Plot: Reimagining of the 1984 classic slasher about a serial killer with knives for fingers that kills people in their dreams, resulting in their actual death.
Official trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SulpWn6Glk&feature=fvst
Clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSePKVP4G6Y
Starring: Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children), Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara, Katie Cassidy, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films nominee Thomas Dekker ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"), Kellan Lutz, Clancy Brown.
Review: Entertaining popcorn fodder that's reserved for the theater. Let me say, first of all, that I am a die hard Nightmare series fan. I love the original, Dream Warriors (3), Final Nightmare (6), and series "Freddy's Nightmares". I enjoyed this film in the theater. It gave me some jumps (which I always enjoy during a horror film) and gave me a back story that seemed like something out of a mystery novel which I think made the film more intelligent than the original. The mystery element makes you wonder whether or not Freddy actually killed anyone when he was alive, which is a tormenting thought (I mean this in a good way). It makes his character a less cut and dry bad guy. It gives Freddy some depth. I also very much enjoyed Jackie Earle Haley's interpretation of Freddy as well. I thought he was more dark and menacing, whereas Englund almost became cartoony to the point of laughter. I also read that Haley improvised a lot of his lines which is very impressive to me. The faults I find with this film are the overuse of CGI, the lack of character development, and the lack of a strong female lead. Replacing every reimagined death scene, that used mainly handmade prop work in the original, with CGI actually made it look less real. To me, they should've used modern technology to only use CGI where absolutely needed and use better materials and methods to make more realistic man made props. The character development was amiss as well. The first half of the film Cassidy seems to be the lead which then switches to Mara (Nancy) who's supposed to be the lead from the beginning. Because of the this, I didn't know her character. I didn't know any of them so it was hard to feel sorry for them. The last vexing point is the fact that the original Nancy kicked some serious ass in the original. This new Nancy did not. Heather Langenkamp's Nancy had spunk and a crazy will to live. I missed that with this film. All in all, enjoyable in the theater, but I will not be buying it on DVD. If they had developed better victim characters, then I would.
Writing-B
Acting-B
Directing-C
Music-A
Cinematography-B
Editing-A
Costumes-B
Art Direction-A
Hair-B
Makeup-A
Visual Effects-F
** Stars
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