poor entry indeed.
First of all let me say that I am not a huge fan of the original series aside from part one. That being said I found Freddy to become more and more annoying and less interesting as the films went on and on. I went into the remake with NO expectations whatsoever. I am certain I will be in a minority when I say that after leaving the theatre I was completely satisfied with the film I had just sat through. JEH is quite capable in the glove and I really like that the movie is simple and gimmick free. It’s a small story that does what it does and it does it well. Freddy isn’t silly and full of quips. He is nasty and vile, not over the top. I look forward to seeing it again.
I’ve seen already 9 sequels of Nightmare On Elm Street series.I believe I’m done.I got what I need 2 know. Thank u anyway.But I will get the DVD of the New Nightmare 2010 film and wait 4 the sequel 2 come 2 DVD as well.And Thanks 2 New Line. I give this New Nightmare On Elm Street a thumbs up.
for all you people bitching about it not being like the original, stfu please. its a goddamn remake. if you want it to be like the original, then go see the fucking original.
i gave the movie 8/10 because i did not agree with some of the make-up for Freddy. other than that, not bad.
Another great remake from Platinum Dunes. They haven’t had a bad one yet and “A Nightmare on Elm Street” was no exception. Had cool scenes reminiscent of the original while adding new cool scenes all its own. Freddy was badass in this one. I’m a fan of the original series but I love this new Freddy. Hopefully it’s only the first of a new series of a darker, meaner Freddy Krueger.
I enjoyed it.
That said, the main negative that keeps me from completely raving about this film is the new Freddy. Jackie is a good actor, IMO, so this isn’t a personal attack on him, as I’m sure he pretty much followed script (with a bit of input, I’m sure). I thought the blandness of his face (the lack of dips and bumps) was a turnoff. I think the thing about Robert Englund is that he had that beak nose (akin to a witch’s) and a face that, alone, could scare. And the new voice was also a definite turnoff. Not sure who came up with the final product (on voice), but the one-toned-note was not the way to go, IMO, and hopefully isn’t the future voice.
Negative outta the way, I thought the kills were pretty friggin’ good. The scares were on-point. I don’t jump a lot (and didn’t jump as much as the dude down the row from me), but I did jump from time to time and I liked that. Also, the backstory scenes were pretty good and informative (strangely, I don’t remember ever even thinking that the original Nightmares hinted at child molester–I always just thought child killer). Oddly, I can imagine a proper set-up where Jackie Earle plays in the backstories and Robert Englund playing Freddy Krueger the monstrosity (Robert Englund, as a live dude, looking the way he does and running from simple suburban folks doesn’t quite come off…but Jackie running works). Something about a film with a character haunting one’s dreams shouldn’t have to worry about a guy growing a few inches and becoming even more monsterish in appearance.
Lastly, I’m there for any sequels/prequels.
Indiana and The King Of Beasts said it all. Its a remake if you like the old ones better watch those and STFU
Awsome movie!!!I fucking luved it.Ive seen it 3 times cant wait to see it again.Although its not as perfect as the original its a fucking hardcore Horror film.Freddys voice was kinda lame but he was so fucking brutal in this film.In sum scenes he actually looked really fucking terrifying.The oppening kill in the movie was so brutal,I luved it.One of freddys best kills ever.For those of you who havent seen it,Go fucking see it already!And for all you fuckin haters out there, FREDDYS BACK!!!!!!
I have to admit I really liked this movie…Although the ending didn’t really sit well with me.I loved the similarities to the original.The nightmsres were awesome.Jackie did a great job playing Freddy.He did a equally great job playing the pre-burn Fred..I really really hope a sequel is made 3-D or not.I want to see how it can be continued and see more of Nancy and Freddy….
This movie was not that great. The new Freddy really tries but his dialouge is not as witty and due to a cliche script it falls short. There are maybe two good scares out of the entire movie but the rest is VERY predictable and lame. The acting is average but I didn’t really care if the characters died or not so you’re not really rooting for Freddy or the main characters. BUT, the killings are cool and interesting and I liked the ending.
Well i just saw it and really liked it dont know what film the haters went to see or why the reveiws are so bad i enjoyed it and liked how it went going to go see it again and with my kid since they want to see it too i cant complain just really liked and i liked all the other freddy movies too and im a real person too not a fake so quit complaining cause people actually liked the film even if it flops dont matter to me i enjoyed it and will see it 2 more times in theatres and cant wait for it to come on dvd
http://skarrkrow.tumblr.com/post/567037774/dont-fall-asleep-isnt-a-warning-its-a-plea
I’m not going to waste my time on giving this a detailed review. I’ve been discussing this abortion of a film in the forums so if you all want my opinions you can head over there to read about what I thought. I will give you this though, this movie is an absolute disaster. A failure on all levels. A turd, quite possibly the biggest fuck up of a movie I’ve ever seen. The people who are in love with this have no idea and you’re the reason why the cunts of producers keep raping our beloved franchises. Fuck PD, fuck Sam Bayer and fuck this lousy shitty movie.
I just watched it today and thank god they didnt fuck it up the orignal elm st movies turned it to comedies after the 1st movie its about time we got a freddy that wasnt like a snl skit! still not perfect but a good start to a new series!
I really hope anyone over 30 and is a horror fan does not think this movie is great. There have only been a couple remakes that have been interesting movies. This is not one of them by any stretch of the imagination. I can now see what all the fuss was about 6 months ago with all the reshoots, and voice alterations. Because during a test shoot people were probably laughing at how bad it was and how very little they were scared. So they went back to the studio and made an absolutely awful move just a bad one. The scenes at times were jumpy, poorly edited, and overall just looked like they hurried this movie. Respect Jackie Earl Hayle, but he did bad in my opinion. Not fair to compare him to Robert Englund and maybe this would be a hard charecter to play but he looked like a wimpy runt with too much makeup on to really choreograph the charecter. Too bad when they had to edit in (and you can tell they did this) about 3 scenes of the finger knives scrapping the metal piping with sparks, to get any kind of fright. This is not even to mention the stupid edits of pop up frights that are only meant to get you to jump out of your seat. The original sequels they really connected the charecter to Freddy’s past and Robert did great at that. Their attempt to me to connect the dream Freddie to the past in this one just didnt connect to me. I did not see the burned Freddy and the Child molester Freddy connect in any way. It just seemed like a burned monster and a scrawny weird gardner were supposed to be the same and it did not connect to me. When they flashed back in the original sequels Robert was creepy, and very gross (remember the scene where he is licking the back of those photos). I could see dream Freddy and non burned Freddy as the same. The two in this garbage did not seem the same to me.
The acting, well it was horrible and the charecters to me made no sense. No chemistry between any of them, none of them seemed to be dreaded in what they were supposed to be going through. In the original you felt everything these kids were being put in. These charecters just seemed like slacker kids (or ones that can’t act). The originals said so much of what they were going through and the times of being a teenager. Some reason made it scarier. Poor casting all around. Not one charecter seemed to fit. Maybe the mother, and her charecter is completely meaningless.
I kept also waiting for some of the classic scenes to have a fresh look. Nothing! This may have been one of the more dissappointing parts. The blood shooting out of the bed replaced by globs of blood from the ceiling and someone falling out of it?? The very famous wall, ceiling killing redone by some quick tossing and turning on the wall?? stupid…and nothing where Freddy is in the alley and his arms extend out?? at least give an attempt to pay hommage!
This should be an insult to teens and twenty somethings to think that the studio put out this movie thinking “well we’ll just put out some boring, dont have to think scare pop up fest that awkward teens dont have to think too much about to garner a gazzillion dollars”. If this is a sign (i actually think the sign has already been made) of what is to come of horror, then the genre is in a lot of trouble.
I had to go home and watch the original twice to see a real Nightmare movie, and watch The remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre to prove that a decent remake can be made. I’m not one to say “dont waste your money”. Do what you want with your money. I had heard myself that this was not a good movie.And I spent 10 bucks. But I was bored and curious. I always do that to myself with movie think “well just because the reviewers did not like it…” but just remember, especially if you are over 30..it is just bout the money anymore, and little to do with good, quality movies.
Yawn.
Everything sucks about this movie,there’s nothing good to take from it! It’s like the friday the 13th remake, but only worse. Once again platinum dunes have failed on every level, you dumb fuckers should have done freddy vs jason 2, or a prequel in the first place!
I really enjoyed this movie! I admitt they didn’t do to good with jason but they did very well with the chainsaw massacre. I would have to say this one is in the middle more leaning toward to how good the chainsaw massacre was. as for robert englund not beingg freddy: He said himself that he was too old to go on being Freddy, when i fist heard that, i was very sad and didnt think that the movie would be good but then one day i was watching a movie called little children, i saw the pedophile character named ronnie and i thought to myself “this guy would be perfect if he were freddy if it’s not gonna be Robert then let it be Jackie.” Then, i saw on here that they were having Jackie play the role and i was very happy he did very well. my overall of the movie was that simply i loved it, i will definitly see it again and buy it on dvd. for all those who are commenting bad…. (from seeing what was said about the movie made me not want to see it i thought is was going to be worse than Jason, i did not let those negative comments get to me because i was waiting so long to see it and was very comfortable with the new Freddy so i saw the movie and it wasn in anyway dissapointing.) so its ur opinion just remember that its a remake and nothing is perfect if u didnt like it then a simple “wasnt something i was looking foward to” is fine. Be respectful. :]
First let me start off with the fact that there are very few remakes i’ve actually liked.
Well I won’t lie when I decided to watch it, I was hesitant, The nightmare on elm street movies have always been some of my favs (well up till part 3 haha) but surprisingly I actually liked it.
It did have some shitty acting in it at parts, but my main deal was with Nancy, it just didn’t work for me.
I was really happy with who they chose to play Freddy, yet again I was hesitant about it but he really pulled it off.
With a movie like this though people are going to put the original on a pedestal, and granted it deserves to be there, but they did bring a couple new things to the table.
All and all, i’m glad I didn’t pay to see it in the theaters but it wasn’t a total crap movie, there were things I think they could have done better but it was an alright movie.
After all this hype about this movie, I finally went to see it. I tried to stay awake in some of the parts and the “boo” factor had gotten overused. This is just a remake for the sake of saying so. It did not offer anything more than the original had already done. It is true to the story but I think they went overboard with presenting the story to the point that they were forgetting that this is supposed to be a horror flick! All the children in the backstory is good but I think it was turning into a Nancy Drew story for children rather an adult orient over- the-edge horror flick. Only the bloody scenes reminded you that it was a horror flick. Take those scenes out, and theres not much left of it to be worth keeping.
Nightmare remake did not evolve as I think it should to top the original but personally Robert Englund doing the lovable original Freddy had something to do with it being so successful. This remake falls short in the scare department and in the gore department thus failing to be the great remake that the promoters said it would be.
This is another remake that gets mixed reviews and people fight about it because you either love it or hate it. I thought it was a fine retelling of the first nightmare. It is not a shot for shot scene for scene copy and fresh ideas were added to make this something interesting. We’re told more about Freddy and were given a better visual of who he was before he was murdered. I thought his glove was exlpained rather clearly. I think sometimes people and reviewers do not pay attention and love to write negative things to make a scene. The acting was not bad either.
You cannot compare this movie to the original. I’ve seen this movie twice. I enjoyed it more the second time because I promised myself to go in and take it as a whole different movie. The film makers really messed up the remade parts such as the hand in bath tub and Freddy coming out of the wall. The deaths weren’t that original, but the story made sense and why they changed it just a bit. This was probably the most anticipated movie for me in a long time. And the final product let me down, but it was great to see Krueger back on the screen again.
man, i think if some of the fanboys could get off of robert englunds nuts for a few seconds they might have liked the movie more. i thought it was a great starting point to build on. i look at the difference between the original and say… the third, dream warriors. the entire franchise evolved so much between those films, as did freddy’s charecter. so i definately expect to see a similar level of evolution, a similar level of change between this new remake and any subsequent sequals… PD has established a strong foundation off which to build a new legacy, and i’m excited to be along for the ride. definately one to see for yourself. oh and mr. digusting’s review is rediculous, .5 out of 5… really, holy f*ckin fanboy, he’s got his head way to far up robert’s a$$. sissy too, talkin ’bout ” euh, it wasn’t even scary…”, you a grown f*ckin man, of course it wasn’t scary
THIS WAS THE FIRST MOVIE THAT I ACTUALLY WALKED OUT OF IN A LONG TIME..
I REALLY LIKED PD’S TCM AND F13TH REMAKES.. BUT THIS WAS JUST FLAT OUT HORRIBLE.
THE CHASE SCENE OF FRED KRUEGER GETTING KILLED BY THE PARENTS SHOULD OF BEEN THE OPENING SCENE, THERE WASNT ONE SCARY PART IN THE ENTIRE MOVIE..
THE ACTORS WERENT LIKABLE, AND THE PARENTS ACTED HORRIBLY.
I CANT FATHOM HOW THIS MADE IT TO THE MOVIES, BUT IT DID.. IM NOT EVEN A HUGE FAN OF THE ORIGINAL, I MEAN DONT GET ME WRONG I GREW UP ON IT BUT ALWAYS LIKED MYERS N JASON MORE..
THE CGI WAS AWFUL, THE KILLS HORRIBLE..
SO BAD SO BAD..
Neat.
The pacing is awful and there is no build up to Freddy. He’s just there with no scare factor, always in your face. Plus his one-liners were cheap as hell. The Tina death was weak. It was no where near the level of raw terror that the original was and always will be. All of the scenes they got from Craven’s Nightmare were all watered-down. In a nutshell this “Nancy”,the cast, the CGI and story all suck. Save your money!
I love this review of the new “Nancy” from another site:
“That fault [of caring about the characters] cannot lie entirely with Bayer, though whatever directorial skills he might possess that are most certainly repressed here, he might have looked into his arsenal for something to wake Rooney Mara up. Outside of a few films on the festival circuit, Mara hasn’t exactly broken out yet. And if this performance is any indication, it will stay that way since most actors need more than one expression in their repertoire of emotion. Kuleshov’s subject projected more to the audience than Mara, whose work kills off Nancy well before Freddy ever gets his shot. Heather Langenkamp’s Nancy was in the great tradition of proactive heroines. Not only was she reading about “Booby traps & improvised anti-personnel devices” but went “exploring” into her dreams to help find out what’s happening to her friends. In this Elm St., Freddy gets a late monologue that practically spells out a three-point plan to his own defeat. And it STILL doesn’t seem to register. Mara’s Nancy is a walking micronap who, when finally reduced to a stand-in for a Pulp Fiction homage by getting a shot of adrenaline into her chest, finally wakes up to say, I kid you not, “Quentin, get him!” ”
Taken from:
http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=19472&reviewer=198
My Score 0.0 Terrible and unforgivable- I give this no stars.
I was against this remake at first, like so many others. I remember saying in 2005 that Hollywood should stay away from Halloween, Friday the 13th, and most of all, A Nightmare on Elm Street. I liked the remake of Friday the 13th, and Halloween was…ok. When I started seeing the trailers for the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, I thought it actually looked very good and I had some pretty high expectations. When I finally saw the movie, I’m glad to say it exceeded those expectations. I LOVE this movie. I very much enjoyed the new take on Freddy Krueger. I thought it was the best remake of ANY movie to date. I can’t wait for a sequel. Guys at Platinum Dunes, I’m going to need you to get on that and a sequel to Friday the 13th ASAP. And who knows, maybe one day we’ll see a more serious version of Freddy vs. Jason. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) is a great movie! 11/10 stars.
I just watched Nightmare on Elm St. All I got to say is THANK YOU for taking a shit on my favorite horror movie BASTARDS! A remake of Nightmare on Elm St has soo much potential. I can’t believe there are supposed to be 2 more of these coming.
I’m going to just assume anyone who gives this crap a good review is under 20 with ADD and zero knowledge of the original.
I liked it…u have to go into the movie knowing that it is not completely a remake and that they made the movie their own…I think they did a good job… I wish Jackie looked more like a burn victim and less like a lizard but overall I liked what they did
This movie desperately needed characterization. All the characters were the flattest they could get… ugh and it was toooo dramatic. It’s a shame, they had the chance to bring Freddy back and they fucked it up. Oh and by the way, I didn’t jump once, nore feel tense in the least bit.
DUNES if u see my mesage your movie was horrible,i wasted my money time looking at behine the scene footages,reviews on youtube for months,you guys just mess up my fav horror flick of all time beside this was not nightmare on elm street didnt feel like it at all,only wes craven can do this film,and im pissed you dudes took all the footage out yall show up,the church scene,zip lock scene,making th glove,drunken mother of nancy where was that,the eyes appering behine the box in the attic,this movie SUCKED.
This was the worst remake ever!!!. Why did they have to touch it. I grew up with the original film and I feel bad that the younger generation is gonna grow up with this piece of crap. There is no more originality left so people try to improve originals and in the process ruin them. I’m so pissed and sad that this happened. Hey I got an idea leave good shit alone and come up with your own tales.
BOOOOORING!
Seriously, there was NO Tension – you just had stupid Jump-Scares and some laughable CGI-Scenes…
Jackie was ok, but his MakeUp looked stupid in some Scenes!
Nancy… I can
Ok first ive seen the original and the whole rest of the series ANOES was the first horror movie I ever saw and always has been my favorite series(obviously went down hill with the exception of new nightmare which I thought was great) I need to say THIS IS NOT THE ORIGINAL!! So I don’t see y people keep comparing it. Obviously yes it’s a remake but u can’t compare it to the original because this is a different movie and yes many have had high hopes for this and many were let down but like I said this is a DIFFERENT movie. I’m not saying this is an amazing movie or anything but if u take it for what it was it was a decent movie and I personally liked to actually be able to see Freddy on the big screen for the first time.(YES I LIKED HALEY) Of course every1 will think of Englund as Freddy but I thought he did an amazing job on how he was told to do what he was supposed to do for how it was written.(you can only do what u can with what your given)and he made the most of it he made Freddy his own (omg yes not englunds)and did a damn good job if I may say so myself. Yes there was some bad acting at times and Rooney was a horrible Nancy but again she did what she did for how it was written. I’m not rectifying her performance she most definitely still could have done a better job but what do u expect from some1 who most of us never heard of. If you go into a horror movie thinking there’s going to be amazing acting you’ve never actually watched horror movies alot of the time the acting is horrible to say the least. Now onto the story it stayed true to the original but added sum of its own characteristics and once again it is a DIFFERENT movie they set out to try to make it a movie of they’re own and that’s what they did. If they made it the same thing people would complain it’s the same as sum are saying they changed certain things too much. If they made Freddy look exactly the same people would complain as they do that he looked too different or crappy. (Its a double edged sword if u ask me. what’s the point of doing the exact same thing u might as well re-release the original) They obviously knew it would take some flack after the other remakes but they did it anyway and I for one am thankful because now we have a starting block for the better to come. Yes its the same story but no crap DUHHH its a remake you have to tell the story to open things up for the series to evolve with sequels or then u have no idea what’s going on and its just another sequel with all new actors. I apologise for sum of my ranting but people these days don’t appreciate horror movies for what they are anymore they read into things and over analyze toooooo much. But back to my review. I did think they stood a little too much on the story but overall I think they balanced it well enough to really get what they wanted across. They could have had things in a little different order as well I did feel they jumped around I guess a little too much. As for the kills I liked what they did except for the cgi at parts which I am completely against to begin with. If it was balanced more with regular f/x maybe but with the exception a few parts I thought they did a pretty decent job. Now I explained what I thought of Haley’s performance but as for the overall look of Freddy I thought it was a nice change (again u can’t make him look exactly the same or what’s the point). In my opinion (yes these reviews are opinion driven) Freddy looked great he was different and was very nicely done with the exception of a few instances. Overall I was very happy to see a new ANOES film even if it wasn’t exactly the best film ever made which most people think it has to be to actually like a movie. I greatly enjoyed it and I hope a sequel (sequels) will just improve upon what they started with this one.
This movie was awesome. I couldn’t have asked for a better remake. It was more brutal, more creepy, and left me feeling very shocked when I found out that everyone hated it. I fully support the new Freddy and I hope they make more!
Over all this is one of the better remakes but there where still a few problems i have with it. Fist thing that i didnt like was all the loud noises and jump cuts. It seemed to me that every “scare” in the movie was a sudden loud noise and that seemes kind of cheap to me.
Another thing i didnt care for was the abundence of CGI. this wasn’t a huge problem for me, but things like the classic wall scene where ruined by it.
And the obvious problem was not having Robert Englund. Not that Jackie didnt do a good job, its just that Freddy and Robert are one in the same to to me.
That said, there where things i did like about the film. i thought that all the problems with staying awake, such as micronaps, really made the film believable in that sence. i also thought it was nice to have the kids acting like real people instead of the anoying jackass kids such as the ones in the Friday the 13th remake.
If you go into this film with an open mind, you will enjoy it. But if you chose to go into it with a negative state of mind, you just nitpick the hell out of it. I liked this a lot. The recreation of the wall scene sucked and the girl getting pulled to the ceiling scene was rather ridiculous, but it was good. It certainly wasn’t the best (or worst) remake ever, but it was better than the Psycho and Halloween remakes (and H2). So please have mercy on the great cast and crew of this film, especially the director.
For a supposedly scary film whose main goal is encompassed in its motto, “Never sleep again.”, it is shockingly humdrum, like the thin, emaciated teenage actors that are mostly looking bored, and just merely using the excuse of “not sleeping ever again” to mask their apathy. I would be, too, if I were one of them. What a miserable, indifferent film; whereas the original was not an Oscar-winning film, it was terrifying in its practicality, its seamlessness of the real world and the dream world. Perhaps what was great about Craven’s original was that the teenagers themselves were grounded, really, literally grounded in their earthly-bound reality, that as soon as that reality started crumbling down, due to that certain cackling entity with a penchant for drawn-out sadism, they were very sympathetic in their own plights; not so much in this remake, wherein intelligence, and a single iota of genuine artistic vision is looking for a needle in a haystack. And the fact that the director had the balls to insult horror fans (he did specifically say ‘some’ of the horror fans in the community, but irregardless…), it just proves where his intentions lie: to serve the soul-draining, superficial and capitalistic money-grabbing machine, which has always been there all along, but now it is more shameless and ostentatious. Shame shame shame! Us, horror fans should come together and DEMAND quality films, horror or otherwise, remake or not!
Not the worst Freddy film but not the best either. This entry falls somewhere in the middle. This film brings nothing new to the franchise. The lack originality keeps it from feeling fresh.
Okay, after see this remake twice now, I have come to believe this movie is the ‘dunes boys best remake since the Texas Chainsaw Massacre! Although I loved Friday the 13th, this was a better movie.
Meh, is the only word i can conjure up for this film..
I will admit right know that i LOVED it but their are so many things wrong with it. that its hard not to ignore the flaws.
The film is slow going and feel like a pick and mix of the original spliced in with reshot footage. Most of the plot is extremely predictable and the only reminisce of the original are the shameful copys of iconic scenes and lines of dialouge i specifically remeber laughing and dying inside at jackie uttering the line “hows this for a wet dream”
all in all i would say its a movie worth watching but its very samey as the rest of the crap spewed by platinum dunes and this redo lacks the unpredicabilty of freddy and the feistyness of the kids to stay alive, they kind of just quiver and scream they dont run and freddy does not give chase, so its quite Dull although some of the kills are pretty awesome Jesse’s comes to mind as my favourite
WHEN he’s not bringing his own brand of Bay-hem to the big screen as a director Michael Bay likes to act as producer to a whole host of horror remakes including The Amityville Horror, Friday 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
It’s now the turn of 1984′s A Nightmare On Elm Street.
The concept of the original film is one of horrors finest.
Man with knives for hands and melted face kills you in your dreams terrifying.
At least it was to me when age far to young I watched it.
Being a little older now this reboot of the movie was unlikely to scare me it also disappointed too Jackie Earle Haley (Rorscarch from Watchmen) makes a so so Freddy not up to the standards of Robert Englund who would make this film watch-able.
The People he’s killing are a reallyy tedious interchangeable bunch of emo kids and director Samuel Bayer seems to have one setting for horror – the jump scare – which obviously only works the first couple of times.
The flashy visuals and CGI don’t add anything and for a film whose cast is desperate to stay awake while watching it may find you struggling to
I quite enjoyed this film but there was quite a lot of things wrong with it.
A lot of the scenes seemed thrown together and it was full of cliches and laughable dialogue. The CGI was pretty bad and the scenes that played homage to the original were not very effective either.
Despite all this I was still entertained throughout. The film moved at a good pace and we get to see a lot of Freddy (even if the majority of the time he is only seen briefly for a few seconds). I thought that Jackie Earle Haley gave a good performance and I liked some of his one liners (although they start to get a bit tiring by the end!).
The score was OK but nothing as good as the original music.
One thing that I would say has improved is the ending. Then again you can’t really get much worse than a doll being dragged through a window (I still love that part though just because it was so funny)!
Really seriously we need to stop with the remakes. I love the original Nightmare and must say I was extremely disappointed in this one. I was unimpressed with Jackie Earle Haley’s portrayal of Freddy. There was way too much CGI in the film from my taste and the fact that they changed Nancys’ name from Thompson to Holbrook really took away from the movie. Nancy still lived in 1428 and was the main character but why change her name? Freddy and Nancy are a package deal and I don’t feel that she was even properly portrayed as being the main character. Freddy is pure evil in the first one and Nancy was a good-girl who was smart and played by the rules, which is how she defeats him to begin with. Nancy being an idiot waitress who is only being killed because she was “his favorite” ruins the character for me. I also didn’t like the fact that (again with this in remakes) they killed someone (very poorly might I add) before we even get to see the opening credits, how about something more original and a little built up? Everything in this movie was from the other Nightmare movies and Freddy Vs Jason….all the kills, nothing was original there was no imagination, no scare factor. Freddy is pure evil I mean granted this is a remake but why is it that with all these remakes we are constantly reusing the same death scenes can no one ins Hollywood find a new and exciting way to kill a teenager? The actors in this movie playing the kids also threw me off, they looked a little old to still be in High School and where dull. Another thing that ever so slightly aggravated me was when Kris had her dream sequence before she was killed was that Freddy killed her dog….that reminded me of the Halloween remake. Another thing is that in the original Nightmare he gets killed for being a child killer not a pedophile….granted they lightly touched on it but still why change the character in that way? They could have made him look better. Why do we always have to use CGI for EVERYTHING? I hated the fact that Freddys’ face looked like complete crap. They completely destroyed this movie and shouldn’t have even remade it. The script could have been so much better and half the stuff they showed in the trailer that could have had potential weren’t in the film. The pool scene that they showed in the trailer as well as the kid falling through the glass window could have added a lot to the story line and also made the movie a lot more interesting. Another big issue with this movie is that Kris is portrayed as the main character, even in the trailers she is portrayed this way, jeez up until she dies Kris might as well have been the main character because Nancy is a idiot, the whole film. Too many of the scences were mashed together and made no sense like Nancy seeing Kris in the body bag, I understood the purpose behind it but it was random, same with Freddys one liners, amusing somewhat but in the end it was annoying. Its all the same old crap, and same old kills, I really think its time for Hollywood to come up with something new and creative.
I loved it. It successfully brings back the dark Freddy Krueger back to the big screen.
Jackie Earle Harley was excellent as Freddy, I loved the new Nancey, the dream sequences were great, the gore was plenty and the finale runs circles around the underwhelming one of the original.
My only issues were the CGI work and some of the acting was off.
Nowhere near as bad as fans are saying it is. A satisfying entry in the franchise.
okay, this movie is really bad. i don’t care what anyone says. it’s as bad as all platinum dunes films. first of all the cgi was shit, especially when he came through the wall it looked like the frighteners. the cast was just a bunch of people that i didn’t care about. Nancy was boring and whiny. the only two good thing about this movie Jackie Earl Haily, he did the best of what he had and, the micro naps was a good idea but, that’s it. the make up of Freddy looked like some retarded fish. the ideas where stupid a map to the fucking dream world the dream world shouldn’t have a map because, it’s a dream. and, i’m not even going to compare it to the original because, it doesn’t deserve that. i read on the platinum dunes web site about how the producer said well, all of the classic like Dracula, Frankenstein, the mummy and so forth where remade but here is the thing those where good your remakes are not hell you original movies are not the unborn is a chick walking around with a camel toe the whole time. anyway back on topic this movie suck. sorry but, that’s the truth. it will be forgotten like most of their remakes
I lovvvve this movie
I lovvvve this movie
It was cool to see freddy and it’s a good movie if you wanna scare your girl/guy who doesn’t do scary movies, fun to watch not to difficult the kills and homages were awesome. Jackie Earl Haley freddy was brilliant and horrorgeek89 i love the retarded fish, I have never truly “loved” the 80′s scholckyness it bothers me to a certain degree, just personal opinion. Seriously awesome no, fun YES, HELL YES just to see freddy and its not the mess that Friday the 13th (remake) was. fun enjoyable, AND HALEY IS KICKASSERY AMAZINGLY GOD!!! loved him but again personal opinion.
I thought it was an excellent remake.. >_>
Boo. It was laughable.
I want Mr. Disgusting’s review on the movie.
Not as bad as the official review would have you believe, however compared to the original, it falls short. I have to confess that I am biased, since I loved the original movie. This is a credible movie on its own, but will never replaced the original as a true nightmare.
OK,when i first heard there was going to be a NOES remake i was almost angered by the thought of it. robert englund is the man and when i heard that he wasnt going to return i said then i wouldnt see a remake no way.the release date came around and i found myself very excited to see freddy on the big screen again…during the movie i found myself with a evil grin on my face more than once with freddys smart asses creepy remarks. he deff wasnt roberts humorus kills and jokes but he had some creepy lines with a creepy kill. i found some things in the movie seemed really rushed like the director was to excited to slow down and explain things better.no time to explain the characters or really explain anything. freddys make up is horrible compaired to the original . i know hes based off a real burn victum but he just dosent look how he should at all,deff not scary like he was when i was a kid.freddy was given a few famous lines from past nightmare movies i found that kind of cool. also seeing famous scenes like the bathtub scene with nacy and killing nacys friend “cris” flying around in the bedroom was well done. freddys creepyness deff made up for a little lack of story line. the best overall way i can think of this movie is it dosent touch the original NOES or robery englunds work at all. but it opens up freddy to a new gen of horror fans and all the kids who are to young to know the real freddy. i campaired jackies performance as freddy to roberts freddy the same way i did with jack nicholson as the joker and heath ledger as the joker. jack was funny and evil badass at the same time,dancing around and pulling a 3 foot long gun from his pants. and heaths joker was dark,twisted and evil laughing while batman beats the shit out of his and telling the storys of his scars. 2 sides to the coin..2 diffrent takes on freddy. both are very good. so take my advice. dont make the mistake i did in compairing the new and old fredddy,they are 2 sides of a very twisted cool and class character. so overall i did like the movie alot i find myself wanting to watch it again just to get a fresh breth of freddy..but then i will throw my original in the dvd player just to get the classic take.
Finally saw A Nightmare on Elm Street and all my fears for the film came true. It says a lot when after 10 minutes I thought watching Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare would be more preferable than to this garbage. At least that film is entertaining.
So what went wrong? Everything…
The characters are one dimensional and are so dull I just didn’t care about them. Nancy was just so depressing and her group of friends were as interesting as watching paint dry. As for saying they were a group of friends, well that’s a stretch as I never felt like they were mates with one another. In the original, all four main characters were likeable in their own way. Wes Craven created a group of teens that we could care about and root for. In fact this was a trait of the entire Elm Street series, all the sequels had characters that were likeable and you got to care about them. That’s why everyone remembers characters such as Nancy Thompson, Kristin Parker, Joey, Kincaid and Alice Johnson. I don’t think anyone’s going to remember the teens in Elm Street 2010.
The actual direction by Samuel Bayer was by the numbers and it’s quite clear that he has no real grasp for the genre. There was absolutely no atmosphere, no tension or any kind of creepiness that the original film had in abundence. The original film, racked the tension up to ten. The opening sequence with Tina in the boiler room had atmosphere oozing from the screen but there wasn’t anything like that in this film. How about when Tina gets killed in the original. Craven racks up the tension with a thrilling chase scene in the back alleys of Elm Street, followed by Krueger showing how he delights in harming himself to know effect in her backyard. By the time we get to the actual death scene, we are drained and really feel for Tina. Not in the remake though. Kris has a little encounter with Krueger but nothing to match the heights of 1984 and the death scene fall way short . She floats in the air, slammed round a bit and then gets slashed down the middle of her chest. Whoppee. Remember how Tina died in the first, Freddy under the covers with her, Tina peeling his face off, then being dragged up the wall and ceiling whilst being slashed. That scene was amazing!!
Some scenes in the remake felt lazy and relied on using some of the originals signature scenes to useless effect. Freddy appearing from the wall in Nancy’s bedroom, goes to prove that CGI isn’t always the best option. It looked like a crappy computer effect. Compare it to the original where it actually looked real, as if Freddy was coming through the wall. The bathtub scene, also boring.
Now Robert Englund is one enthusiastic person and when he said that he was happy for a remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, he mentioned the fact how amazing the nightmares could be with todays technology. I agree with him on this point so why were all the nightmares in this remake so bum numbingly boring. The nightmares were not imaginative in any way and the kills were all the same; Freddy using his claw. The original, as low budgeted as it was still had great death scenes…Tina’s as already mentioned, Rod’s whilst hanging may not be the most creative kill, the way Craven led up to that scene with Nancy’s nightmare with Tina in the body bag and eels and scorpians at her feet and the fact that his death looked realistic in the real world. And then we have Glen’s death, the grand finale, the bed bath. These were what the Elm Street films were about. There were no scenes that let the creativeness of these types of film shine through. The phone with the tongue was shocking in the original but there wasn’t anything remotely close in the remake.
If you thought the ending to the original was a head scratcher, then this one takes the cake. I saw it two fold, one a cheap dig at the Wes Craven ending and two a lame way to ensure a sequel will be made. Let’s hope it’s not the latter as I just don’t think I could take the boredom.
As for Freddy himself, well I found him plain dull. There was no energy to the performance and the make up just didn’t gel with me. I feel sorry for Jackie Earl Hayley as he is always going to be compared to Robert Englund but seriously just compare performances. Englund nailed the character. He is so evil in the original Elm Street whilst adding a delicious black humour to proceedings.
Platinum Dunes continue to prove that they don’t know this genre that we love and are just using as many brand horror names as they can to make their money. Although Robert Shaye is credited as Executive Producer I would like to know how much input he had, as he no longer works at New Line and loves Freddy as much as the fans (I believe he didn’t want it remade either from the doc Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy). Wes Craven definitely didn’t want a remake and I can imagine that he would hate this film if he chooses to view it. As for the enthusasm of Robert Englund, well even he must know that t
Sadly, this movie does not live up to the hype. I was hoping for a gritty dark re-make, that included a new age twist, as well as the fabric that made the original so great (like the new Friday the 13th). But, it failed.
Although, the elements were there, and it had every opportunity to be great, it just seemed to fizzle and pop when it counted. Unlike what made the originals fun, and fresh, this one lacked to take any creative or new chances with the kill scenes. And, after taking a look back at some of the deaths in the originals, this one had no inventive kills.
The ending was lame, and to be honest the story was kind of boring. I thought, “well, at least the insight to Freddy’s past will be worth it!” I thought wrong.
It has little re-watch-ability, and it’s not even fun enough to watch while having a few beers with your buddies over. And besides the loud pingin’ and tappin’ sound effects, it’s not very scary, or creepy. The only reason I gave this movie two stars is because of Brother Justin from Carnivale.
Sorry Freddy, maybe don’t take yourself so seriously next time.
I am a huge fan of the originals (the first being my faverate) Michael Bay and co were not as loyal to this cult classic ans they have been in their previous visits down the horror lane for a bay remake this was a let down . The make up was a huge let down for me , they changed it way to much for my liking , howevr JEH played the part of Freddy very well , his movement nad glove actions were second only to Robert Englund himself JEH literly carried this movie from start to finish he and the original deserve better. The opening scene was in my mind ireelevant , why the hell start in the diner!? They should of done it showing Freddy getting burned alive! The acting was awfull by the teens (especailly nancy and tinas boyfriend well a name change in this movie for some reasion her names chris!) Anyways . The film itself wasnt bad in places it had the gore to keep average horror fans happy but if you like the originals then DONT SEE THIS MOVIE AT THE CINEMA!Its hard to write a review for such a popular franchise without ruining it with spoilers but im going to begin spoilers now! The tinas death scene for me is the most graphic in the origal series this time its bog standered regan style tossing round the room with a tricle of blood and her boyfriend doing a cheesy scream in the corner before jumping out the window . Nancy isnt really featured in this movie until tina (chris) is dead. For me Nancy is one of the key charictors in the movie!The final battle scene was also a let down because there was no blood , just one joke from freddy no traps set by nancy and it took place in the preschool that for some un mentuned reason the teens forgot about!! come on Wesley Strick, Eric Heisserer what the f**k were you thinking? no matter what age you are you are not going to forget such horrific memories in real life . The ending wasnt to bad it shows nancy and her eqally deppressing mother hugging and out of nowhere freddy puts his claw through her eyes and drags her through the mirror, which means they are planning a sequal , if they are , then they better do abetter job than this a higher better writters because the whole dialog suked . I gave it a 6 because of JEH performance under pressure from every angle i thought he done very well , and also the gore in places was good but thats it apart from that its the worst movie in the series
i loved this movie!.. i thought it was a lot better than the original!.. I thought that Jackie’s version of Freddy was miles better than Robert Englund’s because i prefered the direct approach that Jackie gave to his version of Freddy!.. having said that, this movie is aimed at attracting a new fanbase and if you watch this expecting it to be like the original then you will be disappointed!.. for me this was exactly what i wanted this movie to be like, a fresh approach!.. for me this is by far the best Platinum Dunes movie that has been made!.. that’s my opinion and i know that many wont agree with me!.. i genuinly enjoyed this movie! hope to see another new Elm street movie i the future!! Jackie’s version of Freddy didnt disappoint!..
Sigh. Will who ever decides to do these freakin’ remakes actually ask people who love the original and want to see a decent remake why the love the original?? Maybe that way they will get a better clue why they are remaking a classic and keep the things that work and make those that don’t better! I give it new Freddy, he had a HUGE set of claws to fill. While I feel that there can never be another Englund Freddy, the new Freddy wasn’t really why the movie sucked. Granted his voice sounded like jigsaw from Saw and he ISNT ROBERT ENGLUND but for what he could do with the role I give him an A. To me it was the f-ed up writing, lame CGI, lame character development- I didn’t give a shit who lived or died, I was just rooting for something interesting 2 happen- and boring and quick death scenes. How can u make Freddy with out having Freddy kill slowly and make some great comments while doing it?? Freddy is supposed to stalk the kids but in the remake he just kills them fast- that’s no fun! This gives me much more respect for the Friday the 13th remake which got the “flaver” of it’s original sooo much better. It’s sad to me that teens will see this movie before the original and never really get the feeling of who Freddy is supposed to be
The remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street was promised to be a darker version of Freddy without the wisecracks. The only problem is if you go back to the orginal one Freddy had not started the wisecracks yet and it was just as serious and dark as this one was. So did this one really need to be remade? Why not? As long as it’s just as good as the orginal, remains true to the spirit of the orginal, and gives you a new twist or two than I say it’s okay. Of course you risk the flaming arrows of those who will not like it no matter how good it is but that’s life. I’m not going to say I liked it better than the orginal but I did like it just as much and in this day and age of movie remakes that’s about all you can ask. It had the creepy mood, moments that made you jump and of course Freddy sporting his new look. Give it a fair shot and you might be suprised how much you like it.
I love the original Noes and Robert IS Freddy to me, but when I heard that Jackie would be playing the new Freddy I thought I’d give it a shot, and I wasn’t disappointed.
The remake is a much darker, more reality driven and Gothic version of the original story. Jackie’s Freddy is a much more sinister and vicious character and a whole other beast than Roberts version. I really liked how the movie seemed to be almost dream like in its composure and that they had used the original theme as an inspiration for the soundtrack.
If you go into the cinema expecting it to be anything like the original you will most probably be disappointed. If you go in with an open mind and is a fan of J.E.H you will probably like this movie.
Slight Spoilers may follow
I don’t think the new Nightmare is a bad film, nor is it a great one. It’s serviceable. I take a lot of issue with the B-D podcast’s negative views of these remakes because, they’re just that, remakes, and Platinum Dunes is trying to do something somewhat different. Yet the originals are supposedly sacred and, in many ways, I take more issue with those. Granted, they’re a product of their time, but they’re flawed — there are similar plot holes or instances of dumb writing in both the old and the new. I’m tired of giving things a pass because of when they came out, while bashing the remakes because “they should know better” or “they’re better equipped to make it a better film”. To be honest, I would personally rate the original NoES maybe a half skull higher. It’s decent, but not great.
One thing I have to ask: how is it acceptable to cheer for a child murderer, but a pedophile is taboo? The new B-D podcast — and the official review — bring this up, and it makes no sense to me. I never really cheered for Freddy, or Jason, or Michael to begin with. Their killing sprees were the means to the end. When they slaughtered the teens, it was gruesome and exciting, yes, but it was building me up to the moment when the protagonist would best the killer. At the end of the movie, you always wanted to see the killer killed. So no, I don’t think I ever cheered for the killers — I just wanted to see what gruesome deaths the filmmakers could think up — and then see the killers get bested.
Anyways, back on the topic of the new Nightmare on Elm Street…it’s decent. JEH did a fantastic job with Freddy. I liked the more subtle, dark humor he played with. The actors were all serviceable. The writing was decent, in my opinion. I heard an issue with Freddy being a “crossing guard” at one point. To me, that scene makes sense. If somebody is taking a “micronap” then they’re not in a deep sleep, and therefore not fully in Freddy’s domain. He should be able to influence, but not completely interact.
I would have liked to see a bit more of the twisted dream sequences. The new CG bedroom wall was horrible compared to the original, as was “Tina’s” death. Rather, it was too modern. It was a case of restriction causing creativity in the original, where here they had too much at their disposal and took a less effective way out in the remake.
The ending is the last thing I want to mention, and I want to do so without spoiling much. This more than likely isn’t their plan, but it seeded a thought that really excited me. What if their way of “defeating” Freddy, in the end, screwed them over? If he’s a supernatural being, what if pulling him into the real world makes him…killable, but still, only temporarily? He still has supernatural powers, but now he’s not confined to the dreamworld. Basically, it no longer matters if you’re asleep or awake — Freddy is now just an all-powerful supernatural killer. It would make sequels extremely hard, but it would be an interesting “oh f*ck, what did they do?” way to end a stand-alone film.
I posted my review in another headline thread. Saw the movie opening day & just now moving my review over here to the user reviews. Once again, I’m seeing PD apologists making absolutely the most retarded excuses for this lackluster movie. Saying ‘if you go in with an open mind, you’ll like it’. Before that, it was ‘you guys are slamming the film based off of clips and then ‘the clips were edited so just go see the movie.’ That whole open mind one has to be the most lame whining excuse I’ve heard. It’s basically saying force yourself to sit down & like the film no matter what the flaws, no matter how boring the crap is. Give me a break with that crap. My old review (which I can post again b/c I have yet to see anyone make any good rebuttals that actually made sense in defense of the movie): Alright I just got back from seeing the Nightmare remake. I don’t even have to tell you how big a fan of the series I am. People have seen me go back & forth & argue with select members of the PD spem squad over the original films, over Craven as a director, over Englund as an actor, etc (b/c that’s always these idiots’ method of defending a remake; by attempting to downplay the film that the remake is remaking, how brilliant, right?) Ok, I want to just start off & say that anyone rating this film any higher than a 6 or 7 out of 10, I really will never take your opinion of any movie serious. Are you kidding me? I couldn’t believe how disjointed & convoluted this film was especially the ending. While we’re at it, let’s get on that anti-climatic ending. Ok, they go to the basement of the daycare, then they’re in the boiler room, then Freddy & Nancy are back at Nancy’s house while Quentin is still stuck somewhere back in the boiler room BUT he’s also in the room with Nancy and Freddy b/c she’s dreaming but he’s dreaming too. What the fuck? I mean, seriously, what the fuck? Give me Langenkamp setting Rambo traps all day, at least I can keep up with what the fucks going on. There was absolutely no flow to this movie. It was like they just took a bunch of set pieces & threw them together. I swear Jesse dies no less than 10 mins after Kris does. Shit is just happening in this film. And I will say that the whole CGI thing never bothers me but I do see what people are saying, there is some very unnecessary CGI in this film & it doesn’t even look good. That’s the thing. Michael Bay has a zillion dollars & this film’s CGI is dodgy at best w/ the exception of Haley’s makeup. I didn’t have a problem with Krueger’s makeup. Now onto the whole Haley thing b/c you know the PD sperm squad that didn’t even know who the fuck Haley was until Watchmen are gonna come out with their reviews talking about how much greater he is than Englund. First of all, Freddy isn’t even in this movie a whole hell of alot. He pops up here and there, sprouts a line, and then disappears. Haley didn’t do ONE thing that Englund hasn’t done before and better. Think so? Point it out. What did he do that made him supposedly so much better? Darker? Englund did that. Perverted? Englund did that, even as far up as FvJ. I thought Haley was good in the role (not great, good) I honestly thought the best part of Haley’s performance was as normal pre-burned Krueger. In fact that entire part with them investigating the pictures and Quentin’s flashback to gardener Krueger and his eventual burning kept my attention more than any other part of the film. And they even did some stupid thing where they did a close-up of Haley’s face running toward Quentin all CGI-fired up. Why? Why not keep the burning like they did in the trailer with him just running and burning in slow-mo? Don’t let any of the PD fanboys fool you. This film isn’t PD finally getting it right, nor is it their first truly great film like they would have you believe. This film is just like any other PD remake. It’s flashy and looks good, sounds like they used the soundtrack to Transformers (meaning it’s loud), and has about as much substance as a Double Stack from Wendy’s. Ladies and gentlemen, it pains me to say this but there is not one, not ONE, single suspenseful moment during this film. Every single horror moment is a jump scare. I kid you not. And before people say that the original had jump scares, yes it did, but it also had suspense and tension. You know that edge-of-your-seat moment that you kiddies never experience b/c you’re to used to the music going soft and then loud in a fraction of a second aka jump scares. I don’t even wanna say anything about the ending w/ once again that ridiculous bloody CGI. Jesus, I thought I was watching My Bloody Valentine again with that ending. I know some reviewers were saying people were clapping when the credits rolled and that’s fine I guess. The people in my theater just kind’ve goaned, got up, & left. And I was damn near the bottom of the steps by the time the credits started up. I challenge anyone that liked this film or who would even rate it as ridiculuosly high as a 9 or 10 out of 10 to refute some of my arguments over why this film was such a disappointment. 6 out of 10 score. P.S. Someone posted something about they explained things in the movie and if we weren’t twiddling our thumbs we would’ve noticed (which is a crock of shit in the first place b/c everyone now knows there was plot holes due to tons of deleted scenes that would have explained said plot holes). My response to that is people wouldn’t have been if the movie was, oh you know, not so goddamn boring and bland. I’m betting this movie has worse replay value than Friday the 13th. I had a ball watching that movie in theaters but the DVD collects dust in my room. The Nightmare DVD probably would be the same. And obviously it does b/c the movie came and went like a bungee jumper. Hell, it’ll probably be playing $2 budget theaters in 2 more weeks.
I think this surpassed F13th and Halloween as the worst re-make ever – it’s like they weren’t even trying! Ironically, I was finding it hard to stay awake during the most boring horror EVER. I didn’t go to see it, because I don’t support how Platinum Dunes stole Cravens material against his wishes, but lets just say I saw it. The acting was dire, they turned Nancy from a strong heroine into a girl who looked like she didn’t care what was happening in every day life, let alone when that burnt chinease guy arrived, and relied far too heavily on her boyfriend for everything. The sub plot about him being a peado made no sense whatsoever (why would he have any need for the glove? another plot hole they left out) – a classfull of students would not forget they were molested or that they knew each other at age 5 – especially when several are now dating. The script was dire in every way & I actually heard ppl laughing in certain scenes.
Sorry, I’m not gonna be PC – Jackie was $hit – it may have been the scripts fault but who cares, he wasn’t menacing – the make-up was dire – he looked like a scarecrow caught in a hurricane. The CGI was terrible and the effects and murder scenes were done twenty times better twenty five years ago! It was a massacre, it wasn’t at all scary and relied on constant jumps and loud music. The dream sequences which could have been amazing were actually less dreamlike than the 1st movie (again done 25 years ago!) There was no psycological horror or growing fear – no mocking of his victims or self harm. Plus making him a peado just didn’t work – it might be gross, but a peado in your dream is just that – it’s not scary!
There were far too many scenes taken from the original and the sequels, but heavily watered down – it was just boring. There was loads MORE gore in the first movie too for gore fans. There was no story that made sense or kept any interest, the actors looked bored, there was no character development. It was all just thrown 2gethor – no wonder they wanted to keep Freddys look secret – it was terrible. Characters were introduced & killed in “seen it before but down much better” ways. The score and emo grundge look was again boring and predictable. It was lacking in every single area – it seemed like they all just slept walked through it to earn a buck off someone elses masterpiece. Not one endearing feature lies in this film.
Thank God it was completley different from the original & from a feminist POV – you took a strong character like Nancy and made her pathetic and weak, screaming for her b/f. The whole thing was abysmal, and I can honestly say that anyone who’s seen the original and liked this movie must be retarded – (what were they thinking of??? except money) I’d have rathered watch Freddy’s dead – because Platinum Dunes just literally killed Freddy with that garbage they called a movie. They should know when to just leave well alone. If I’d never seen ANOES movie before – I’d have thought – what the hell is all the hype about? It was so fricking boreing and slow.
Bring back Wes Craven, Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englund.
Once again Platinum Dunes prove they can take a masterpiece of cinema and destroy it’s legacy by using its name and characters. Why don’t they just fuck off, stop making excuses and try and write something original? Screw PD and MBay etc. If I could rate it zero, I would – worst horror I’ve seen in years, at least the others kept you entertained – even the F13th re-make surpassed this crud. Freddy’s dead!
AMAZING MOVIE! i loved it so much,
i loved the Nancy character, the deaths, the atmosphere and like the f13th reboot i loved how it payed tribute to all of the sequels too!
for a remake it was good,
i think people need to go into this movie with an open mind.
the only things that bothered me where that
Wes Craven wasnt even aware that this film was being re done, to me, thats pretty shitty. but other than that as a movie, i liked it.
i recommend to anyone whos not quick to judge.
For a remake it sucked! I have been a fan of all the remakes in the last 10 years. Do not waste your money!
the film to me was decent at best. the one thing that saved this film was haley’s performance. i enjoyed his freddy..no matter how mousy he looked. the film definitelt didn’t suck. there was some stuff i wished they would have put into the film (ex: somebody getting devoured by a bed). Haley was awesome…the film was..ok
Bad…plain bad…
I thought this movie was highly enjoyable. It had its good moments though and bad moments..
(SPOILERS)
The good moments to me opening scene, i appreciated how the lighting gave a green/red glow on the glasses and such.
I thought Jackie did a great job
I liked how sick freddys character was, how he wanted the kids to go back to his “dungeon” and remember what he did to them. It teases a innocent freddy greatly.
The ending, leaving many possibilities open
FOR THE BAd
I didnt like the scenes I didnt see, does anyone remmebr actually seeing KatiE Cassidy with the glove on thats just one I know there are others like whenfreddy was peaking over the boxes Katie was going to go though.
The way the girl flopped on the wall before dying
The CGI wall ordeal was too much
the way I felt that freddy before burnt reminded me of someone really slow, didnt it look like once freddy was burned he got smarter
the way the mother revealed freddy to nancy..pretty one dimensional.
most death scenes lacked originality
For me even with all this I loved the movie. I think if worked as a reboot so they can take a new character places and add a little freshness to it
Well folks it sadly doesn’t get much shoddier and blander than this. One of the most visually exciting and imaginative horror franchises gets remade. For once because of casting fans begin to get excited Jacckie Earle Haley is a great actor. Katie Cassidy is becoming a modern day scream queen. This film should be incredible. How can anyone mess up with that cast?
Well Bayer has done the seemingly impossible he completely botched it.
The script is at best bland and at worse very bad. But its not the writers fault alone here. The direction and the editing of the film is so bad that it is completely embarassing.
JEH and KC shine in there respective roles but they can only do so much and the rest of the cast seems pretty inept. Clancy Brown is completely wasted here.
The make up here is the worst I have ever seen. IT seems to slur his voice and its about as unscary as any make-up can get. I know what they were trying for but it completely fails. Freddy is not meant to be realistic. They look, the films, its all stylized and thats something no one seemed to understand about the franchise.
You can excuse a lot of things in Nightmare films do to “dream logic” what you cannot excuse is a nighmatre film thats flat and boring. This is that film. People who bemoaned Talalay’s take in Freddy’s Dead will be longing to see some of that imaginative work here because this is truly bad.
Unless they are going to put someone with talent and actual vision is the chair(I suggest Lynch or Cronenberg) than we finally found what can kill Freddy. Blandness.
Go watch the excellent documentary Never Sleep Again and give this film…a pass.
I saw this movie last weekend, and honestly, I enjoyed it very much! I don’t understand all the hate it’s receiving, and am starting to suspect another case of people just ganging up on something because it’s “trendy” to be haters now days! The directing was just fine, and the editing wasn’t bad either…not sure what the guy below me is ranting about. But he didn’t bother to include examples, so I call bullshit!
The new Freddy takes some getting used to, but Jackie did a fantastic job! The new look was well done and realistic to what a severe burn victim could look like. The photography was beautiful, as with most Platinum Dunes remakes. My only complaints really, are the age of the “high school students”, the fact that most of the guys were really douchey, and that it’s not likely those children would all have forgotten each other and their traumatic events as suggested. The changes in story were welcome though, they help differentiate this version from the classic…so why can’t people like both?
And to all the cry babies upset about Freddy being a molester…get over it! He was in the original as well, and it HAS been hinted at throughout the film series. Seriously, what child murderer in history DIDN’T molest his victims first?!? Whether he killed them or not in the remake is irrelevant, he still stole their innocence and earned his punishment.
I’m not saying this is the best movie I’ve ever seen, but it hardly deserves the criticism it’s been getting. As far as I’m concerned, this is one of the better remakes, and I’m looking forward to any sequels.
Let me begin by saying that I REALLY wanted to like this movie. Most of the remakes that are coming out are pretty much a disappointment, but this was no ordinary remake to me….I mean, it’s a NEW freakin Nightmare on Elm Street! So, I did something I don’t normally do. I actually paid to see it in a theater on opening weekend.
All I really wanted from this film was for Freddy to be scary again. I thought maybe I could catch a little glimpse of that which captivated me as a child. I knew there was a good chance that the script/story wasn’t going to be the best, but if Freddy was scary again I could forgive anything.
They played up the whole “child molester” thing WAY too much, and instead of being scary…Freddy was just a creepy perv. Not a horrific, shape shifting master of nightmares, just the pathetic little man who pulls your weeds and wants to see you naked.
I mean, they managed to get an Oscar nominated actor which almost NEVER happens in horror, and then they didn’t give him one decent line in the whole film.
There are other things I didn’t like, but like I said earlier….all they had to do was make Freddy scary again and I would have been on board.
But sadly, I was disappointed….again.
Never have i been so confused by critic and fan reaction alike as i was leaving this film. I can only assume this hatred is coming from a mixture of nostalgia and constant comparisons. This film is not only on par with the original but in many aspects actually outdoes it, this is an undeniably creepy movie with outstanding performances from its main cast.
The acting within this film is phenomenal and way above the normal horror standards. The young actors playing our teenagers take fairly under developed characters and turn them into a character that feels real, all add such depth to their roles that you feel you know each character within minutes. These young actors are stars in the making. Cassidy (kris) although a little shaky on her delivery at the start gives an emotive performance and adds depth to a character that so easily could have come off as cliché. Dekker (jesse) shines during his scenes of terror, this is an intense performance and his face aptly shows the horror they all face. However the real stars of this young cast are Gallner and Mara who play our main leads and protagonists Nancy and Quentin.
Kyle Gallner again proves himself to be one of the best young actors working today. Kyle outshines everyone in nearly all his scenes bringing not only an intense likability but a wonderful complex warmth. His desperation as the film goes on is truly phenomenal, in scenes of intense anger, pain, terror, and even softer moments of tenderness Kyle is incredible. Next to Jackie he steals the show. Rooney Mara plays our heroine Nancy with wonderful subtly, she hits all the right emotions and provides us with a interesting and deep lead girl. Mara’s strength is her eyes which burn with emotion, her tears and screams of horror will break even the hardest heart. Towards the end she is dragged through unimaginable hell and her performance makes these moments even more horrific. Lastly Jackie is unbelievably terrifying and creepy as Freddy, his anger burns through his words, his every action is a mix of sick enjoyment and furious hatred. His performance radiates terror and anger, Jackie breaths new life into this killer and makes him scarier then ever .
The story is different from the original and much darker, whilst in essence keeping the same basic outline this remake does add a different and terrifying spin. The score is as eerie and creepy as the film, with a soft tragic theme through-out this is one of the best horror scores I’ve heard in a while. However well it works in context of the film it fails to be as memorable as the original score but works in its own way. Samual Bayer making his directional debut sure knows how to create dark and beautiful imagery , this film is visually stunning and even breathtaking. There are also plenty of well timed jump scares that for some reason work so well within this film, they make you feel like your there living this nightmare with these characters.
There exists two real flaws for me concerning this film. The first is the pacing and over-all editing of the movie. Everything feels a little rushed and the editing whilst decent and in some places brilliant (pharmacy scene and the final nightmare) it all feels too brief, there were many scenes which i felt should have lingered. The second is the dialogue and script. whilst Strick and Heisserer do add some fantastic ideas and moments of greatness…much of the dialogue seems too bland, particularly with the teens its only thanks to great actors that these lines worked because in all honesty it felt as if the writers gave up somewhat. This film lacks the slow-burning nature that made the original so wonderful, this film is a fast paced ride and sometimes i did miss the slower nature of the first.
However these flaws do not spoil the over-all film, this movie is an intense thrill ride filled with wonderful, dark imagery with moments that will no doubt unease and haunt you. couple this with a terrifying villain, likable leads and a truly wonderful, intense performance from Kyle Gallner and you have yourself a great horror remake that can proudly stand alongside the original horror classic.
what the heck?
A gardener child’s molester, Freddy was a child murdering power plant worker.
lol, could add some changes to the song:
1-2 Freddy’s cummin for you
3-4 Hes right next door
5-6 Freddy’s magical stick
7-8 Better stay awake
9-10 going back to 1
the fact that this movie is subject to so much negative critism is crippleling. rob englund maybe freddy and i LOVE rob, but jackie earle haley fits the pedophile look way better i was never scared of rob as freddy cause i was always laughing with him and his “bitch” lines they clearly wanted to remove the humor and thus made it a gritty version of krueger. get your head out of youre asses cause no one is going to be scared of the worlds funniest burn victim!like i said the origianals have their own vibe that makes them special and this movie shouldnt be shunned because they tried to beath new child molesting life into it.
great movie…great REMAKE…folks, this is a reinterpretation of a great movie…like hearing a song by metallica, played by dream theater for gods sake….
on a different side…this is not a movie that will change your life forever…is a movie out to entertain..which did…grandiously!
anyway i respect your opinions…
Dear Michael Bay and Platinum Dunes,
Hi Michael, please stop ruining my favorite franchises. I have loved these movies for years and I always get excited when a new one gets remade, and then I am always let down. I know, I know, you need another Porsche. I sympathize, I really do! But you have to stop these no character building, no suspense, bastardizations of the original classics. I’m all for remakes, but for the love of god, or satan, or whoever, leave it to someone else!! Do you even read these scripts before you green light them?? Go make more shitty action movies that I don’t have to waste my time with.
Love,
Your biggest fan
Typical re-make! Easy on the eyes…but vaccant and no soul…I think we are all starting to ask ourselves, whats the point of remakes? Hollywood is dead.
Are BD writers getting stoned before they preview movies for review?
Once again, I am completely confused by a BD review. I love BD and will always be a fan, but I will never understand their reviews. When they give movies like “Laid to Rest” and “The Hills Run Red” better reviews it makes my head want to implode.
Granted, this was not the best remake, but the review given made NO COMPARISON to what I just watched. This was by far NOT the worst remake I have seen. The remake of “Friday the 13th” was laughable, but yet scored higher than this film?
The characters were likable and well played, the new Freddy is pretty intimidating, the visuals were great (aside from bad CGI wall Freddy) and the death scenes were BRUTAL compared to the original.
I’m not sure what kind of masterpiece BD was assuming was coming, but I got everything I expected. Also, BD complained that the remake was more of a shot-by-shot to the original. WHAT?!? I didn’t see that except maybe in the earlier scenes.
Let’s try a little more subjectivity, BD.
Fuckin terrible.All true NIGHTMARE fans beg Craven and Englund to come back so they can redeem the series. No disrespect but JEH is not freddy and did not buy it. Actimg was awful, and special effect were crap.Felt like walking out numerous times it was that bad.This is to the NIGHTMARE series what jason x was to the FRIDAY series.Wait for dvd – at least you can turn it off whenever you want
i was looking forward to seeing the new take on elm street and my hopes were set high….. when i first heard they were doing a remake i thought ‘why?’ hollywood needs more cash. but, i was hoping they would make it fucking scary!
so, i think the whole film is much more realistic, dark and grainy with a more simplistic gore kinda attitude?…… to be honest i am a big fan of kooky, far out horror films which is why i like the original… gore and slasher are ace but mix it with surreal, fucked up mind shit works for me. how serious is it all, i was thinking kill peodos stab the fucking kiddy fiddlers all through the film.
but i also thought, fuck me how scary is MICHAEL JACKSON!!!
really liked the on the edge of your seat atmospheric ness of elm street everyone in the cinema was scared and sitting in there own soiled pants… i jumped a few times, also blonde girl Dee? fucking hot……. not as good as the original but still a good fucking horror film freddy was good but die hard fans never give up robert …. lets go burn sex pests!!!! and then cut their heads off!and rape them!!!then dont tell anyone we did it.
MY GOD! I just tried to watch this abomination and just couldn’t bear it any longer. Jackie is a decent actor but this just wasn’t his role, he looks like a fuckin mutant frog or something, and that voice gets really annoying too. I’m sorry but there is only one Freddy and his name is Robert Englund. There was no reason to change Freddy for the remake it just killed the movie for me. Please people come out with original ideas so we don’t have to go through this remake bullshit any longer. I wish these writers would get some fuckin imagination. I’ll stick to the original series with the REAL Freddy.
To be fair I was actually quite surprised just how good this movie was. Went with a completely open mind and thoroughly enjoyed. I loved the twist on the whole pedophile thing which made you hate Freddy that little bit more. There was some genuinely “shit ur pants” moments and eye popping set pieces. I’m a huge fan of the original, just like everyone else, however, I personally thought this was a solid remake. I loved the, are they dreaming or not kind of atmosphere and the first death scene in the diner took me by surprise.
As this was not a carbon copy of the original, the pacing and layout of the story kept my interest. Some of the death scenes were truly brutal and there was some nods from the original thrown in for good measure. The only let down for me was the acting in places was slightly wooden and they could have done a little bit more with the bath scene??
Lastly some amazing effects but I think Jackie Earle could have practiced with the glove a little more. Like cut up his dinner, had a bath, washed the pots and possibly masturbated once or twice to build up a proper relationship. Acting wise though to be fair, a great performance.
still better then anyother horror remakes latey.
had some great deaths in it and I thought Freddy really looked like a burned man, not just a joke mask.
Decent remake. Much better than most people suggest and i’m a huge NOES fan. JEH was perfectly cast as Freddy and the acting from the other cast members was above par. Most people are saying the acting was boring and one dimensional but didn’t it ever occur to you that these actors are portraying people who haven’t slept for 3 days, how excited can they be. The CGI was a big letdown (wall scene). Some very nice cinematography and sets upgraded the quality of the film. Was it a total success – no, was it a complete waste of time – no. Lets hope the DVD/Blu-Ray is extended to include some of the scenes that were reported in the BD set report, Quentin head zipper, abandoned church and burn ward Freddy. Is it as good as we wanted it to be – no, as good as we expected it to be – yes. Decent remake from PD, bring on the sequel without Sam Bayer.
People are saying that this is the worst Freddy movie ever. Some people are saying this is the worst horror movie ever made. My response to this is what *beep* movie did you guys see. This is far from the worst in the series and unbelievably far from being the worst horror film ever made. I really enjoyed it. The film had good death scenes, good direction, some good scares, good acting, a great look and feel to it, and last but not least…a fantastic new take on Freddy Krueger. Now that I’ve said the good about the film, let me address the bad:
-The jump scares were predictable for the most part. The original did have jump scares but they were done way better. The original would build up to the scares with suspense. This film however did not. For example: Nancy’s looking at her cell phone. Then we hear a knock on her passenger window. BAM. FREDDY’S THERE with a loud noise in the background. That’s not scary. It might get a reaction out of you, but you get over it.
-The EDITING. Wow. Whoever edited this needs to be fired immediately and should never be able to edit again. I’ve never seen a film with such horrible editing. For example: Kris runs into building. Before the door is shut we quickly see a shot of the interior of the building, then we see Kris standing still with the door closed behind her. I know it might sound stupid, but I wanted to actually SEE her close the door. The only good editing was the pharmacy scene and about the last 15 minutes.
All in all, I did enjoy the film very much.As a Freddy fan, i am extremely impressed. All the negative reviews are wrong. This is a very entertaining movie. Jackie did a great job at reinventing Freddy. He made it his own. Other than the predictable jump scares and horrible editing, I actually wasn’t bored. This is about the 2nd or 3rd best Freddy movie in the series. I’ve seen it at least 3 times all the way through and enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time. This film definitely deserves a 8/10 for me. It wasn’t perfect and it wasn’t atrocious. I really hope there is a sequel. I really want to know if the makers will learn from their mistakes. I doubt they will though.
Haters..Grow Up..!!!
why just 4/10 ? is it cus of Remake?
so what
ppl r shit..they should never rate the movie like
this or hate it cus of its a Remake..
they just gave the bullshit Friday the 13th
good rating cus there’s SEX seance and
stuff like that..such a poor guys
Watch the movie as a new movie and idea
forget the Original and focus on this
i watched it finally..
Jumping scense, good acting, good story,
Scary Freddy etc.. yes its all in the
new REMAKE..
believe me
i cant wait to watch the Sequal in 2012
“If you expect This Remake to be Better Than the Original, Or if you expect it to be More Scary than the Original, Well You actually are expecting to much. It truly is Unnecessary to have made this Remake, And it is a Michael Bay Film, So you Know its going to be a “Watered” down Remake”
I Watched this film in the Cinema, I thought that would be the best place to watch it. I went there not expecting much, Because the More you expect the Less you are actually going to get. There is really nothing new about the Remake, The story line is pritty much the same. There is Just a few added Scenes and Material that wasnt in the Original.
“Would i Call the Remake Scary??”!, – No its not really Scary at all, thats a Big fail in this film. The Original was a Very Creepy Film and Suspensful, The Remake didnt live up to the original at all., On the other hand there a “Number of scenes that will make you jump from loud noices”. So if you find a Movie that Makes you Jump Scary, You will enjoy this One then., But when you think of it, The Original Freddy didnt need loud Noices to make you jump at all, He was just simply Scary.
Does the New freddy Play the Part well?,- I just Put it like this, He is the New Generation of Freddy, He is not as Scary as the Original ” Robert England’s ” character., but i reckon he will be a Likeable Freddy to some Fans. His Voice is not really the same, I believe it is a Bit deeper, and his Face has a more “Realistic burnt Look to it”, Thanks to the Work of CGI. I thought the CGI was good in this film, it wasnt Over the top, and if it was i wouldnt have watched this film at all.
The Acting from the Main Charcters are Decent and Believable, and I have really nothing to say Bad about any of the Actors in this film, Especillay the New ” Freddy “, He was very Believable, and he looked liked he played the character the best way he could to try and be as good as ” Robert Englund’s” Charcter which he played Very Well.
Overall I Personally thought it was a Decent Film, It did have some Impressive Visuals and a Pritty good set out atmosphere, Plus a few Funny Quotes that ” Freddy” had up his sleeve, this all did remind me of the Original Nightmare on Elm street Films.
When it comes down to The Story/ Plot tho, it was no way near as Clever and well Crafted as The Original, And the Story Didnt go into any Depth Like “Wes Cravens Nightmare on Elm Street Did”.,- And that is the Reason why I wouldnt call it a ” Well Done Remake”.
It really is going to be a Love or Hate Situation. If you are a True Fan of Wes Craven’s Nightmare On Elm, You may be dissapointed because it Definitly does not have no way near as much Caliber as the original does.
I’ve just seen the movie a second time here in Sydney Australia and I LOVE IT. After my first screening, I was kind of numb and felt very “dirty” about the new Freddy and his child molestation background. But watching it again and enjoying Freddy’s mean and evil character made me fall in love with the film. I may go and see it one more time in the movies before it’s released to DVD..
`A Nightmare On Elm Street’ circa 2010 suffers from a split personality. It’s a remake of a modern horror classic, remade one presumes to utilize a known brand that not only attracts those familiar with it but also those who are not (Who are you by the way?). If this is true then our most dire fears are realised. Yes this remake, reimagining, homage whatever you may call it, exists solely to make money. There in lays the irony. How do you make money on a film that fans hold the very idea of in contempt and new comers are ever harder to impress? Poor Elm St. 2010 was off to a bad start long before it even hit the screens. While the casting of Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy garnered some approval it never seemed enough to give fans a good night’s sleep. Nightmare creator Wes Craven was not only nowhere to be seen in relation to the production, it seemed that he was actually being majorly screwed over in regard to intellectual property. This definitely didn’t sit well with his loyal fans, the same fans this new film would need the support of to be successful. Another flag was raised when Platinum Dunes, the makers of this new Nightmare released their take on Freddy’s horror brethren Jason Voorhees. Friday The 13th 2009 was beyond terrible and the fate of Freddy in Platinum’s hands looked less than hopeful.
Jump ahead to evasive glimpses of the new Freddy online, so-so trailers, and the film finally hits screens. Despite opening at No.1 in the US and making twice its budget back in one weekend, the horror community, ready for a fight, pretty much unanimously wrote it off. Why? Well, here’s where the film’s continues it’s somewhat fatal duality. The story is pretty much the same yet vastly different to its forbearer. There’s still a girl called Nancy, she still has nightmares about a burnt man, she still takes a bath, her mother is again played by a bad actress and all her friends keep dying in their sleep. What’s different? Pretty much everything else. It’s no wonder Craven is not given a story credit. Names and motivations have changed. Characters are deleted (Nancy’s father is nowhere to be seen but played a pivotal role in Craven’s original). We are also introduced to the notion of micro-naps but most importantly it is made very clear what kind of monster this Freddy actually is where the original only claimed him as a killer. It seems this shaking up of elements from the original is what has upset fans so much, although, had this new film been a complete `faithful’ replica of the original it would have likely been derided for that too. Which brings us back to the question of why. For money remember.
Is this film unnecessary? Yes. Is it bad? No, not in my opinion. Though we pretty much know where the story is headed, I felt there were still surprises to be had. The story structure takes on more of a mystery solving rhythm as Nancy and her friends not only try to figure out what is happening to them but why they are all connected to each other. The acting is all quite good from the young cast though they are little over preened in appearance. The film is also quite threatening, which is a significant achievement considering we have lived with this character and concept for over 25 years. While the evil clowning of Robert Englund’s Freddy is ever so slightly missed, Jackie Earle Haley’s Freddy is much more of a monster, especially as this film at first makes you feel he is the victim and his dream stalking is in some way a justifiable revenge. Maybe the film does suffer a little from over rationalising. In an attempt to make the proceedings more real and less camp, some of the surreal creativity the series was known for has been sapped out. Pretty much every character has the same dream environment, though this is important to the `mystery’ of the story. In all this rationalising of the story it isn’t made clear why this Freddy would have his trademark glove. In the original he was a child killer and the glove was a self fashioned weapon of choice, which we see him construct in the opening sequence. Here, there is no real reason why Freddy would need the glove. We are not told he kills children, we never see him make the glove and we don’t seem him use it for any specific reason during the flashbacks of the `living’ Freddy Krueger. As this film is left open for a sequel in much the same way as the original was (I quite like how they did this) we may yet be given reason for the glove and some indulging in good old fashioned nightmare fantasy. Perhaps by finding more of a middle ground with the Elm St of the past, the Elm St of the future will be a road more fans care to visit.
The Film a Nightmare on Elm Street is in no WAY perfect i kno what your thinking what the hell am i doing giving this movie what people are saying to be a complete waste of time, The Question i dont even no what i am giving this movie a 4.5 maybe because it was a scary FUN time at the movies. But even tho this movie yes has its many flaws which are pretty much made up by the end of the film this movie maybe Confusing and you may get lost at times .. By the very scary witty outright genius performance that Haley gives as the Very Burned and Disturbed Fred Kruger a Gardner from an Old pre-school!. This movie is cliched and yes you know when the jumps are gonna be tumbling at you.. and when i jump like i did thats when you know this movie is allright!.
The movie starts out with the Twilight Hunk everyone at which is probably going to see this movie Kellan Lutz Who playes Dean i wish i could tell you more about this character but he is killed off within the first 5mins so i cant really tell you anything … well he is in a Diner the Springwood Diner where he awakes to nothingness and is started to get a little curious he stumbles to the back in the kitchen to find the Clawed Freddy Kruger!.. But i think i will let you see the movie to let you find out how this happens.
At the funeral long time friend of Dean, Nancy played what is kind of like a young Emily Blunt played pretty good by (Rooney Mara) well after Deans death she is starting to see a strange man in her dreams who is burnt to a crisp basically to say hes name which you all no him buy FREDDY! why he is killing these teens one by one no one knows. But when the unsuspecting teens fall asleep they fall into a world at which they cant control.. and at this point your in Freddy’s world! where your pretty much dead as soon as you fall asleep.
But as the original Freddy always dead Freddy loved to play with his victims minds before he kills him thats when we finally get a glimpse at this Finger-clawed FREDDY played i think as a very well choice Jackie Earl Haley!. You would maybe think he is not the best choice for Freddy Kruger but honestly if i had to pick someone i would Pick Jackie i mean he is so immersed into this burned Psychopath you really cant go wrong. Soon after another teen and another teen are knocked off the chopping Block!.
Freddy begins getting closer and closer to finding what he wants hes favorite little girl Nancy. But Freddy keeping them up all the time pretty soon you have to get tired am i corrected? Yes sooner or later they all fall asleep… After 70 hrs of non-sleep your body begins to break down and you experience these little things called Micro-Naps where pretty much your whole body is sleeping and you dont even know it thats when Freddy can get you at your most vulnerable point!.
This movie does have alot of scenes you know where the Music level rises about a third and you get this Huge BLAST! .. of sound waves in the theater well shockingly enough that worked for me i was genuinely surprise at the fact … you pretty much know when one thing is gonna pop out and well that kind of takes away from the fun of going to a horror film but it WORKS! .. There really is no PLOT twist here except the fact is if you have seen the original you know what to expect.
Once again i am going to give credit to Jackie Earl Haley at giving one Hell of a performance here i was really immersed into this guy Fred Kruger the Flashback scenes actually when you dont that he is the way he is you kind of fell sad and lonely for this character but than you find out all the horrible stuff he did and you just feel like wow cant believe i felt sorry for this jerk.
Seeing this movie did bring back some memories of the very first one.. this movie in no way shape or form lives up to the horror classic that is Nightmare on Elm st. But i wish Wes Craven would have had more involvement in this film than he did .. but i guess hes busy planning Scream 4 which i cant wait for. But when all is said and done you are going to be glad you went and Saw a Nightmare on Elm Street! .. 1…2… Freddy’s Coming for you!
A-
ReviewdByNate
RunTime97mins
RatedR
Thanks For Stoppin Buy!
It’s probably been said elsewhere here but the worst thing about this movie is that from now on whenever you talk about A Nightmare on Elm Street you will have to specify whether it is the 1984 or 2010 movie you are talking about. Which sucks. Jackie Earle Hayley’s Freddy is not menacing and disturbing so much as he is limp and embarrassing. Freddy’s look and sound are both awful as is his dialogue. I literally cringed every time he opened his mouth. As for the rest of the cast, while they weren’t really annoying and/or obnoxious they were hardly endearing either. Just the typically vapid modern teenage characters we are used to seeing in horror movies these days. The movie relies on cheap jump scares that we have seen thousands of times before. It does look okay, but aside from that it totally lacks in every other department. Now excuse me while I go and cradle my copy of the original and pretend that this movie was just a bad dream.
They already destroyed Michael, Jason and Leatherface – and now they finally made it and destroyed horror’s biggest icon Freddy Krueger as well. No, I’m not a purist. I was extremely excited about that remake and really looked forward to it, especially after watching the trailers. I really, REALLY wanted to like this remake, but unfortunately it was impossible for me to like it.
Of course, not everything is bad about it: Jackie Earle Haley is a pretty good Freddy and his make-up looks great. The first half hour is pretty tense and scary and full of nice jump scares.
Sadly, that’s about it with the good stuff.
After the great opening it gets downhill pretty fast. Most of the time the movie’s just tedious and boring. The actors are completely lackluster, the soundtrack is extremely sluggish, the dialogue is often just lame and there’s also some terrible-looking CGI.
Most of all I hate the new story that turned Fred into a child-molesting gardener. Yep, according to the remake he never killed children, he’ just’ molested them. And it’s getting even worse: instead of going to the police, the parents killed him and Fred then returns to kill the children he once molested, because… well, because? Why? How so? Anyone? WTF?
A pointless and unnecessary remake.
Okay to the person under me… it was pretty clearly stated that he came back for the kids because they tattled on him and told their parents that he molested them. Let’s pay attention next time.
Basically the movie as a whole wasn’t anything special… there were some cool effects (I thought the micronaps idea was pretty fresh) and there were flashes of greatness. It became a bit too formulaic though… I was starting to guess (correctly) where jump scares would be… which is never a good thing.
Jackie was pretty awesome as Freddy though… completely stealing the show from the serviceable (but unremarkable) leads. None of them had any real character… and I didn’t really care about any of them (more of a script thing than an acting thing). Also the little sidebar with the asian kid on the webcam was a painfully desperate attempt to bring technology into the mix. Please.
But yeah. Freddy was awesome… the rest of the movie… just ok. I’ve seen worse horror remakes and I’ve also seen better.
6.7/10
i liked it
When this was 1st announced on BD, a few of us commented to say how much of a no go this was and every1 was like “give it a chance” Earle Hayley is awesome” – Well i fucking told you so, complete pile of dog shit. Tina’s death scene pissed me off the most, it was like a PG-13 movie. Oh do i know you guys?? Oh yeah we went to the same fucking school when we was young bt none of us can remember – go fuck yourselves PD. Atleast RZ had love for Michael and tried his best, this was just a payday for all involved. I’ll give it 1 skull for the simple fact that i actually believed i was watching a Freddy movie when he dropped the line “talk about a wet dream” the rest of this movie was a disgrace – i’d rather watch part 5 whilst gargling diarrhoea.
Robert Englund is Freddy Kruger and will always be Freddy Kruger. I like Jackie Earl Haley as an actor, but you can’t replace the best Villain of all time folks. Big mistake not to bring back Robert. And why CG a makeup folks! C’mon! This film should not have been made.
I love the nightmare the series and freddy is one of my all-time favorite and this new remake makes me completely speechless in how bad michael bay has raped another one of horror’s icons.
Well I gave it a chance even after all the negativity and honestly thought maybe people were just hating on it because it was a remake. Well I was proven wrong. This was not a good remake hell even on its own its not even really good. It felt like they took the original movie swapped the scenes around a little bit. Then recreated the scenes only they come off either tamer or just not very good. The cast is just there and there is pretty much no reason to care for them. At one point the girl that plays the Tina character seems like the focus of the movie then boom she’s gone and it just kind of ends up with Nancy being the focus because she’s basically the only one left besides Quentin. There’s actually an idea that they hinted at when Nancy and Quentin go to and talk with his dad that might have made people annoyed but I actually thought it would have been an interesting turn of events but they quickly shut it down 15 minutes later. The whole child molester thing didn’t really bother me because it was always kind of implicated in the original it just wasn’t focused on. But some of the back story and really no reason for the glove to even exist just takes away from the “new” story. Jackie did as good of a job as he could. I don’t think he was bad or anything I just think they tried at points for him to have these freddy lines but it just really didn’t work. I did like one thing that they paid homage to but put their own twist on it and probably was the best thing they did. But overall this wasn’t very good. Friday the 13th had its problems but the opening was so good it at least makes it tolerable and the TCM remake was very good but this movie just wasn’t good.
I liked it as a movie by itself, not so much as a remake however. But good movie overall. The ending with the mother kinda sucked though. However, still held to be interesting. They didn’t stay true to the original no, but as a remake they can’t exactly keep it all the same because where would the fun be? Changing it up a bit is what it needed to keep it new and slightly unpredictable. Yes it upset lots of people because they are so in love with the originals, as am I. But it did keep you guessing a little more than if it was to just be a modern carbon copy.
This movie was pretty good not bad at all.Freddy looked pretty cool,his burned face looks realistic enough. This movie based very much shock wiever a couple of seconds after that everything is normal.Plot was pretty simple but well made.Freddy was gardener really??Well that is fine to me.
Freddy victims acted pretty good.Not anything blaming about them.
Over all well made remake.Jackie Earle Haley is new Freddy Krueger Hurrraay.
I just saw this movie today!
Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy takes a bit of getting used too at the start but you can’t deny by the end of the film what a great job he has done. It’s not particularly scary, but it seems a lot sicker and twisted than I remember. Plus there are some amazing scenes (the supermarket) and I LOVED the wet dream comment, it was kind of sickening which is exactly the way I think Freddy should be.
I was a huge Freddy fan when I was younger and I think a lot of people are just taking this a little too seriously and pissed off that they didn’t use the original Freddy.
It’s not the greatest movie ever, but it’s fun and it’s worlds, worlds, worlds ahead of the Friday 13th remake (utter crap) and I am personally hoping they remake the 2nd and 3rd freddy too. Fingers crossed.
good remake,I really liked it.
Really good remake. It wasn’t as good as the Friday the 13th remake, but it’s pretty close. Katie Cassidy is so damn pretty! Sorry, I had to throw that in there. But, all in all, good remake with plenty of jump scares, and a great beginning and ending.
This is really one of the best remakes that I have seen in a long time. A lot darker and grittier that the original could have ever wanted to be.
For me taking out the wise cracks that the old Freddy made helped to make this movie more horrific.
Horrible…absolutely the worst remake I have ever seen. Another F-U from Platinum Dunes- gladly accepted.
Great movie, “fuck you. we can play that” haha
Though i expected more from this remake, i think it managed to capture the original story well. It was’nt as scary as i think it tried to be, but that would be for the most part to do with the fact that Robert Englund is’nt freddy, dont thik anyone could be quite as good at being disgusting and depraved as him, but found it got better towards the end. I dont think i’ll rush to buy it on dvd when it comes out but i may watch it again.
Had my doubts about the new Freddy. I thought it couldn’t be done, and i was wrong. A hard role to pull off, but he landed it well. My big concern on the other hand, was the fact that all the famous scenes from the original should have been left alone. I don’t understand how they could of looked so much better 25 years ago. They could of took the direction they made it look like they were taking, by making Krueger seem falsely accused. (Thought it added something new). Saying that, a lot of respect for bringing “Nightmare on Elm Streets” darker elements back to life!
Didn’t like the remake a tall. original is a lot better.
When comparing Friday the 13th and Halloween remake. A Nightmare On Elm Street is surprisely good. Most remakes now are full with sex, nudity, and strong language. A Nightmare On Elm Street was not like that at all. It mainly focus on scaring us which it did at times. I also really like the new freddy and his face looked like a real burned victim. I would recomend this remake over many others.
first off i did enjoy this id would give it a 65. I think it brings a few new ideas like making Freddy a child molester/torturer and also playing with the idea if he was innocent or guilty. The best cast members are kyle gallner and Katie cassidy they are the most interesting and fun to watch and the most believable. Thomas dekker and the rest of the cast do fine with the little amount they are given to work with. Rooney Mara was alright as nancy i really enjoyed her alot in the last 25 mins. JACKIE WAS AMAZING DARE I SAY AS GOOD AS ROBERT ! Anyway there were alot of missed opportunites and the editing was a little eh but for the most part i enjoyed the film
A cool remake that is transporting Freddy in the right direction. The dream sequences are cool, and the characters suitable enough to keep the audience on their side. It was interesting that they almost had you empathysing with Freddy, but he molests children so that wasn’t going to last long.
Here is a full review of the movie: http://zoopy.com/q/4q49
I really like the effects, like the floor turning to blood and when he sticks out of the wall, but the story should have been better.
“A Nightmare On Elm Street” (2010) a true nightmare…and not in a good scary way!!
Wes Craven speaks again about the inspiration for ‘Freddy Krueger” most recently in the fear.net series “Post Mortem” Hosted by “Masters of Horror series creator and Director Mick Garris. He remembers when he was a young boy, his family lived in a 2 story building, when one night he was peering out the window from the second floor down at a homeless man. Wes speaks about how the man at one point notices Wes looking at him and proceeds to toy with him, making eerie pose like depictions in the shadows of the night. Wes Craven speaks about the mans eyes and the penetrating fear evoked by his gaze( that Freddy gaze). This interaction affected him in a great way( mostly with fear), promoting him to run into his brothers room to share his trepidation of this man in the street; who now is pounding at their front door. Wes’ brother now wielding a baseball bat opens the front door to find…..no one!
34 years later the incarnation of this experience is brought to life on the big screen with the iconic film “A Nightmare on Elm Street”(1984). In this writers opinion, one of the greatest horror classics of all time- about a child murderer, burned severely- hunting the “Elm Street Children”, punishing them for the acts their parents committed.
Flash forward another 25 years- Freddy Krueger returns again in the Platinum Dunes reboot helmed by Samuel Bayer( Nirvana-”Smells like teen Spirit ” video) for the first time, without the man behind the makeup…Robert Englund, the plot of the kids being from “Elm Street”( replaced by the kids all going to preschool together) or any real moments of fear.
The writers of “NOES” (2010) hint at a decently laid out plot, however the content inserted between beginning and end misses the mark…completely!
Jackie Earl Haley encompasses 0 believability as Freddy Krueger. He has a head that looks like “Spud Mackensie” or a small horse, this symmetry makes him look clearly unrecognizable as the iconic bogeyman. He is also too short to play the part. How can Robert Englund be typecast as Freddy and not be brought back to play the role people only know him as? I’m convinced the boys at Platinum Dunes made this movie knowing that the buzz would create enough of a box office hit to cover their budget. The film made its money simply because Robert Englund helped create a franchise like no other. Nothing new is introduced in this latest incarnation and the studios will green-light another remake for them to defile.
Ok…so what, the guys name is Freddy, he has the sweater and glove and the girls name is Nancy…big whoopee!! This film is soo not NOES its unbelievable. Another 50 million ransacked from the pockets of fans, believing the franchise would deliver again the red and green sweater-ed bogeyman. Only to raked over the coals and shuffled out for the next theater full of optimists to get rolled over.
I will admit that the dreamscape sequences were quite entertaining. The “one liners” from the previous films were refreshing. Had this film been the original- with no 8 previous films. It would have had a very difficult opening weekend.
Nightmare on Elm Street(2010) opening weekend take was $35million……week 2 it dropped 72% earning only $9million…week 3 an additional 54% drop earning $1.5million. Numbers don’t lie! The buzz was never built after opening weekend, that’s how bad this film was. No one recommended it or saw it a 2nd time. ” Welcome to my world bitch”
They don’t care you didn’t like their film and wouldn’t recommend it to a friend, they already got your money….. correction…our money!
BruceVain
Ok. i dont know what everybody has been smoking because i felt this was a fantstic movie. Im gonna start with Freddy. OMG i have been waiting for a freddy like Jackie’s since the original came out. Freddy seems to finally have ditched the comedic approach and gone for a dark and scary approach. I love the original but never felt freddy was that scary in them. probably jumpped once when i saw the original yet here. wow. Although all the scares and jumps were 100% predictable, it still managed to get me. The way Jackie portrays this beloved character is so great, i cant help but jump. He still keeps some of the jokes but he doesnt use them to the extent that the original’s sequels did. All the characters filled there roles great. I felt Kris’s death was a good rendition of the death from the original. I liked the jail death better in this one as it was more sudden and gruesome. One thing people say they didnt like is they changed freddy’s motive. i felt making him a child molester was more frightening than a child killer. The pharmacy scene was well done and amazing and i loved the idea of the micro naps. When she saw Kris in the body bag in the school during a micro nap, i was a bit disturbed but in a good way. Overall i loved this movie. I cant wait for the DVD cause im hoping they add in all those goodies they told us they left out.
10/10
I had to get used to the look and voice of Freddy but he wasn’t bad once I did. I liked that it wasn’t a shot by shot remake and held just enough of the original to be remake and still keep you guessing a little
I don’t even know where to fucking start. Well, to be honest I LOVED Jackie’s performence he was the only saving grace the film had. He absolutely stole every scene without effort. However, whether that is simply because he is portraying Krueger I don’t know. Either way I enjoyed what he did with the character. However, every scene that isn’t a nightmare I find very fucking lacking. Both in character development and acting and story changes. Why the FUCK did they need to change the back story? What is the purpose of the boiler room now? Other then the fact that’s where he was burned, fucking bull shit. Not much of a “lair” at all. And there were some plot holes, I’m sure if 5 year old kids went through an ordeal such as that, they would never fucking forget it. And all the other killings of the kids didn’t occur anywhere near Elm Street, that was fucking ridiculous (hence the question mark at the top). The re-used scenes from the original were a joke and done so poorly. The Glove in the bath tub was “rushed”. The original lets the viewer take in what’s happening, while it slowly moves towards Nancy creating suspense. Before quickly retreating. The remake, well, it’s up and gone so quick if you turn your head you’ll miss it. There are far to many attempts at jump scares which fail every fucking time anyway. Nancy was turned into a half Gothic loner, locked away in her room drawing fucking weird pictures. The character development is done so poorly, as with the acting we don’t care for the characters. In the original you can see the effect the murders have on Nancy, they were all close friends. In the remake she barely talks to any of them, and seems mostly unaffected by their deaths. Are we meant to feel sympathy for the character? She was also nowhere near the heroic Nancy we all know and love. Sure she knew what to do, but she needed help from a little bitch. And the few scenes were she acted “tough” and knew what was going on had me shaking my head with the lines being spoken. I’ve seen better acting in the SyFy movies, no joke. Also, the transmission of her is hardly visible. In the original we get the grey streak of hair, she becomes pale, looks worn and her voice gets very unstable. Showing true signs of stress. In the remake all we get is red bagging under her eyes, we are suppose to believe that?
Tina’s original death is so much more gripping and unbelievably violent then in it’s reimaging, where we get her hitting the walls about four times with out ANY blood. The we see a quick 4 razor full body frontal slash with a small amount of blood emit from the wound before she drops back onto the bed and then the scene changes. In the original she is bloodied and fucking dragged around the roof with an indescribable feeling going on inside the viewer. The entire disruption of Krueger’s actions while living have little to no effect on the town apart from the fact that they deny everything that happened. In the original it caused families to break up, not being able to live together after what had happened and what was done about it Marge even became an alcoholic to deal with the stress and guilt of it all. She also truly cared for her daughter where as in this she doesn’t seem to give a fuck at all, doing absolutely nothing to help her, apart from, signing a form for her to be sedated, that’s seriously it. At times Krueger make up looked very good, others it look horrible and so fake.
The main thing I fucking hated about it though? Was the way Krueger was killed, brought into the real world where he does absolutely nothing before having his throat cut with the exact same dialogue as in FvJ being screamed. Can’t they fucking think of anything new? I would have been happy with the original being re-used, a lot more satisfying. At least Krueger put up a fight and was really tested. his lucky to be in the real world for a minute. That had me over flown with rage and pretty much destroyed any good feelings I had towards it. I have currently seen the original 74 times and counting, and I still never get bored or tired of it at any one moment. But there was scenes in this were I was pressing display to see how long I had left. The opening scene was very weak and 8 minutes in I had a terrible feeling. It picked up and had highs during the dreams but everything in the real world just hit a rock bottom low. I am 100% sure I will add to this post later on but for now I need a rest from all the ranting. May god have mercy on PD’s soul.
OK half you people are retarded this is one of the best remakes Ive ever scene Jackie took the character of Freddy and made him a psychopath again in the last few nightmares Robert kind of made him a comedian instead of the original Freddy that we all came to love from the first movie i loved it and thought it was great
Pathetic. When I thought Platinum Dunes couldn’t get any worse they do. I was excited seeing a new nightmare with today’s technology, the dream sequences could have been made amazing and original. Unfortunately it was all mediocre at best. The only good scene in the movie was the very end ill admit that was pretty damn cool. The characters and dialogue were horrible. Do us a Platinum Dunes and sell this franchise like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
By the way those of us who don’t like it are apparently “retarded” according to the guy with the Marilyn Manson picture.
This was really dumb. To me it was really predicable . I hated the voice and look of Freddy. What really surprised me was the he changed the whole story around.
Also what surprised me was the lack of gore. I’m really happy someone made a horror film that relied on suspense and not gore to scare the viewers. Why are remakes so stupid to day?
i thaughtit was an OK movie not the best but ok, thy could of made it a lil more better,i went to c it when it came out and if ur gonna watch it u shud definetly watch it on the big screen, iliked the endiinq
Before I say any good things about the movie, A Nightmare is definitely flawed. The editing was awful, The acting was pretty bad, and the script was horrible. Ok, set that all aside and completley shut your mind off, A Nightmare On Elm Street is actually a pretty fun movie. Jackie Earle Haley played great as Freddy. Not even close to Robert Englund’s performance but still really good. He was alot darker in this movie. The kills were pretty well put together and their was some really great ideas put into this movie. This movie is getting bashed about and I had low expectations for this movie ONLY because people were bashing it but watching it and having my own opinion and not someone else’s, It’s really underrated. And the ending was pretty awesome. All In All, A Nightmare On Elm Street is really underrated and although flawed, still a really fun movie. I’d rather take this than any sequel after the first Nightmare On Elm Street.
I actually really liked this. I liked how they made Freddy more scary and less cheesy. It was basically a proper remake, with a little bit added in but I liked the extra. Much better than the remakes of the classics I’ve seen recently.
Some of it is really bad, but for the most part, it’s pretty decent.
It’s not a scratch over the original, but it’s far better than that dreadful Friday The 13th remake.
Total junk. Dont waste your time.
This movie is trash.
The original NMOES has been my favorite movie for pretty much my entire life. (When I was 4 I would randomly tell people that Freddy Krueger was my favorite movie character.) That being said, I tried very hard to be as unbiased as I could possibly be… but I still thought this movie was completely reprehensible.
I was dreadfully disappointed. =(
Great job Jackie!!! Shitty job new line!
Bad movie, terrible remake. Full of a lot “what were they thinking!” moments like: 1) the CGI Freddy coming from the wall. 2)Freddy’s face. (to the stupid apologists: “realistic make up does not make it better”) 3) Making the glove and the boiler room having no reason to be there. 4) changing the storyline but keeping the original dreams only making them worse! Anyway, I am already bored counting the numerous flaws of this abortion. It is clearly made for the quick buck and it shows. Finally, people, you are WAY TOO GENEROUS with your number of sculls in your reviews. Decent, ok, flawed but fun ARE NOT movies of 3 or 4 sculls. 3 or 4 means good or very good. We are talking 2 or 1 sculls for mediocre or decent. Come on. Stop giving the wrong idea about the movie to others. Shit is shit!
the film wasnt bad i thought the film was good. it still dosent come close to the original but still a good watch for horror fans. the good point was it was in more depth of y they killed freddy. the bad points was they missed the best bits out of it were was the wit freddy had and were was the dam lad geting pulled thought his bed and blood spraying up from it.
ok.. i saw this the first day in theaters and i have to say……….. i enjoyed it. its no where NEAR as good as the original buts thias movie is its own and tries but fails alot.. and heres why. every kill in this movie was predictible. it had some awesome dream sequences but it never did anything diffrent… thats why it wasnt all that great. it was decent but could have been so much better. but the best part of this movie. was jackie earle haley. he was awesome as freddy. no one can replace robert ebglund but he did a fantastic spin of the charactor. another thing that kinda PISSED me off. was that they copied alot of things from FREDDY VS JASON. i dont want to spoil anything but watch freddy vs jason befor this and youll know what i mean. but its ok stamp on the series and would love to see jackie put the claw on once again
A new Freddy for a new generation. As a fan of the old series I feel bad for the kids today that have to make do with this bleak and uninspired adaptation. They just sucked the life right out of the original. Where do they go from here?
No “magic” like the first, but thought it was pretty good, and Freddy was done well. Felt menaced, not laughing from one liners. Good job – 7 out of 10 – just not “great” like the original. I think if youre immersed in the reflection on the first one its hard to feel it clearly. Not bad. Only part that bothered me was the editing, the soundtrack (nowhere near as good as the original) and the actors playing HS students looked in their mid to late 20′s. Its like a Picasso. I can paint one. But its not a masterpiece. Craven just nailed it and all the rogue pieces just fell right into perfect places with his version. Not bad nonetheless. Freddy was pretty badass though – it was nice to see the comedy removed from his character, finally. I couldnt fucking stand that Robert England stand-up comedy shit after part II.
HOW DARE THEY?!!!! How dare they turn the classic Freddy into nothing more than an average pedophile?! This remake is absolutely ridiculous. If the original or any of the great sequels spooked you back in the day, then stay away from this remake because it doesn’t even come close to achieving that same kind of fear inside you. After watching what seemed like 20 movies with Robert Englund perfectly playing the old Freddy, why even try to find someone else who can compare? Jackie Earle Haley may be a fine actor, but Freddy was made for Robert Englund…period.
The story is pitiful, the actors are horrible, the effects are lame…so, basically, go watch the original and/or all of the sequels, and leave this one on the shelves.
Wow, I went into this with low expectations , and that’s exactly what came out of it. Pretty sad these shitty directors can’t come up with their own ideas, and become a total disgrace to the original.
When A Nightmare on Elm Street was remade and subsequently released back in April, I was shocked to read and hear so much negativity directed towards such a beloved franchise. With a solid budget and Jackie Earle Haley taking up the reins (or knife fingered gloves), this movie should have been an easy success.
To be told that you can take solid production values, awesome effects and sets and even a decent cast acting-wise for a slasher flick, combine all of this and release a bad film, well it seems impossible.
The is definitely a remake of the original film of the same name, although aside from some names and a few effects/death scenes, this is an entirely different experience. Freddy looks like some type of burned rat-monster, complete with fangs and an evil, deep voice. The blood and gore, while present, doesn’t seem as pervasive as the original film. In this case, the violence almost seems like an afterthought, more the logical progression of the film and not really a highlight.
In this instance, Freddy is shown as a flesh and blood human. You see him, not as a monster, but as a man who has a way with children. I was somewhat surprised by the entire portrayal of Freddy, both before and after I knew the truth of what had happened, or at least most of the truth. I must give the writers some credit, as they really did attempt to give a new take on Freddy, one that was not entirely black and white as the previous portrayal was.
Ultimately, there is not a lot inherently wrong with this movie, other than the fact that it is just not really that scary. The psychological element is either non-existent, or I have just seen too many Freddy movies to really jump at his antics any more. I almost feel like the writers and director chose to just really play it safe with this movie. They didn’t take any serious risks and they walked the line between rehash and reboot so closely that I didn’t entirely like what I was left with.
While certainly worthy of a rental for all horror fans, just know that while everybody is different, it seems like many of us horror fans found numerous things wrong with this remake, far more than just the anger at remaking a classic.
Yall are trippin, hard. You’ve all blindly jumped on the “no remakes!!” bandwagon and it shows. The new freddy not only looks MUCH scarier, but his demeanor is menacing. The movie had more potential sure but it was adequate. Some very creepy dream sequences and well choreographed deaths (they arent all that original but they are technically well down and fun to watch).
Also, freddy has ALWAYS been a pedophile… they just fleshed the idea out a little more in the remake. I say bravo and bring on the sequel.
One of the worst movies i have ever seen hands down! What the F happened. I felt like i was watching Boogyman! Way too much cgi and the acting was horrible. Michael Bay just keeps shitting out these horrible remakes. What a disgrace. I want my money back!
Parts worked well and others fell flat.
Umm, it was legit.
Nothing special by any means, though I don’t understand all the hate it’s received, it’s solid.
Freddy looked dumb, the acting was really annoying sometimes and some of the parts were just dumb. However, it had SOME bright spots, I wont spoil anything though. It’s not a bad way to burn an hour and a half or so, nothing great though, don’t get excited.
Although this film has received a lot of bad comments and reviews, it really wasn’t all that bad. It was a fair remake to the original in my opinion.
The new look of Freddy was different but gave him a better look as a real burn victim. The problem there was that, like a real burn victim, one is left with very little control of facial expression. It would have been a lot better to see Freddy smile a lot more. His acting was also different then the Freddy we know so well but that’s what made it so much fun.
The look of the movie was very dark and had a cold and tragic feeling. The characters performances were believable, though in some parts the acting seem to fall apart but only for a moment.
The film definitely lived up to being a true remake and not a complete copy of the original. I suspect that the majority of people that give the film such a bad rap is because they watched it with the expectation of seeing the original again. A remake is suppose to be different.
Another thing that I’m very disappointed about is the MISSING footage. The DVD does not include any additional footage but the Blu-ray contains an alternate opening and alternate ending. As well as one deleted scene. (there are numerous scenes deleted and two other alternate openings) After further researching, the film’s script was changed more than once during filming so there seem to be dozens of scenes that were shot but never kept. Upon viewing both trailers, mainly the teaser, you can clearly see the missing footage but this footage is not on any DVD or Blu-ray Disc. It seems like there was more than one alternate opening as well as many other missing dream sequences but where are they? Not to mention the scene of the “making of the glove” which is a very iconic scene to the original.
But sometimes you can’t always get what you hoped you would. In the end I give it a 5/10 because it just fits nicely in the middle of not being perfect but also not completely bad either. Everyone should at least see it once with an opened mind.
What the hell are all you crybabies bitching about? This film has greatly surpassed that piece of crap original & series. News Flash….. Robert Englund sucked as Freddy! All the cheap one liners and puns! He wasn’t funny nor scary. Then there’s the fact that he never looked like a real burn victim! I hated every single one of the “Nightmare on Elm street” films. I was so happy when they were remaking this movie. I found it to be a very sweet homage to the original piece of garbage, while throwing in some relevant story and a much scarier Freddy. Jackie did a superb job, however there were 1 or 2 times he broke character back into Rorschach. Although it was easy to forgive him. I know, I know, I’m just some Friday the 13th nut who has a grudge against Freddy. Well news flash again to all you die hards out there…. Kane Hodder is considered by most Friday fans to be the best Jason of all time. Well, I thought he sucked, not only that but his movies sucked as well. The only one that is even worth watching to me, with Kane in it is part 7 “the new blood”. The rest sucked beyond belief. However over the years I’ve just learned to accept Kane’s terrible portrayal of Jason and just keep watching. I’m a fan of Jason not the one inside the makeup and prosthetics. Although I got off track about Freddy, I just had to throw that out there in my defense. Anyway loved the remake and i do hope they make more.
Worse movie EVER! I hated the new freddy…i actually felt bad for him, he looked like a real burn victim not to mention he cried when he was being killed…im so glad i didn’t waste my money t o watch it in the theaters.
Years ago, Michael Bay’s production company made its mark on the horror landscape with its remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Much maligned at the time, that particular film appears full of character and creativity compared to all their other efforts.
While the Friday the 13th remake is similar in its level of soulless creation, the Nightmare on Elm Street redo has the distinction of being absolutely joyless to watch. This is painful because of how unusually intelligent the script of the original was. Friday the 13th is and always will be boneheaded to its core. The original Nightmare on Elm Street stood out because it had a cleverness that elevated it beyond its severely low-budget shlock brethren.
This is an opportunistic project. I hope those reading this find that as insult as I mean it to be. It fails to entertain, it fails to frighten, and it fails to leave you with anything once the credits roll aside from the question: “How in the hell did they spend 35 million on this nonsense!?”
Samual Bayer directed possibly the most iconic music video ever with Smells Like Teen Spirit. After viewing this film I can honestly claim that his creative output peaked 19 years ago. After making this, I would like to say thank you for inspiring no one to go into filmmaking. This is a glistening piece of ineptitude. You’re killing the genre folks by paying for this crap. Stop it.
Why would they remake Freddy’s face? And his voice was just silly. This should have been an easy remake.
As a remake it was pretty solid.The original obviously remains Superior and one of my favorite horror movies, Freddy has always reigned my favorite slasher. Robert Englund will always be Freddy in my mind,and a much better freddy, but Jackie Earl does do an adequate and scary job as Kruger. I like the more sinister approach they took on Freddy while still remaining to have that dark sense of humor. “Did you know that after the heart stops beating the mind keeps going for 7 minutes? We still have 6 more minutes to play.” I LOVE that line it’s the perfect Kruger line. The directing was very well done and the acting was mediocre but it was tolerant able. I liked Freddy’s new motives of him wanting to kill off the kids he molested because they told on him. It was different than the original, and yes the original was WAY better in every way, but at least it was something slightly new so we aren’t watching the same thing over again. The new makeup of Freddy was much more realistic as a burn victim. in the older films he looked more like a demon. I will agree on BD’s review how this movie had a lot of potential but didn’t quite live up to it like it should’ve, but it was decent and worth a watch. At least we get to see Freddy again on screen coming back as a very sinister and dark twisted fuck, you know the whole reason of why Freddy fans love him as an iconic killer.
What a horrendous piece of shit. I’m so glad I waited to rent it. Jackie Earle Haley is a talented and gifted actor, but Freddy Krueger is not for him. He made Freddy sound like a pissed off Elmer Fudd, which was annoying. The script was terrible, and Freddy’s one liners were atrocious. This is, by far, the worst remake yet. If you haven’t seen it, don’t waste your time. You’ll be highly disappointed.
I went into this film with low expectations, very low expectations. While I have never been a big Freddy Kruger fan, I have always admired the work that Robert Englund did with the character. When I found out that they had recast him with Jackie Earle Haley, I was a bit concerned, but after seeing the film, I am actually impressed. Jackie did a great job. I actually really enjoyed this film. Not as good as the original, but good in its own right.
Words cannot express how much I hate this movie. They ruined Kruger’s legacy!
Finally Caught this Last Night- Not as bad as i was expecting due to the reviews on here- JEH as Freddy did a good job . He was portraying Krueger not Englund which i liked. A few cool changes IE the Jail Cell death but it did feel like a Check List was being ticked off – I would like to see a Part 2 as long as it was a totally original film not a remake –
What’s the point?
I liked it
ehh not what i thought but not bad
CRAP! What a boring and waaaaay to funny remake. I laughed more then anything. I wanted to like it, because I love the original and like Jackie Earle Haley, but alas….IT SUCKED!!!!!
Liked it and would watch it again. First time in a long time Freddy has actually been a little scary. He is a real nasty, twitchy, pervy S.O.B in this movie. The LFE output from the blu-ray was some of the deepest and best I’ve ever heard. And I liked how Freddy’s voice sounded a bit louder and disconnected from the rest of the audio track, he is torturing his victims from the dream world after all.
Since I love the Robert Englund as Freddy, I really tried to hate this movie. But I ended up really enjoying it.
There are so many flaws with this movie. First of all, the CGI and choice other modern effects don’t belong. The scene where one character is flung around a room looks ridiculous. If something looked better almost three decades ago, then there’s a problem. The acting is horrid. You should notice this from the start. It wasn’t like I was expecting anything special but damn. At least they got someone above decent for Nancy Maybe all of the actors were put off by the awful script. And then comes the most important flaw–a boring Freddy. He’s short and his appearance is less than terrifying. Somehow realistic burns don’t creep you out the way they should…or at all really and I swear that at one point his voice doesn’t match his mouth. And anytime he tries to say something Freddy-ish it just comes off as out-of-place. Micronaps are under-used but I’d prefer that to rubbing it in your face every five seconds. And I didn’t enjoy the cop-out ending. Also: child molestation – something we don’t want to be involved and integral to the plot of a Freddy movie. It’s creepy in the wrong way.
Story-wise this flick was fun and it did its job. I was glad to see that many elements and scenes from the original film were thrown into this flick, with some of them “re-imaged”(hah) as a work of their own. Most of these were good, although I can say that I personally did not like one “re-imaged” scene(due to direction), which I will get to later. What really made me enjoy this film’s storyline was the fact that some elements in this film were not employed in the original. One of these elements is the background behind Freddy. In the original we got a moderate amount of background info on Freddy, not too much and not too little. Personally, I enjoyed that as it left us somewhat in the dark as to what Freddy really did, which is genius. Why genius? Because the revenge Freddy exacts is so strong and so horrendous that he simply must have done some REALLY bad things back in the day. Yes, GENIUS. This remake goes more in depth into what Freddy’s crimes were, and surprisingly in this film’s case I enjoyed that. It is also nice to get a different point of view on a character and this flick took care of that. I will say that Freddy’s background in this film has a few differences compared to the original, including one element that I did not like…it is not as shocking. SPOILER: In this film Freddy’s background is as a child molester, which is OK, but this is weak compared to his background in the original…in which he was a child KILLER. It is a taboo way of thinking, but this is horror, remember that.
Direction-wise I feel that newbie Samuel Bayer(who before this had only directed music videos) did an OK job with this flick. I did not like his use of CGI during some scenes, especially the scene involving Freddy “coming out of the wall”(what I mentioned earlier about differences between the original scenes). This was lame, cheap, and did not nearly freak me out as Wes Craven’s expert execution of this scene in his original. He used live action effects, as any true horror director should. Why? It works, it ALWAYS works, at least more than CGI does. Unless you have gigantic dinosaurs or creatures running around, CGI is unnecessary. We were exposed to more CGI in some scenes, which included gore scenes, and that is never forgivable. CGI blood is worthless, end of story. Mr. Bayer did do a fine job with this film’s pacing, and I must applaud him for that. There was a bit of heat against him and producers when we were told that quite a few scenes were left out from the film, including the awesome looking “tunnel” scene from the trailer. He mentioned that it was left out to “tighten” up the film, which I can understand. However, if anything is executed properly, it will pace well, there will be no need to “tighten”. It was not the content of the scene that was the problem, it was the execution of the scene. Be prepared for some lame jump scares as well, surely the most recognizable element of any of Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes flicks. Atmospherically I liked what Mr. Bayer did with this flick. He used very dark and grainy cinematography which never really let you get over the eerie feel this flick has, especially in low-light scenes.
Now onto the real star of the film, the only element that truly matters…Freddy. Jackie Earl Haley did a great job with this iconic character, and gave us his OWN performance as Freddy, not a “re-imaging”(hah) of Robert Englund’s original performances as Freddy Krueger in all “Nightmare on Elm Street” films prior to this, including “Freddy vs. Jason” as well as the TV-series “Freddy’s Nightmares”. Basically, Robert Englund IS Freddy Krueger. I was a bit shaky on how Mr. Haley would do as Freddy. I love Jackie, but I did not think anyone could even remotely pull of Englund’s performance as Freddy, but Jackie did a swell job. He is not replacing Englund as Freddy, nor will he ever, but he did what he could with this role and I respect him for that. He was not the Freddy we came to love and adore that Englund gave us, but a more brash and angry Freddy. Englund’s Freddy was horrific indeed, but mainly in a sense that he toyed with his victims, and enjoyed it dearly. Haley’s Freddy toyed with his victims, but he never went long without showing us rage over what happened to him, and I loved that. I respect both actors highly for what they have done with this iconic horror character.
Overall, this is an OK watch and I believe should be enough to somewhat satisfy fans of the original given this flick not only throws in new elements to the story, but gives us a sweet alternative look at Freddy Krueger, one of horror’s greatest and most recognized characters.
The original was fun with likeable characters. The remake is a borefest with some of the most abysmal acting I’ve ever seen. Oh, and Freddy wasn’t scary in the slightest. Not a patch on Robert Englund’s portrayal.
I could nitpick this movie to death. It’s just lame. A horrible (not in a good way), lame and boring remake.
The original is way better than remake. Krueger isnt even scary anymore. The realistic burns arent as scary as the face from the 80s ANOES.
I really liked this movie. I’m surprised i went to it after i saw the originals, they made me laugh but they are really good for their time. I knew this would be better then the old ones. thing that i didn’t like was the part where he came out of the wall. when they did this in the originals it was creepy, but using computer graphics just ruined it. It wasn’t a movie that wouldn’t make you stay up for a week. it was a movie that made you jump and wait in anticipation for the next part to come. I loved this movie !
i have always been the guy who has to defend the horror genre. “why do you like horror movies so much?” “how can you stand them?”
why and how, do you ask? because no other genre can make somebody actually afraid in the dark, or sit and squirm in their seat because they are extremely uncomfortable, or out and out gag, or get really pissed off at you because you just showed them a gore masterpiece and now the date is over and no sex tonight. those are the reasons why i love a good horror movie. that is why i wake up in the morning. but then an absolute piece of shit like this comes out, and i decide that i want to watch it even though it looks terrible, and its much worse than that. it causes peoople to hate the genre even more. people who normally wouldn’t see a horror movie will NEVER see one now, thanx to garbage like this. i could go on and on, but you get what i am saying, right? i am all for spending my hard earned money to take a chance, and sometimes you get a big fat turd instead of the gold your looking for when a large part of your life is spent looking for that gold! but when i feel like i have just been robbed, the gloves gotta come off! THIS MOVIE IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE WORST MOVIE I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!
Now this is an alright film but I cannot get past the fact that Freddy Krueger was played by someone other than Robert Englund. I mean Robert Englund IS Freddy Kruger. This fact alone really crippled me on enjoying the film. But I gave it a shot anyway… and I wasn’t impressed with it at all. The story wasn’t that intriguing to me. It was nice to see it updated for the next generation but it fell short of how entertaining the previous entries were. But I will say it had some really cool special effect sequences (I mean dream scenes, certainly not the horrible makeup of Freddy).
Jackie Earl Haley is really scary in this movie, his voice is much more deeper. He’s way better than Robert Englund. The remake was better, and this movie was scary, this movie was awesome!!!
Eh, this movie has its ups and its downs. It never really engages you to the characters, instead it tries to appeal just by the kills. The kills aren’t bad, some are better than other but they do the job. Jackie Earl Haley does a decent job at Freddy and isn’t as bad as I thought he’d be. Surprisingly for me the brief “prequel-esqe” part was one of the highlights of this movie. But a huge negative for me was the ending. The whole “your in my world now bitch!” line made me think “Wow, can we try to appeal to 15 year olds anymore!!!!” But I did like the very end (MOM PART). However, I didn’t like the whole CGI face that Freddy had. I think it would have been better to just do the special effects makeup. Overall, not too bad but I really think this could have been a better film with a little more “Old school” elements. 6/10
i stopped the movie after 30 minutes. Not that it was so awful it made me angry, thought i would have liked it better, because at least then it would have made me feel something, but it was just so boring. I didn’t care enough about the characters (at all actually) to watch them fight for their lives, and seeing them die wasn’t satisfying either because the kills were as boring and bland as the rest of the movie… i think i will stick to the original movie instead.
Nobody can ever beat Robert Englund as Freddy, he added a comical view on the whole series of movies and even the Freddy’s Nightmares series. But, This movie was kinda nice giving a different perspective one the story line. As for them trying to make a new franchise, I personally feel that it wouldn’t do as well as the originals. It let me down just for the simple fact that they aimed to make Freddy serious, the older versions (as freaky as I may sound saying this.) made each death comical with every little phrase Englund said before and after killing the victims in the original movies.
Oh my god. What was that crap?!
First off, I was told by the Mr. that I was not allowed to talk anymore during the movie after a few minutes in because I had already started chedding said filn.
Wow. If you know me, you know I was such a Freddy fan that I made the paper mache house when I was 11 or 12 or something. I still have the plastic glove.
I had rotten fake teeth. I watched all the movies way too many times and can probably recite the script seconds before the actors do. Hell, I was blasphemous and wore the 3D Final Nightmare glasses out in public because dammit! I LOVED Freddy.
I have been adamantly against this remake since before they announced Jackie Earle Haley as the lead.
Lauren, why did you subject yourself to it, then?
I had to. I just had to. Ugh.
So to sum up my review of this horrid remake – all I can say is instead of pancake mix, we get a CGI hallway that is somewhat impressive.
Other than that – I just lost an hour and a half of my life.
This remake was actually better than I thought it would be. The creepy uncertain atmosphere was present, and it had a few things going. One thing for sure is that this Freddy, played by Jackie Earle Haley, is inferior to the original Robert Englund. That was the most annoying fluke of the movie. Overall, this movie will be another remake that almost no one (who’s watched it) will bother seeing again.
I thought this was a decent flick.Four things bugged me or I would have loved it.1.Haley did a good job but he’s never going to top Englund’s version of Freddy.2.Freddy’s face effects looked terrible not impressed.3.The CGI wall scene was too SYFY channel looking.4.The very end scene was weak.Besides that I still think it was a good movie.And I totally thought it was going to suck but it’s definitely worth a watch.It has alot of cool scenes and if they would have used Englund and the old school look of Freddy it would have been a new classic.Check it out and see what you think.
Pretty Good
I have seen many, MANY reviews piling on the hate for this film. Mine is not one of them. I personally enjoyed this film, not just as a remake of the original but because it was scary, thought-provoking and quite fun to watch. I loved Jackie Earle Hayley’s portayal of Freddy and he stands up there with Robert Englund as the ONLY person who could have pulled off the role of our favorite claw-gloved child-killer this perfectly. However he also brings a freshness and a booster shot of much needed malice and fear to the role that Robert Englund lacked.
The most unique aspect of this film was the kills and Freddy used his iconic clawed glove to great effect here. He made the kills frightening and cringe-inducing, not stupid and over the top like in the originals. There was also a new trait to the character of Freddy and that was the idea that he is not just a child killer, but a child molester as well. Needless to say, he REALLY loved those kids….
The other members of the cast were great too, although the only one that didn’t stand out as much as I would have liked was Rooney Mara who played Nancy. I think she should have been more confident in herself and less introverted.
The most unique aspect of this film however was the introduction of micro-naps, as in the person has been awake so long that they begin to dream while they are still awake or not realizing it. This amde it much more unpredictable as to when Freddy could strike next. The scene in the pharmacy between Nancy and Feddy is one that is not to be missed.
Also, Freddy’s burned visage has gotten an overhaul. He has been made to look more like a real burn victim and less pizza-face than before. I think they did a good job with that as he looked appropriately frightening without being overboard.
All in all, this is one of the best movies I have seen so far and I reccomend it to fans of the NOES franchise and newbies alike. Have fun watching and be careful…”One, two…Freddy’s coming for YOU!”
This was one of the worst horror movie remakes in my opinion, just didn’t do it for me. The new Freddy I thought was a great decision b/c he portrayed him pretty well, but the film just didn’t meet up to what I expecting.
Well I am a true horror fan and am not scared to say that Nightmare on Elm Street was my first horror movie it hit my home when I was 7 and has stuck with me.
When I heard this was coming I was happy at first and alot of bad reviews make you waver in watching it, but as a true Freddy fan I decided to watch it anyways.
I for one disliked it….it is not scary at all and the acting is very bad this made worse as it is not the real Freddy which kind of ruins the entire movie.
In my oppenion they should have left the movies alone and it is in now way high enough in standards to even grace the others.
I really did not like this movie at all. Freddy is portrayed as a child RAPIST when it stayes in the original that he was a child MURDERER. there was never anything in the first about him raping little kids, also, the makeup effects were just awful and where in the world was Robert Englund? I just found it to be to far off and completely wrong. They took a wonderful and iconic 80s horror film and remade it into a piece of shit. After all this time, you would think someone could have done a better job at the film. I also would have really liked to see Nancy from the original somewhere in the film…instead they throw a bunch of unknowns and horrible actors into the film and expected it to do well. Its a disgrace and an insult to the original N.O.E.S and whoever produced and wrote this script needs punched in the face. Do your research at least before attemptong a remake of a horror classic. Why does Freddy look nothing like he should? Ugh. its bloody fucking disgusting..haha
Ok I am wiping tears of laughter from my eyes from some of these reviews. Fact one: Fred Krueger was a vicious child killer AND pedophile in the original “we tracked him to an old boiler-room where he used to take HIS kids” Countless sequals and wisecracks dimished the utter evil and depravity of the character. but thats just the way it is. I must say Jackie Earle Haley’s perf was bout the only thing I liked bout the remake, he’s actually so good that watching all the other “actors” in this movie painful at the very least. Fact two: no matter how much money you throw at it the remake needs some real talent. The director did NOTHING to wring the same amount of forboding and scares that Craven did with a VERY fraction of the budget! All in all remakes are here to stay maybe one day they will think it thru more clearly. Horror excels with vision and daring not justhacks with cameras trying to make a quick buck!
It was a very good movie. People just don’t really care for remakes but this one made me jump and the young cast did a pretty good job.
I did not like this movie at all, the last scene was the best part of the movie for me, the rest was really bad.
Very good movie almost as good as no. 3. big mistake changing Freddy
Rubbish remake
An amazing remake that’s even better than the original!
This movie doesnt live up to the original at all. As a remake it sucks. As a movie on its own its pretty half assed
I was one of those Nightmare fans that was kind of interested in what this movie would be like.I was actually kinda stoked to see a new vision of the series, and I also am not a fan of remakes. I saw the film, and it took everything I had not to fall asleep. It was so fucking boring! They fucked up Freddy’s origin. It was just all around bad. Some of the effects were alright. It also had some really lame and disappointing death scenes too. I will not be back for the sequel if there is one.
i loved this movie more than i thought i would
not too keen on the new freddy at all though i must say. No one could outdo Robert Englund we all new this.
I did enjoy how they explained freddy’s background/past more and a pretty good gory factor also.
A uninspired movie,they could of done so much more in the dreams,the acting is okay, not too bad ,kyle really stand out though.And i didnt like how Freddy looked like a mouse,I know they tried to make it look “realistic” but they could of done better.
I had high expectations before watching this movie and even more after seeing the trailer, and also directed by Samuel Bayer, but I carry a sense of disappointment, is a good movie, but never come close to the original, it ends up becoming a film of the lot will soon forget.
Well with this particular slasher remake I was pleasantly surprised. I knew this film was produced and released by Michael Bay’s production company Platinum Dunes and they released and produced The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and that was shit so I was a bit reluctant to see this one. One night when I had nothing to do I just decided I’d head over to the theater and see it. I gotta say I was pleasantly surprised. It was a decent remake in my opinion. Jackie Earle Haley did well as Freddy Krueger. Not as good as Robert Englund but still good. The kills were great and there were alot of jump scares but they worked well and blended in with the film. I’m not saying it’s fantastic but it would be great if lovers of the original stopped turning their noses up at this film. Fans of the original should just give this film a go because this captures the essence of the original but also explains how and why Freddy Krueger was killed. Just give this a go people and you will be pleasantly surprised.
CRAP!
I really enjoyed this re-make and I think Jakie Earle Haley did a great job – he’s no Robert Englund – even though the bar was set so high. I liked the fact they kept in some of the original Wes scenes from the first ever N.O.E.S.
But I did think they could have kept the make-up similar, I feel Freddy was more friendly because of the make-up. It wasn’t as (for lack of a better word) “pointy” as the original – which was far more disturbing.
Jumpy, great one liners and some mighty stunning visual effects.
A cracking good watch if you like new-age horror. But for the lovers of the “Craven Haven” – not much point.
Myself – I love re-makes and originals So I’m giving it a 8.
i thought it was stupid!!!they should hav NEVER messed with remaking this,i mean come on freddy looks very cartoonish to me and the voice just is way to kidish,and i believe this movie doesnt match up with the originals.
This movie was terrible! The story was lame, the cast was lame and the I couldnt take the new Freddy seriously.
The original had its cheeseball moments (waterbed scene), but is a pretty decent film. Shame on studio execs trying to make a quick buck by pumping out, yet another lame remake.
Not very good but probably not for the reasons you’d guess.
The new Freddy is actually a great choice and he makes Freddy scary again.
However, the movie is just poorly made and only has one cool death sequence, and its the last shot of the movie.
Check it out if you get a chance, but dont go out of your way for it and dont expect greatness.
i didnt like the new freddy, i found the film very, uninteresting and just a waste, terrible movie
Kruger was the best part of this movie, and he’s the CHILD MOLESTER! JEH was decent as Freddy but that’s where the cast stopped. The film was dreary and boring, just a bunch of random teens getting killed in semi-interesting ways. The ideas of microlapsyes was cool, but never fully developed. The original NOES pressented a villan that could get anyone, but this was just a story of revenge. THis film was painful to watch and dull, two good jump scares, but the final scene was creative.
Yet another Platinum Dunes remake — all style, no substance. They never seem to get what made any of the originals fun and scary, and this one was the worst of all. NOES was the 80s slasher begging most for a good remake with a better budget, modern effects and imaginative visuals. Instead we get the same pedestrian, forgettable slasher shit recycled again.
Go make something original, Platinum Dunes, instead of remakes that feed off the corpse of the originals.
Woaaa This Was Tooooo Rushed, Not Everythinq Has To Be Riqht To The Point. Jackie Looked Soo Wronq As Freddy. New Line Has To Stop Doinq Remakes Like These. Not Good At All..
I loved the idea of Jackie Earl Haley as Freddie and thought he did a good job. No one can do what Robert Englund did as Freddie, and I appreciated that he didn’t try to copy him, but instead went in his own direction with him. Other than that though, aside from Rooney Mara and Kyle Gallner doing a decent job, the whole cast was filled with terrible young actors that dragged the whole movie down so badly, all I was waiting for was for them to just die already so I could enjoy the damn movie. Especially Katie Cassidy. And Kellen Lutz was only in it for about 5 minutes and in those 5 minutes he was so terrible I was already like “HOLY SHIT! SOMEONE KILL THIS KID AND GET ON WITH IT!” So I don’t know…. I’d say you need to see it for yourself to form your own opinion. I’d recommend watching once, after that it’s all you.
I loved this, it was an awesome remake.
I wasn’t a real fan of this movie because it twisted Freddy’s entire concept into the reason why Wes Craven didn’t make it the. He chose to make Freddy a child murder but in this remake Freddy was a pedophile. Not to take anything away from Jackie but this film wasnt as fulling as the rest
Shit Sandwich.
Not the bgigest fan of the original franchise, and can see what they were attempting to do with this film. Sadly, they failed at whatever it was they were attempting. Jackie Earle Haley is pretty creepy, but by trying to explain too much about Freddy, too much of his mystique was taken away. Bad, but not too much worse than some of the original sequels. More information here:
http://thewolfmancometh.com/2011/02/04/maniac-1980/
5 reasons why you shouldn’t see this movie:
1. It’s not scary. You can pretty much clap every time you think there will be a jump scare and you will be spot on.
2. Freddy Krüger has a voice like an old weak man.
3. You won’t care a bit for the characters.
4. The dream concept isn’t used well in one scene.
5. This movie don’t really has much blood. And a horror movie just needs blood.
Quick and to the point: This movie does a lot of things wrong.
This movie was just AWFUL! A sorry excuse for a horror film. First of all, they changed the whole entire story around. Who the fuck does that? Who just changes a perfectly good classic horror story? An idiot that’s who!
They seriously need to stop remaking classic horror films. It’s pissing me off.
They butchered this movie. BUTCHERED IT!
look this movie was the best nightmare they ever done everybody was great in there roles this freddy is fast mean and scary and they didnt change the story they kept it the same and made it more hard core freddy is no joke in this movie its about time they gave us the real freddy this movie gave freddy the justice that freddy needed the other freddy movie’s look like bambi next to this one every dream scene is dead on for what it needed to be, if you dont think so then you just dont know the freddy story this movie hits home on all levels it gets a ten.
Well 1st Off Katie Cassidy Should’ve Been Nancy !!
Rooney Mara Can’t Act For Nancy She Acts Nothing Like The Original Nancy.
Freddy Was Annoying And Not Scary.
Not Enough Blood !!!!
Very Boring The Second Time You Watch It Escpicially The 3rd Time!!
The Only Actor I Truly Enjoyed In This Movie Was Nancys Mom Who Played In American Horror Story ! It sucks bad that they killed her off right at the end terrible idea she could of been a great sequel character but no !!!!
Please i’d rather of had a sequel to new nightmare or freddy vs.jason 2 sick of remakes, remakes don’t work see what happened to texas chanisaw ?? they were so shitty they wont even continue it it in the new 3d movie which im very excited for since it takes place right after the original movie thanl god
but yeah the score was awful, freddys was bad, rooney mara can’t play nancy, to rushed hope a sequel will be better !
This movie has very dull characters & Robert Englund is the only Freddy.
This is the re-imagining of the original Nightmare on Elm Street film starring Robert Englund. This film’s plot is the same as the original but with new twists and turns in my opinion and it takes the story and updates it for this generation. Alot of people hate on this movie but I would have to say that this movie is better than most of the sequels. The original is a classic I love it but this film is better than the sequels. In this film they did a really good job of re-inventing Freddy Krueger. In my opinion the direction that they took Freddy Krueger in was good. It’s not better than the original it is a classic and is what started this horror icon and will go down in history as one of the greatest horror films ever made.
god damn this is one horrible movie
big time let down, predictable, the worst thing is freddys dialogue
I’m not surprised that today’s youth would prefer this piece of garbage over the original. If the first 5 minutes don’t contain gore and excitement, they shut it off because it’s “too boring”. One poster here actually prefers this “Nancy” over the original even though it’s the original that actually was strong against the villain and even defeated him. But today’s young people are pretty stunted, unfortunately. They don’t appreciate a good story. Yep, stunted. Anyway, this movie, while having good special effects, was an insult to the original. They didn’t even make the Nancy character into a heroine. Just another hapless teen from the modern era. Gladly, I didn’t pay a dime to see this piece of filth.
Wrong!
This movie was actually scary. Thank you!
Everything that was so great in Wes Craven’s masterpiece is watered-down and shitted on in this 2010 rubbish. Vapid, soporific, tedious. It can go on and on. Just another stupid remake that just gives all remakes a bad rep. It’s not even worthy enough for a cable viewing.
I absolutely loved this movie! I think it is by far the best remake I have ever seen.