A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (2010)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Horror remakes have so dominated our movie theaters that it is almost unheard of to imagine a new idea by a new director. 1984's "Nightmare on Elm Street" was a sensational, inventive horror film that introduced the world to the hideous burn victim with a red and green sweater, Freddy Krueger. The original film was not perfect - the ending was muted and stiff - but it is a classic in the genre, spawning several sequels and a postmodernist redux by the original film's director, Wes Craven, called "New Nightmare." Now we get the inevitable remake of the 1984 film and the big surprise is that it isn't half-bad and develops a far more sinister tone. It doesn't eclipse the original, not by a long shot, but it ain't an embarrassment either.
After witnessing a teenager kill himself in a cafe, we have a pretty teen girl, Kris (Katie Cassidy), who was the kid's girlfriend and is in mourning. She sees a vision of herself as a young child with razor-like tears on her dress at her boyfriend's funeral (she falls asleep briefly). Kris knows something is rotten in the Elm Street world when she discovers an old preschool picture that shows her and her high-school friends - the twist is she didn't know them then, or did she? There is also the demure, sullen Nancy (Rooney Mara), who works as a waitress and can't sleep. Her friend, Quentin (Kyle Gallner), also has trouble sleeping and is practically a walking zombie who takes medication to keep him alert (and has a propensity for adrenaline needles). It is saying something in 2010 when the teens are more insular and pill-popping than the teens in 1984 - these kids do not party and have no fun. They simply worry about the demonic killer of their dreams, Fred Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley). At least in the original, the kids had sex and thought about something besides talon-gloved child murderers.
This Elm Street film has got one chip that falls into place beautifully, Jackie Earle Haley. He looks like a burn victim and has some token one-liners (including stealing Englund's show-stopping one-liner from "Elm Street 4" - "How's this for a wet dream?") but he is also scary and disgusting to look at (and so was Englund in the original film, which left him often shrouded in deep shadows). One truly nice touch is when Quentin has a nightmare about Freddy where Freddy makes himself the innocent victim of crimes he didn't commit. It is the wittiest idea in the entire film.
The teens are not memorable, though, and the actors do try their best. Rooney Mara as Nancy comes off best, though she pales (literally) in comparison to Heather Langenkamp in the original (Rooney went on to play Lisbeth in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" remake). Kyle Gallner looks like he is in a deep sleep even when he is awake (or maybe he realized he could adopt a Robert Pattinson dreaminess). These teenagers look like emaciated zombies with stylish clothing living in a very subterranean Elm Street world. It looks like a dream world in a dream world, and I am not sure that is the best visual approach. One of the pleasures of the original was that it showed a sunlit, almost picturesque suburbia where evil could intrude.
There are some scares, some moments that will make one jumpy, and almost no real humor in "A Nightmare on Elm Street." The humor could've been mined in such a way as to make us feel uneasy without the complete focus on dread. For some reason, today's filmmakers feel that horror films have to be deadly serious minus grisly humor. I admire the fact that the movie is not chock full of blood-splattered murders and Jackie Earle Haley does a competent job as Freddy - he holds the movie together and leaves a lasting impression. As directed by debuting director, Samuel Bayer, it is just a well-made shocker that could've used more imagination and, yes, a little bit more humor.
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