My Nightmare On Elm Street

Some of my favorite horror movies are the ones that came out of the 80’s. My favorite hands down is HELLRAISER 1 & 2. I also have a special place in my heart for the ELM STREET series. I remember seeing it in 1984 reluctantly. It came out the same time as A CHRISTMAS STORY and wanted see that instead of ELM STREET. I judged ELM STREET on the really bad TV ads it had ended up waiting to see that a week later after CHRISTMAS STORY. For the first time in many years, I had finally seen a horror movie that that kicked major ass. They never scared me but the monster, THIS monster was so much more different than before. Freddy Krueger instantly became my new monster hero. Smart, witty and bloody dangerous. I even learned how to do the prosthetic makeup for Freddy and did the costume for a number of Halloweens in a row. This picture below is the only one I have access to of me from about 20 years ago and it really does not do justice of how the makeup came out. So washed out. I digress…

I just watched the remake of THE NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET earlier tonight. I have now had a couple of hours to mull over it. Was it bad as everybody claimed it was? Not really. Did I like it? Yes and no. Let’s break this down…

What did I like?

Well, the first thing out of the gates I noticed that the movie shed its budget B-class roots the original had. The cinematography was fantastic. It was vibrant yet dark at the same time. I also liked the seamless back and forth into the dream world and real word. The higher production values were seen in the makeup job for Freddy and the cheesy synth soundtrack was eliminated with something more traditional and less dated sounding. The make up looked more like a rotting burn victim. However the biggest thing I saw in the better values was that the acting was LEAGUES better than the original. The line delivery did not seem like a bad high school play like the original movie. However the number one why I like this movie is Jackie Earle Haley. He absolutely is the high point of the movie. He did not have the same swagger that Robert Englund had but he made up for it in other areas. He came across absolutely creepy as hell. He really had some big shoes to fill and did just that and made the role his own. Mad respect for Jackie.

What did not really mind or give a shit about?

The fact that they changed the origins, major plot points and characters…I did not really care at all. What I cared about is that they kept to spirit and it, for the most part, did do that. Purists will take the movie to task for mucking with the story and origins. Whatever.

What didn’t I like?

I did not really give a shit about any of the characters. AT ALL. Everything about the character development in the story made them feel like cardboard cutouts…just plain flat. That was very disappointing. A key point to horror movies is that to create the tension needed for proper horror, you need to actually care for the main characters. This movie with all the slick special effects and almost infinitely better production values trickery to help create the sense of horror could not overcome the soulless and uninteresting characters. The only character worth a damn was Freddy himself. That is because they actually took the time to actually develop that character. In fact…I actually think they made Freddy more of a nasty monster within his back story. I won’t spoil that. Sigh.

Could I do with or without this movie?

Pretty much without BUT…

I really think the makers were on the right track and had all the pieces and star aligning for this movie and they totally fucked up by not remembering to make us give a damn about the main characters. Heather Langenkamp may have been a shitty teen actress in the original but at least Wes Craven took the time to make us care for her in the original as Nancy. I did not even take the time to learn the name of the actress that played Nancy in the new one…I just did not care. With this all being said, if the producers want to continue to making this franchise and make it truly successful, do not be afraid to go darker and MAKE US CARE for the main characters. The producers really missed the mark because of this small little detail and that is enough to really ruin a movie. At least the original series waited until the later sequels to fuck this up.

Are you listening Robert Shaye? You can still get this right. You are already on the right track. Freddy is the man that built your studio. If you do more ELM STREET films, do it right and it would not hurt if you let Craven be at least a consultant. That was a grave error on your part to not include him on this new ELM STREET.