In the cinema: A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)

Last weekend Mrs. Baxojayz and I decided to see the reboot of A Nightmare On Elm Street. The wife is a big fan, and hey, senseless violence is always good for a kick.

This was a reboot, a fresh start from the beginning of the story of A Nightmare On Elm Street. Teenagers who all went to the same preschool together were dying mysteriously in their sleep. The last remaining survivors got together to compare notes and determined that there was a common link: a terribly burned man with knives for fingers was trying to kill them in their dreams.

The movie moved along very quickly, and the kids sure did drop dead fast in the beginning! In my opinion they can't kill off Jesse, played by Thomas Decker, soon enough. He's just such a jerk in that movie, you are happy when Freddy tortures him even beyond death!

What made this reboot GOOD? Freddy was BIG. He's now played by Jackie Earl Haley. He makes a taller and more intimidating Freddy than Robert Englund. (By the way, I love Robert Englund, but he's a small guy!) His voice is scary. His eyes are scary. His posture is scary. He's scary without make-up! The best upgrade is the way they made Freddy look like a REAL burn victim! The old Freddy looked like a monster, but not like a burn victim. This new Freddy doesn't run. He doesn't chase his victims. There's something so much more terrifying about a villain who took his time and walks. He KNOWS he will have his victim. He's that confident.

I think they did a great job re-imagining the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise. I always thought the old ones were more about the bad jokes and terrible special effects than about the horror. This new version is a genuine freak-out horror movie!

Nightmare On Elm Street took a beating in ticket sales last weekend, so it might not be around much longer. It's worth a look to see this disfigured sociopath on the big screen. but if you can't, definitely check it out when it comes out on DVD!

More on IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179056/