Caffeinated Clint
By Captain Cumquat
“How Sweet… Fresh Meat!”
Wes Craven’s original “A Nightmare on Elm Street” was a fun film. I say ‘fun’ because that’s about all I took away from it (and it’s umpteen mildly-distracting follow-ups). I’m sure a lot of you are prepping to stab me through the eye with the finger of a sharpened-glove, am I right?
But be honest with yourself – deep down you too know that the 1984 horror “classic” isn’t so much etched in your memory because of it’s horrific brilliance or novel storytelling; no, “Elm Street” gave us a great villain plus a handy demonstration of how to make a horror movie on the monetary equivalent of a meal at Musso & Franks, but if it were released today, it’d be hardly worth the Tweet. There’s a lot of things about the Bob Shaye-produced flick I liked – the cinematography was great, the music was foreboding, the direction was apt, and the character of Fred ‘Freddy’ Krueger was – let’s admit it – one heck of a creation (and Robert Englund, then hot off the TV series “V”, did wonders with what might’ve otherwise been a one-note villain) but by-and-large, it was merely an OK film (in fact, I might go so far as to say some of the sequels were better – “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare”, with it’s terrific script and wildly imaginative storyline, in particular).
So here are, 2010, ready to hate on the next big movie remake – and like you, I’m just as opposed to it. But I’m flipping the birdie to the film not so much because I love the original film (which, as you’ll have just read, I don’t) but because I know there’s many, many original horror scripts out there that could’ve been dusted off and filmed instead. But as you’ll have guessed – what with every second or third film at the box office either a remake or based on a video-game – Hollywood isn’t so much interested in “original” pieces anymore. It’s all about the “brand” – and let’s face it, “Elm Street” and “Freddy Krueger” are about as famous as “K-Mart” and “Coke” (and if someone could “do over” them, they would). It’s a sad state of affairs out there, but from a financial perspective, I understand it – and if I was heading up one of the major studios, maybe I’d be remaking old Andrew McCarthy or Tanya Roberts movies instead of taking risks on fresh yarns and out-of-the-box concepts, too.
Platinum Dunes, the Michael Bay-run shingle that gave us the remakes of “Friday the 13th”, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “The Hitcher” (which I actually didn’t mind so much) and “The Amityville Horror”, are out to make Freddy their own. Do they succeed? Well, to an extent they do. You see, just as Rob Zombie did with the “Halloween” remake, Dunes’ and director Samuel Bayer have taken the original Craven concept, and the most memorable bits of the film (the bath scene, the wall scene etc), and infused it with their own spin on proceedings – imagine Craven’s film in a ‘Director’s Cut’ form and you get the picture. Sure, it may feel stale to same – because a lot of the sequences are shot-for-shot the same as they were in Craven’s – but for the most part, the “Elm Street” redo extends on the events of the original movie, showing us and explaining to us things we never new about the ‘bastard son of a thousand maniacs’.
It’s essentially the same-old story – but with a nicely-written back-story spliced in-between the killing spree. The teenagers of Springwood are all having the same dream – a man with a fedora and Christmas jumper (Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger) is tormenting them. And pretty soon, those dreams take a turn for the worst with the dream-man conquering his audience within their slumber. Nancy (Rooney Mara) and Quentin (Kyle Gallner) are, in addition to trying keep awake, on the hunt for some info about the culprit – and ultimately discover their folks might be inadvertently linked to his killings.
Robert Englund will always be Freddy Krueger – I won’t argue with that. But just as Chris Pine proved with his turn as Captain Kirk in the new “Star Trek”, there is a way to get audiences to accept another actor in a role previously made famous by another – and that’s, don’t emulate your predecessor. Jackie Earle Haley doesn’t so much channel Englund’s Krueger here as he does the sick puppy he played (and was nominated an Oscar for) at the center of “Little Children” – and it works. It takes a bit to get used to seeing a new actor in the part, and the make-up job looks significantly different to Freddy 1.0, but once the initial uncomfortableness of watching someone else play the icon dissolves (and to my surprise, I’d forgotten about Englund after the film’s first ‘killer’ scene), Haley has you by the scruff – and doesn’t let go. Just as Englund was the key ingredient of Craven’s film (and series), Haley is the stand-out here – if they gave Oscars to actors in horror flicks, Haley’s name would definitely be on a ballot this time next year; the man gives it his all.
Also great to see the film’s young cast not try and emulate their predecessors too – Rooney Mara is a breath of fresh air as this flick’s ‘Nancy’, whilst Kyle Gallner is perfectly wimpish but likable as her male companion, Quentin.
And any film that finds good use for the wonderful Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights”), as this does (she plays Nancy’s mysterious momma), is definitely worth the admission price.
The effects are understandably better than those found in the original film – but that doesn’t mean the scenes that have been replicated from Craven’s effort pack any more impact than they did initially. In fact, the “copied” scenes are the weakest elements of the film; it’s the original material (the whole ‘Freddy’ backstory) that makes this movie. In that respect, this one reminds me a lot of Zombie’s “Halloween” which, right up until it felt the need to tell the story John Carpenter already had in his version of the Michael Myers bio, had a hell of a lot going for it; there’s about three-quarters of brilliance in that flick. Is there three-quarters of brilliance in this flick? Well, maybe not – but I did really enjoy it; it’s an easy film to watch. It’s also one of the better efforts from Platinum Dune – they seemed to have put a lot more thought and imagination into this, seemingly aware that they’d be burnt at the stake by the legions of ‘Freddy’ fans if they screwed it up.
Wes Craven wasn’t asked to be involved in this one, and I’m sure he’s a little miffed at that, but after he checks out the film for himself I’m pretty sure he’s going to be rather pleased with how it’s turned out – the new “Elm Street” isn’t just damn sharp, it’s a ‘bloody’ good time.
