A Nightmare On Elm Street

A Nightmare on Elm Street is the latest horror remake. It stars Kyle Gallner as Quentin, Rooney Mara as Nancy, Katie Cassidy as Kris, and Jackie Earle Haley as Fred Krueger. This is the first time that legend Robert Englund hasn't taken on the role of the disfigured villain who comes after his victims in their dreams.

The main impressive thing about this remake is that it really is an original take on the story of Fred Krueger. It isn't just a rehash of the same things we've seen before. Although there are some scenes that are obviously rooted in the original (and some not so obvious). Haley's performance as Freddy is, quite honestly, brilliant. It really makes a huge impact on the film. It's really good how they show Freddy as more of a human being than just a monster. It's very reminiscent of the reboot of Jason in Friday The 13th and Zombie's take on Michael Meyers. He's out to get you, but he's also angry and vengeful.

One special note that should be made is, as far as blood in all goes, it's not as graphic as Craven's original 1984 movie. It's a bit more psychological and verbal. Also too they left out some of the deeper themes that were in the original. Such as the mother-daughter role reversal, alcoholism, divorce...all those things aren't present in the remake

Now onto the negative stuff. Although it's not overridden with a whole lot of CGI, there were a few moments when it's easy to cringe. There's a couple scenes in particular near the end when they probably would been better off just using old fashioned special effects. But it's not that bad.

Furthermore the ending, while not all that bad, isn't quite on the same level as the final 15 minutes of the original.

Honestly this movie was a bit of a surprise...RENT IT.