Step 1: Nice try, but they probably should have just left the original Nightmare on Elm Street as is.
Step 2: Don’t mess with a classic. When he was first introduced during the ’80s slasher movie boom, Freddy Krueger was the antithesis to the mask-wearing monsters cutting their way through teenager after teenager. As a maniacal, deformed psycho, he actually had a brain and was made even more terrifying by the fact he taunted his victims with a tinge of sadistic humor. And he killed them in their dreams, a scary enough prospect to begin with. So, the set up was refreshing and, played by the sardonically wonderful Robert Englund, Freddy was an iconic villain.
Step 3: Looks good on paper. Now, I’m sure the powers that be thought a redo was a good idea – especially with getting someone as talented as Jackie Earle Hayley to play Freddy. I admit I was intrigued by the idea of Hayley as the striped-sweater wearing monster with knives for fingers – and I didn’t even watch the original. Well, I saw part of it, but never the whole thing. Certainly Hayley IS the best part of this remake, but ultimately, this Elm Street does nothing to improve on the original source material. There is a little more background info on Krueger before he became THE Freddy Krueger, plus a more pinpointed reason to why he’s killing all the teens in Elm Street, but that’s it. The special effects aren’t any more scary or spectacular – and there’s no Johnny Depp getting sucked into a bed (I remember seeing that in the original). I feel the film could have benefited from a Depp cameo.
Level of difficulty in seeing Nightmare on Elm Street: Eh. Seriously, let’s finally be done with all the remakes of ’80s slasher movies, please.
I had a feeling I’d add this to my list the minute I saw it, and yes, I saw it today. Whoa nelly, this is about the most frightening movie I’ve seen in a long time. I think Rolling Stones‘ Peter Travers says it best: “A potent frightfest that will fry your nerves and creep you out.” Yeah, he ain’t kidding. And thanks to an excellent viral marketing campaign to get it out there — plus the help of Steven Spielberg — looks like everyone is going to get a chance to see it. It sort of ranks up there with The Exorcist, is WAY better than The Blair Witch Project – and scares the living crap out of you by using little to no special effects.
Who knew I’d love zombie movies? I mean, granted, I’ve only seen bits and pieces (get it?) of George Romero’s classic 1968 Night of the Living Dead, which started it all, but I’ve grown to really appreciate the genre. The 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead is pretty damn creepy. The original Resident Evil kicks ass (but not the sequels so much). And of course, 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. which totally had me on edge.
Entering into my teen years, I wasn’t much into horror flicks, avoiding them whenever possible. I had those damn visions of Carrie still dancing through my head. I was, however, deeply involved in Stephen King novels, starting with Salem’s Lot and The Shining. I guess reading horrific details was better for me than watching it.
So now you know The Wizard of Oz was one of the first films to scare me. By the way, I also watched The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Godzilla when I was little, just cause I wanted to prove to myself I wasn’t a complete chicken when it came to monster movies.
