The original A Nightmare on Elm Street was something new and fresh in the horror genre. And the main character was one-of-a-kind. He looked scary and could be mean and nasty, but he had a sense of humor as well. Robert Englund showed how much fun it could be when he played the role of Freddy Krueger. With a face like that, Freddy was a frightening image. A frightening man.
In this edition of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Krueger is still a frightening image and man. And he is still mean and nasty. However, the humor is gone. There are no jokes in this Nightmare. Only terror. Jackie Earle Haley does a great job playing a darker, more demented Freddy Krueger. And his look is more realistic and when I say look, I mean his face. He actually looks like a burned victim. His face appears to practically be melting.
We all know the story of this movie. If there is one A Nightmare on Elm Street movie we remember, it is this one. A group of teenagers are haunted by Freddy in their dreams. And when they wake up, they realize their dreams are real. Freddy stalks them, torments them and then kills them in their dreams. So the whole point is not to fall asleep, but we know that will never happen.
The original has some very famous scenes and two of them are in the new Nightmare. The bladed glove reaching out of the bath water and his face coming through the wall is in there. And its done pretty well. It is nice to see those things in there. It shows Samuel Bayer, the director, did not forget about its predecessor. And the rest of the story goes right along just like the original. You know who is going to die and who is going to survive.
This new Nightmare movie is entertaining and may make you jump a few times. Maybe. But the story is nothing new really, and the characters are all over the place. The movie takes awhile to settle on its main character and who will take us on this journey. All of the characters we encounter share two things in common: they all know each other and just can’t remember and they are all haunted by Freddy Krueger.
The best thing about this A Nightmare on Elm Street is how they connect the teenagers with their past and the past of Freddy Krueger. And I really enjoyed how we get to explore the past of how Fred Krueger became the Freddy Krueger. We know he was burned by a group of parents that accused him of hideous things, but is it true? Was Krueger innocent? Either way, he wants revenge and we all know he gets his share of it.
Jackie Earle Haley makes a great Freddy Krueger and those are tough shoes to fill. But he has that look and the talent to make a well-known horror character his own. His version is more dark and sinister, and way more creepy. He really enjoys slashing through his victims one-by-one. And it is interesting when you see Fred Krueger, a gentle groundskeeper at a pre-school and knowing what he becomes: a monster.
This movie is about shame, secrets and murder. And, we haven’t even talked about Krueger’s problems yet. These are the issues of the community. But they have one serious problem once Freddy Krueger enters their dreams. He means to kill and he will do just that. The teens running around and trying not to fall asleep is not nearly as interesting as seeing Krueger and digging up his past. A Nightmare on Elm Street has always been about Freddy Krueger. It always will be.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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