{"id":1465,"date":"2010-11-01T15:54:27","date_gmt":"2010-11-01T22:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=1465"},"modified":"2011-12-02T06:00:46","modified_gmt":"2011-12-02T14:00:46","slug":"review-nightmare-on-elm-street-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2010\/11\/review-nightmare-on-elm-street-2010\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Nightmare on Elm Street BD"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Overall, A Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em><\/strong> is just a plain nightmare for all the wrong reasons. It\u2019s not the least bit scary and the acting by Haley is utterly laughable with each of his numerous, eye-rolling cackles. I do think the movie tries to do some things to make the film more visually interesting but visuals are only a quarter of the battle and that isn\u2019t nearly enough to save this trash.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Horror
New Line | R \u2013 95 min. \u2013 $35.99 | October 5, 2010<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MOVIE INFO:<\/span>
Directed by: <\/strong>Samuel Bayer
Writer(s): <\/strong>Wes Craven (characters); Wesley Strick (story), Wesley Strick and Eric Heisserer (screenplay)
Cast: <\/strong>Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara, Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekker<\/p>\n

Theatrical Release Date: <\/strong>April 30, 2010<\/p>\n

DISC INFO:<\/span>
Features: <\/strong>Maniacal Movie Mode, Additional Scenes, Focus Points, Featurette, BD-Live, DVD\/Digital Copy Combo
Number of Discs: <\/strong>2<\/p>\n

Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Video: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 2.40
Subtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, French, Spanish
Codec: <\/strong>VC-1<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

THE MOVIE<\/strong> \u2013 2\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

1, 2 Freddy\u2019s coming for you,
3, 4 lock your door,
5, 6 grab your crucifix,
7, 8 avoid this lame remake<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t particularly mind remakes (or reboots whichever you want to call it) and I\u2019ve even enjoyed a few of them including Texas Chainsaw Massacre<\/em> and Friday the 13th<\/sup><\/em>. They manage to distinguish themselves from the originals while still being truly horrific and scary, updating from the 1970s and 1980s counterparts which often come across cheesy today (and yes, I will apply that to parts of TCM<\/em>). Although I like how producer Michael Bay brought back Texas Chainsaw Massacre<\/em> to the big screen \u2013 including the excellent trailer \u2013, I cannot feel the same about A Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em><\/strong>, a film that shouldn\u2019t have been remade not because of the iconic 1984 original but because it\u2019s just a trashy piece of crap.<\/p>\n

The story is much the same about a man we find out halfway through is named Fred Krueger (JACKIE EARLE HALEY). He\u2019s a pedophile and as is revealed during a flashback, is burned alive by the parents of the children he allegedly molested. Now for some reason, 12 years later Freddy is invading the kids \u2013 now teenagers \u2013 dreams and killing them while they sleep. One by one they all get the slice and dice treatment by Mr. Krueger so it\u2019s up to our heroes Quentin Smith (KYLE GALLNER) and the girl of his dreams (no pun intended), Nancy Holbrook (ROONEY MARA) to put the pieces together and figure out how to stop Freddy before it\u2019s too late and they become his latest \u00a0victims.<\/p>\n

The biggest reason this Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em><\/strong> remake stinks isn\u2019t so much that the story doesn\u2019t lend itself to be very interesting \u2013 talk about ways to make you fall asleep \u2013 but because everybody in it are so damn bad. I\u2019m willing to give a pass to Rooney Mara as she gets the thankless job of being the underwritten female lead but what in the world is Jackie Earle Haley doing in this? I loved the job he did in Watchmen<\/em> making a sociopathic character likeable but his cackling hammy performance does nothing for the role least of which makes him a viable threat. See, the original worked because unlike the serial killer flavor of the year from the 80s (including Jason), Freddy Krueger was a monster that would invade and terrorize your dreams with no ways of escape but with this remake that concept is void of any sort of terror and replaced with bad dialogue.<\/p>\n

The other cast whose characters might as well remain nameless do an amicable job with what they have. Thomas Dekker of \u201cTerminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles\u201d fame has a small role as does the lovely and underutilized Katie Cassidy who seems to turn up in these bad remakes, the other being 2006\u2019s borefest, When a Stranger Calls<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Nightmare<\/em><\/strong> is directed by Samuel Bayer who comes from the music video world much like Marcus Nispel did before taking on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre<\/em> remake. Bayer and crew had some nice visual elements like Mara crashing through the ceiling in blood before landing on the bed in a pure white gown. Another scene has Mara coming out of the bathroom into her bedroom and it\u2019s snowing which in turn transitions to a preschool building. So on that front NOES<\/em><\/strong> isn\u2019t a complete waste but it sure as hell doesn\u2019t even begin to overcome the film\u2019s numerous other issues namely the screenplay by Wesley Strick (Doom<\/em>, The Saint<\/em>) and Eric Heisserer who has The Thing<\/em> remake and Final Destination 5<\/em> upcoming. That\u2019s just wonderful…<\/p>\n

Overall, A Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em><\/strong> is just a plain nightmare for all the wrong reasons. It\u2019s not the least bit scary and the acting by Haley is utterly laughable with each of his numerous, eye-rolling cackles. I do think the movie tries to do some things to make the film more visually interesting but visuals are only a quarter of the battle and that isn\u2019t nearly enough to save this trash. Avoid at all costs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

SPECIAL FEATURES<\/strong> \u2013 1.25\/5
<\/span>BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVES<\/strong> \u2013 3.25\/5<\/h2>\n

The 2-disc Blu-ray (as opposed to the single disc version) comes with a sweet lenticular slip cover.<\/p>\n

Maniacal Movie Mode<\/span><\/strong> is just a picture-in-picture function where we get to see behind-the-scenes footage crop up throughout the film. Unlike the Maximum Movie Mode\u2019s included with Cop Out<\/em> and Sherlock Holmes<\/em>, this isn\u2019t worth a whole lot as there are some gaps with no PiP info. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **<\/strong><\/p>\n

Freddy Kruger Reborn (13:54; HD)<\/span><\/strong> is a standard featurette chronicling how awesome the character is and why they decided to pussy him up for the 21st<\/sup> century. Ok, it goes into the filmmakers\u2019 mindsets and how Jackie Earle Haley went about bringing the character back to life.<\/p>\n

Focus Points (TRT 19:50; HD)<\/span><\/strong> are a series of featurettes that examines various elements of making Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em>, portions of which are available via the Maniacal Movie Mode. Segments include: \u201cMakeup Makes the Character\u201d (3:34), \u201cMicronaps\u201d (2:38), \u201cThe Hat\u201d (2:31), \u201cPractical Fire\u201d (2:32), \u201cThe Sweater\u201d (2:20), \u201cThe Glove\u201d (2:24) and \u201cThe Victims\u201d (3:51). A few of these could have been combined (like Krueger\u2019s outfit) but together it just makes a basic \u2018making-of\u2019 featurette. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **<\/strong><\/p>\n

Additional Footage (TRT 8:21; HD)<\/span><\/strong> includes a \u201cHospital Opening\u201d (1:11), \u201cNightmare Street\u201d (0:58) and \u201cAlternate Ending\u201d (6:12), none of which are particularly fascinating although the ending is a little different in how Nancy kicked Krueger\u2019s butt. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last up is a BD-Live<\/span><\/strong> portal and a DVD\/Digital Copy<\/span><\/strong> Combo Disc. ** Blu-ray Exclusives **<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

VIDEO \u2013 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em><\/strong> is presented with a 2.40 aspect ratio and in 1080p high-definition. The picture may not look the best especially since most of it was seemingly shot in a closet so parts are fairly dark thus black levels are good while when there is light, the colors are distributed nicely enough although at times it seemed a tad oversaturated.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

AUDIO \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is very strong from beginning to end, from Freddy\u2019s booming voice to the slasher moments, the aural experience is excellent. The dialogue is also easy to hear \u2013 via the center channel \u2013 without having to crank up the volume to understand anybody.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

OVERALL \u2013 2.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em><\/strong> is the poster child of why remakes shouldn\u2019t happen. While I have enjoyed other remakes like Friday the 13th<\/sup><\/em> and Texas Chainsaw Massacre<\/em>, Nightmare<\/em><\/strong> is just an atrocious assault on the film medium and should be immediately forgotten.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Brian Oliver, The Movieman<\/em>
Published: <\/strong>11\/01\/2010<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Overall, A Nightmare on Elm Street is just a plain nightmare for all the wrong reasons. It\u2019s not the least bit scary and the acting by Haley is utterly laughable with each of his numerous, eye-rolling cackles. I do think the movie tries to do some things to make the film more visually interesting but … Continue reading “Review: Nightmare on Elm Street BD”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[477,478,480,476,479],"class_list":["post-1465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blurayreviews","tag-jackie-earle-haley","tag-katie-cassidy","tag-michael-bay","tag-nightmare-on-elm-street","tag-rooney-mara"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1465"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3227,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1465\/revisions\/3227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}