This is, or course, the newest Nightmare on Elm Street. Much like the remake of Friday The 13th and Halloween before that, this is an attempt to revive the, pardon the expression, long dead slasher villains of the 80’s.
This version is much like the original Nightmare, but it never falls exactly into the straight remake category. Sure some of the characters are similar, and the set up is basically the same, but it just seems wrong. I won’t go into detail on the original movie because if you don’t know it by now you really shouldn’t even be reading about horror in the first place. My over all biggest gripe about this one is that it simply isn’t Robert Englund. To me he will forever be Freddy. While Jackie Earl Haley is a creepy guy for sure, I could never see him as anything more than Rorshach. He doesn’t quite command the same respect as Freddy as Englund. The biggest part of Freddy was his overall sound, and Haley just sounds like Rorshach. I know it’s wrong to judge and actor by his previous roles, but it again isn’t that he is a bad actor, just that he sounds the same.
Moving on… The overall movie is decent. I liked that they gave Freddy a bit more back story and attempted to make him creepier that the original. However at a certain point you have to say to yourself as a director, I have to make this movie one of two ways; This is my movie and I make it the way I want to, or this is a remake and we do everything pretty much the same just better. There were several iconic scenes from the original in this one, but not enough. Like wise there weren’t enough original scenes in this one to make it stand apart. I know that sounds like double talk but if you watch the movie you will know exactly what I mean. That being said, if you like slasher movies but aren’t totally into Freddy, go for it. If Freddy is your slasher of choice, then you may want to stay away so as not to tarnish his image.
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