A Nightmare on Elm Street

What: Nightmare on Elm Street
Where: Nuneaton Odeon
Who: ME and Alex
When: Tuesday 18th May 2010 7pm

I’m sure at some point in the future both of us will regret it but recently me and Alex made a pact that if one of us wanted to see a film the other one would have to go and see it. This could lead to some horrific situations in the future and I think Alex was expecting this to be the first of those times. Not being a fan of horror films he was understandably reluctant to go and watch this but I think he was pleasantly surprised as was I.

I have brought myself up on horror films and slasher flicks and ever since I managed to scare the living daylights of myself watching the shining in secret in my room one night as a child I have enjoyed this genre above all others. There is always room in my life for a teen slasher flick and good or bad they are always worth checking out. In my opinion the best of these is undoubtedly the original Nightmare on Elm Street. Made by Wes Craven in 1984 Robert Englund took on the part of maniacal dream intruder Freddie Kruger and made it is own and went on to play the part on no less than 7 further occasions.

So for somebody else to take on the role must have been a real challenge and although he will always be compared to Englund and in fairness he will never match it Jackie Earle Haley took on the role and did something completely different with it which I guess he had to do. The last thing this film needed was an Englund impression and I was quite happy to see that this wasn’t the case.

Teen slasher flicks are notorious for never having a teenager in sight. 17 years olds being portrayed by adults in there mid to late twenties as become the norm and this film is no different.. The youngest in this film is 23 year old former heroes star Thomas Dekker. The original Nightmare on Elm street granted Johnny Depp is first ever role this might explain why this particular slasher flick as actually attracted a cast of “teen” stars that do actually have some acting talent which again is a rarity in slasher flicks. Apart from Haley, Dekker is the standout from this film and if he handles himself well I reckon this talented young actor could have a decent future. Maybe not quite to the levels Depp has achieved but who knows the sky is the limit.

My main criticism of this is that it just isn’t scary enough. There is not enough gore and what few jump scenes there are in this are too predictable. Normally The slightest thing makes me jump but I don’t think I jumped once in this which is probably good coz by the end I had never needed to wee so much in my life. Sorry too much information??

As recent remakes go this is up there with the last house on the left which I actually thought was better than the original and is much better than Friday the 13th.

If you enjoy watching American teens getting ripped up this is a good enjoyable little film. I will not compare it to the original because if you do it will take your enjoyment away. I thoroughly believe that every piece of work should be viewed on it’s own merits and it is unfair to compare it to it’s predecessor. In the same way a film should never be compared to the book it is based on enjoy this for what it is and then go and watch the original and enjoy that too.

7/10