When I left the theater last night, I couldn't help but ask myself one simple question: Why? Why did they remake this movie? Especially if they have nothing new to bring to the table, in terms of story or character development? Even the worst Hollywood Horror Remakes (House of Wax, The Hills Have Eyes, etc.) Have SOME SORT of interesting twist to include, but this movie had none. It's as though Michael Bay was watching the original and thought to himself "Man, I wish I had thought of this." Then, instead of using his inspiration to go make something fresh and original, he just hijacked the classic franchise and then dulled it down to its most basic and crappy form. And now, when I refer to A Nightmare on Elm Street, I have to specify whether I mean A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) or A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) even though they're essentially the same thing. Now I have another question: When is the next "genius" in Hollywood going to "reimagine" 2001: A Space Odyssey? Or Pulp Fiction? And for that matter, when is Nickeback going to come out with their own version of Abbey Road?
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) is a charming, entertaining and occasionally-terrifying romp. It is the Crown Jewel of a Golden Age of creative and energetic horror films. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) is a bastardized Hollywood rehash with no soul. It was completely pointless, even by Horror-Remake standards. Hollywood ran out of Japanese horror films to remake, and decent comic books to adapt, so now they've victimized another American Classic. There's one interesting sight gag, and they blow that load five minutes into scene one. The horror is not psychological, or even tangible. It is just a bunch of spooky, ominous whispering for minutes at a time, followed by the obligatory jump-scene, where the bad guy jumps out of nowhere, makes a startling hissing sound and the victim screams. The audience jumps, a bit, and then let's out a little giggle. But they're never actually scared. Cheap and Lame.
Before the film started, they showed a preview for Robert Rodriguez' upcoming film "Predators" When the title flashed across the screen, I couldn't control myself. I shouted "Boo!" A few people in the theater laughed. I hope they were laughing because they feel the way I feel: I am sick of remakes, and prequels and sequels. I am sick of Hollywood executives making hundreds of millions or dollars, without ever actually coming up with any ideas of their own.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) is a charming, entertaining and occasionally-terrifying romp. It is the Crown Jewel of a Golden Age of creative and energetic horror films. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) is a bastardized Hollywood rehash with no soul. It was completely pointless, even by Horror-Remake standards. Hollywood ran out of Japanese horror films to remake, and decent comic books to adapt, so now they've victimized another American Classic. There's one interesting sight gag, and they blow that load five minutes into scene one. The horror is not psychological, or even tangible. It is just a bunch of spooky, ominous whispering for minutes at a time, followed by the obligatory jump-scene, where the bad guy jumps out of nowhere, makes a startling hissing sound and the victim screams. The audience jumps, a bit, and then let's out a little giggle. But they're never actually scared. Cheap and Lame.
Before the film started, they showed a preview for Robert Rodriguez' upcoming film "Predators" When the title flashed across the screen, I couldn't control myself. I shouted "Boo!" A few people in the theater laughed. I hope they were laughing because they feel the way I feel: I am sick of remakes, and prequels and sequels. I am sick of Hollywood executives making hundreds of millions or dollars, without ever actually coming up with any ideas of their own.