Not Just A Nightmare
For those of you who are still in shock over the fact that yet another classic horror movie has been remade, maybe you should go see the movie first before you judge it. For the rest of you, read on. The new Nightmare on Elm Street is, well, new. None of the original actors or actresses even has so much as a cameo appearance. Robert Englund appears nowhere in this movie. Instead, the part of Freddy Krueger is being played by the man who portrayed Rorschach from Watchmen…Jackie Earle Haley. Heather Langenkamp is now a distant memory as her role is reprised by a fairly unknown actress by the name of Rooney Mara.
That being said, this movie is not anything like the first. In the original Nightmare, Freddy Krueger is a kid killer. They never really say why. It’s just that he had this thing about killing children. And of course, after he supposedly dies in a horrible fire, he returns to haunt the dreams of the teens whose parents put him to death. We know that storyline well. For the new Nightmare, you pretty much have to disregard any of that. This Nightmare is darker and more sinister. Freddy is a true monster. Yes, he has a few witty quips in here and there, but there is something decidedly more evil with JEH’s Freddy.
Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger
Since most of you reading this know how the movie goes, I won’t spare any spoilers. By now you have either downloaded it in a rather questionable manner or you forked over the money for the cost of a movie ticket. In the new Nightmare, Freddy is a bastard. He is out for blood and revenge, and his motives are nastier and more horrific. Freddy likes kids. He doesn’t just kill them, he hurts them and betrays their trust. The parents of the town of Springwood have a right to feel the anger and rage they do. While they skew the lines or right and wrong, it is more understandable why they react the way they do.
As a parent of two children, I found myself more disturbed with Haley’s Freddy than ever before. The thought of them being harmed in any way made my blood boil, so I may have been feeling justified when I got to watch these concerned and outraged parents do what they felt was right. I would do anything for my kids and anyone who tried to harm them would find themselves in a very real world of hurt and pain.
Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger
I have to say that the original Freddy, yes he was scary. But he didn’t reach the depths that this newer villain has. By taking a very real fear, he became so much more than a movie monster. That said, I am going to discuss the new Nancy now. I had absolutely no idea who Rooney Mara was, before she was cast in the role of Nancy Holbrook . She did a few bits here and there, her most memorable role being that of Taggarty in the film Youth In Revolt . Other than that, if you looked up her name on Google, the results would have shown more of her sister Kate.
That being said, I will say that Rooney Mara’s Nancy was more real too. A quiet but intelligent girl, Nancy is sad. She has no idea why either, just that she doesn’t quite fit in. Something is wrong and Nancy is forced to be an outsider, her moods bordering on anger and confusion. Rooney Mara played the part of new Nancy well. She sounded and acted like the victim of some unspeakable crime. She wore her emotions well and screamed when and where she should have. And speaking of screams, she was pretty good. Her inner strength and determination showed until the very last scene. Rooney played Nancy well. She even managed to add a new depth and layer to the role.
Please do not misunderstand me, in what I stated earlier. I am in no way saying that Robert Englund’s Freddy wasn’t scary. What I am saying is that as I have gotten older and had children of my own, I found the new Freddy to be even more scary. Robert Englund will always be Freddy Krueger, more or less. I will continue to get chills when I re-watch the movie box set. Part of me will think back to the childhood nightmares I used to suffer from, even well into my teen years. But it seems as though this Fred Krueger has managed to touch on a new level of evil…the unthinkable evil. And for that, Jackie Earle Haley I feel should be commended.
Nightmare on Elm Street movie poster
2 Responses to “Not Just A Nightmare”
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Great review, but before I comment, I would like to add that due to my extreme passion for the original series, I am slightly biased.
On the note of Jackie, he’s a great actor. But I felt his acting in this film was…rather distant. Personally, I believe he turned Freddy into a typical horror slasher. His facial expressions never changed and his tone was continuously unchanged throughout the film as well. Freddy has personality(and no I’m not just referring to the jokes)…he has never been only a movie monster, he is much more. He’s always been deep…always working on the psychological aspects of his victims. This film simply made a huge gap for me between the killer Krueger and the pedo Krueger. He was practically a weenie who somehow moved from molesting(and giving children paper cuts) to killing. It’s odd. There are countless things that don’t make any real sense and seem to just have been added as homages to the original series. I even find that hard to believe considering every little thing was explained in this film(it was like a college essay in great detail).
On the note of Holbrook, she was a very interesting character. As you can see I am a HUGE fan of Heather and I can admit that Heather’s acting is not groundbreaking, but she is certainly leagues better than Mara. Mara was like Jackie…cold and blah. There’s a lot more Mara could have done. I didn’t relate to her. Sure she’s darker(because of her past) but that’s not always the case. there are molestation victims like Miss Thompson. And I guess it depends on who you know, but Nancy Thompson to extremely real to me. She is the girl next door(which is probably most relatable to me because my friends describe me as such).
With all the above comments stated, I forever believe in the legend that is the original…however, I’m intrigued by this new series and hopes it continues…in a completely new direction.
I agree with most of what you said except the facial expressions for Freddy. I have read this elsewhere also, but my point on this is that Freddy was a burn victim. When skin burns it becomes crispy. I thought the make up did a great job on creating a realistic burn victim. Facial expressions should be almost impossible when muscle and skin is melted away. I thought this added a bit of realism to the character and made it creepy, yet creepy in its own way. This was not the same Freddy, but it was a great take on it. I too cannot wait to see what they do.