Ok I just walked in the door from seeing Nightmare on Elm St and this is my honest opinion about it. There are gonna be a whole lot of people who agree and disagree but this is my opinion and I am sticking to it.

I believe you have to watch this as an original movie and I am going to review it as such. If you think its a “remake” then you are going to try to force it to be a remake. It won’t work, there are very few similarities that made me think of the original. I think the film was definitely changed enough to warrant it a “re-imagining” or a “revisiting”

This will be the last time I mention the original. So here is my view.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT IT:

Very few things actually. I think a couple of the deaths should have been dragged out a little more. They seemed too quick. They portray Freddy as a molester….kind of. But definitely a torturer. He liked causing pain, that is clear, so why would he kill quick? Like Jesse (the kid in jail) it was very fast. And yes, they insinuate that Freddy tortures him afterwords, but did he? Also, there were a few parts that could have been better done. The first is the bathtub scene, it was kinda anti- climactic. I was waiting for something very cool to happen that didn’t. The next was Freddy coming out of the wall above Nancy. It wasn’t as creepy as I wanted it to be…..(or I am just comparing it to another movie I have seen…..see how that a skews your view)

HERE’S WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT:

The story was great, The actors did an awesome job and the dialogue was good. It moved at a perfect pace and I was never waiting for something to happen. I loved the plot as well as the back-story on Freddy. The whole was he or wasn’t he idea was very well thought out and I think added a great deal of intrigue into the Freddy character. Is he doing it to be avenged or as revenge? Very interesting.

Now on to the characters.

LET’S START WITH FREDDY:

I had seen the make-up in full (cgi included) long before the movie was released. I have always though the same thing, amazing! He looked real. The only issue I had was the lips, it would have given more expression. But it was still great! Jackie Earl Haley was so near perfect I can’t find a fault in his performance. I was nervous about his voice because in early trailers he had a slight accent. But, I think it was just those damn lips!! (or lack thereof) I liked the realness to his voice. It wasn’t garbled with deepening effects or made to sound gruff. It was just normal. All in all, I was scared of Freddy (Thanks JEH) He was callous and he didn’t over think or over do anything. He was there to torture and then kill you, not to tell jokes……(oops sorry)

NOW NANCY:

A pretty damn good performance. Innocence mixed with a small bit of loner toughness. Perfect for that character and perfect for an adversary to Freddy. I think she might have been a little to…um… UN-scared :)

I guess. I mean, she is being chased in her dreams by a maniac killer….. I think most people would be a little more scared than she acted. But, that is a really minor flaw. She was a very good actress and played the part well.

THE REST:

I think every cast member was awesome. There were a few rough spots in the acting but nowhere near enough to hurt the movie. Katie, (the blond) was great and really had me believe she was scared, as well as Jesse, (the kid who goes to jail) and Quentin (Nancy’s bf?) who were all great actors. Very surprised that the cast was so good. I think the acting was better than a lot of movies that have been coming out.

The cinematography was pretty good as was the directing. I think there could have been more Freddy shots, as well as gore, but I think all together, it was good. So my final words…Nightmare on Elm Street kicked ass!!

I loved it and can’t wait for the sequels. I want to take this time to thank Jackie Earl Haley for making it scary to fall asleep…again. One last thing… To all those people who want to compare this movie to another film…I think Freddy says it best…

“You think you can turn back time?”
“You Think You Can BRING THE DEAD BACK TO LIFE ? ”

Well, do you?

By Dave Minyard