A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Director: Samuel Bayer
Starring: Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara

Synopsis:
Young people suffering from nightmares with a common theme start dying, leading to their parents' dark secret coming to light.

Impressions:
This movie was made in the same vein as the remakes of Halloween and Friday the 13th that preceded it, intending to reinvent played-out material with a darker, more serious approach. The only thing is that New Nightmare had already done that fairly well for the Elm Street franchise 16 years prior. This, however, takes it even further. You might find this approach destroys a lot of the charm of the franchise, but if you accept it for what it is, it does pretty well. You might find it sacrilegious to recast Freddy Krueger, but I can understand the filmmakers wanting to go with a different actor for their interpretation of Freddy. While he won't be remembered the way Robert Englund is, Jackie Earle Haley does a good job with what he was expected to do with the character. You might think it's a little too grimdark, but if that's the kind of thing you go for, you might like it. I can appreciate it for what it is. It doesn't have the fun that makes the franchise special, but it is a solid horror film in its own right and worth a watch.

Rating:
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