A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010) - Movie Review

Official Score = 1 1/2 Devils

Besides the Aliens franchise, one of the earliest horror movies that I can ever remember watching is, A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)…

I remember at the time that this movie which had a young Patricia Arquette (True Romance) in it, both scared the hell out of me, and also entertained me as well, part of the reason for this obviously was Freddy Krueger (whom at that time was still being played by Robert Englund).

Now at this time Freddy Kruger was really coming in to his own as a trickster who stalked his upcoming victims in their dreams before he killed them! I also found that I liked the dynamic (and the differences) of the team that would work to defeat Freddy as well (including, a jerk, a geek, a loner strong man, a tough girl, a true believer, and the sceptic… to name a few).

Unfortunately this dynamic would begin to fade in the, ‘Nightmare On Elm Street’ series as the sequels went on, but at this time it was still strong, and in some cases this particular film would help to create an interest in the series as a whole, and is part and parcel the reason why I was glad to see the remake to the classic original series recently!

As a stand alone it is pretty good, as a remake... meh...

Written by: Wesley Strick (Cape Fear), Eric Heisserer (The Thing) and Directed by: Samuel Bayer (Green Day: Bullet In A Bible). Starring: Rooney Mara (The Social Network), Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), Kyle Gallner (Red State), Katie Cassidy (Kill For Me), Thomas Dekker (The Good Lie) and Clancy Brown (Starship Troopers).

This movie is a re-imagining of the story that we have all grown up to enjoy and get frightened at, you see, a whole bunch of teenagers who become friends at their local High School, start one by one getting terrorized in their dreams by a hideous man in a striped sweater and hat, who is also wearing a glove, that calls himself, ‘Freddy’ (Jackie Early Haley)…

And as these friends start to die off one by one, it will be up to these kids to discover what is going on, and in the process discover a secret that binds these kids together before they thought they had ever met!

Freddy Krueger is about to destroy his first set of kids!

Now all in all, in reviews that I have read and people that I have talked to who have seen this movie, all and all, one for one, each one of them have had very negative comments to make about this movie… And I have to admit that I think that characterization of this movie is kind of fair, but mostly biased…

The truth is, is that this movie is not a horrible movie as a stand alone film… (what I mean by stand alone film, is that if this movie was not a remake, it would not have been that bad.) Of course in the end though, this movie is very paint by numbers and does not have all that much originality to it… Which as a stand alone is kind of bland, but as long as it is a good paint by numbers (like this one is), it is palatable… But as a remake of a classic horror franchise, just straight up sucks!

In the end, this movie is not a horrible, but it could have been better, and if you are looking to watch this movie for the sake of watching it and not expecting some huge fanfare… Then you might enjoy it, otherwise I would not recommend checking this one out.

The Prequel... It's Importance In Movies

Don't get me wrong I mean the original series of movies are always fantastic, and even after decades and (well this is true in horror movies...) But after the first one starts to loose it's relevance to the overall series... But the truth is, is there is an element of both Science Fiction and Horror movies that are great that uptil recently seems to have been ignored in favor of a remake... That is the Prequel!

Now you might be wondering why the prequel is so important... Well in the case of horror movies, the prequel kind of it seems takes the place of remakes real nicely... And well let's be honest, a lot of people would say that horror movie remakes for the most part pretty well suck... Well I would agree with them that there is an inordinate amount of crap out there, but where as not all remakes have the capacity to stand on their own, a lot of prequels (as long as they are done right,) tend to be able to stand on their own!

A great example of this I have recently discovered is, Prometheus (2012)!

Prometheus... A great prequel to an amazing movie series!

Now I will be honest with you guys and say that, Prometheus is not as good as the original Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) vehicle, (The truth is, is they just don't make movies at that caliber anymore...) Never the less, this movie is an absolutely fun time, and helps bring in to focus certain plot hole elements that have periodically surfaced through out the run of the first four movies.

Now let me ask you guys this, if Ridley Scott had decided to remake his classic original movie instead of turning the movie in to an awesome prequel, would, Prometheus have been as good as it turned out to be?

The answer is most definitive no! I can't predict the future, but the truth is, is that there is no actress or actor on the planet right now that could have brought to the character of, 'Ellen Ripley', that Sigourney Weaver (Ghostbusters), brought to the world (I am not saying this because I am a fan of her work... I am saying this for the same reason that Jackie Earle-Haley just couldn't bring to, 'Freddy Krueger' what Robert Englund (Urban Legends) did!)

Jackie Earle Haley may be a great actor... But when it comes to, 'Freddy Krueger'... Robert Englund will always be the master!

Before I continue on, let me explain what I mean...

If you are a fan of the, 'Nightmare movies' then you have seen all of the original series in which, 'Robert Englund' dominated the role of, 'Freddy Krueger'! A few years ago, instead of doing another sequel, it was decided to do a remake of the first movie, and to bring in, Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen) to replace Robert Englund as, 'Freddy Krueger'!

Ultimately that decision proved to be a pretty awful one, considering the fact that the movie was a box office flop, and there not only has not been another Nightmare movie that has come out, but it looks like there is not going to be another to come out any time in the near future!

Ultimately I guess what I am trying to say is this... Prequels in the whole (as long as they are done right), keep to the continuity of the original story line real nicely, and even if they end up loosing the main talent for that movie, over all, story wise it should be a fun experience!

Dark Shadows (2012) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignright" width="263"] Official Score = 3 Devils[/caption]

One of the cool things that I have learned in Hollywood is that some of my favorite movies are movies that were made by great duos that have worked together before and since on some great movies!

A few examples of this:

A: Ben Stiller (Night At The Museum), and Owen Wilson (Meet The Parents), who did such classics as the, 'Night At The Museum' series, and the, 'Meet the Parents' series, and now it looks like they may be working on the sequel to the classic movie, Zoolander (2001) together!

B: John Carpenter (Halloween) and Jamie Lee Curtis (Terror Train)... Now I am only mentioning these two alone (the fact is, is there are more then a few people that have worked on many of Carpenter's best films), but I am mentioning just these two, because they started my favorite franchise (Halloween) a legendary franchise that has continued on in a remake series going all the way to the present!

The next pairing that I wanted to mention here is that of Johnny Depp (A Nightmare On Elm Street) and Tim Burton (Beetlejuice). Now these guys have done more then a few movies together, but the one that I wanted to talk about here is, Dark Shadows (2012)!

[caption id="attachment_2686" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Johnny Depp as, 'Barnabas Collins' in, 'Dark Shadows' (2012)![/caption]

Written by: Seth Grahame-Greene (The Hard Times Of RJ Berger), John August (Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle) & Directed by: Tim Burton. Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns), Eva Green (Casino Royale), Helena Bonham Carter (Fight Club), Jackie Earle Haley (A Nightmare On Elm Street), Jonny Lee Miller (Hackers), Bella Heathcote (In time), Chloe Moretz (Hugo) & Gulliver McGrath (Lincoln).

This movie is a fun tale of Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) who in the 18th century ends up sleeping with a servant (who turns out to be a witch) by the name of, 'Angelique' (Green).

Now at this time in the world, Barnabas and his family are filthy rich (having founded the small fishing village of, 'Collinsport' and having a huge and immensely successful fishing company!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="470"] Barnabas and his one night stand centuries later![/caption]

Well after Barnabas sleeps with Angelique, she ends up falling in love with Barnabas... The only problem is that Barnabas as it has it, doesn't love her!

So Angelique ends up being so angry that she casts a spell that kills Barnabas's family! When he still doesn't seem to seek her company, and ends up falling in love with a woman by the name of, 'Josette' (Heathcotte), Angelique decides to get the ultimate revenge!

You see, first she casts a spell to make Josette commit suicide and then turns the grief stricken Barnabas in to a vampire and has him buried in a a coffin so that he could be alone with his grief forever!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Barnabas in his tomb![/caption]

Centuries later the Collins family name has been turned to shit, the family itself is a joke, with Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Pfeiffer) who is trying to keep her daughter, 'Carolyn' (Moretz) and her looser brother, 'Roger' and his grief stricken son, 'David' together as they destroy the last of the Collins dynasty together!

But their savior is about to role in to the world, when while building a new road, a work crew comes across Barnabas's coffin and accidentally releaswa him!

Barnabas sets back home with the intention of bringing the family name back to prominence again... The only problem is that there is some one from Barnabas's past that still has a bone or two to pick with him!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="570"] Barnabas with the remnants of his once proud and family, and the few people they could afford to employee...[/caption]

The truth is, is that this movie is hilarious, I mean you don't expect Johnny Depp to play such a convincing Vampire (I think he got at least some of his influence from Max Schreck, who played, 'Count Orlok' in Nosferatu (1922) but when you see Johnny Depp talking with Christopher Lee (One of the most well recognized Dracula's of all time), you can't help but be impressed!

And as for the Barnabas's family in the future, the way they play the stuck up slowing bankrupting themselves type, you can't help but be overjoyed!

The only part that I really didn't like is the ridiculous over the top love interest that Angelique had for Barnabas (I mean I have seen obsession movies, but this went a little to far!)

Either way, this movie is a lot of fun, and is good for more then a few chuckles, and if you haven't checked it out yet but intend to, then you might find you like it as well!

http://youtu.be/wpWvkFlyl4M

Freddy Vs. Freddy: Who's Better?

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="470"] 'Freddy Krueger' (Robert Englund)... As he is chasing after, 'Nancy Thompson' (Heather Langenkamp) in 1984's, 'A Nightmare On Elm Street'![/caption]

Now I have been watching horror movies since I was in the early single digits (about as far back as I can remember, I saw, A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)... to understand (I was about 5 years old when I saw this movie, and I have been told stories of seeing horror movies even younger!)

So with that in mind I have been a horror fan for literally almost my entire life, and one of those movies that I have remembered all these years and have seen periodically is the one I mentioned above... It had great special effects, a great story, and an awesome cast... And speaking of cast...

I kind of grew up watching, A Nightmare On Elm Street movies, and one for one, Robert Englund (Urban Legends), has done a great job playing the amazingly creepy, 'Freddy Krueger'...

Now for those of you who don't know who Freddy Krueger is, the character was the, 'Son Of 100 Maniacs' and ended up being the killer through out the, 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' series, as an almost demonic trickster who seemed to really enjoy getting revenge on the parents on Elm Street who killed him by killing their kids!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Robert Englund with his alter ego... Robert Englund helped make, 'Freddy Krueger' the man he is today![/caption]

Well Robert Englund did a great job playing this trickster in such a way that for some would be truly scary, but for others would just be pretty awesome (I mean with his glove he is a pretty awesome villain).

Well with that said, a few years ago, and with the seeming un-ending rush of remakes and reboots, New Line decided to remake the first, A Nightmare On Elm Street movie...

Of course this movie was universally condemned and seems to have condemned the series to obscurity, what with since it's fall in the theaters in 2010, a sequel hasn't surfaced and doesn't appear to be doing so any time in the near future...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Jackie Earle Haley would take over for Robert Englund in, 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' (2010)![/caption]

With that in mind though, I will admit that even though I can definitely see how this movie could be considered to be, 'bad', I didn't think this movie was all that great either, but I was glad to have been able to have said that I have seen this movie!

I thought that with a continuing series of which character is better from the original or the remake, I thought that I would pose this question, Freddy Vs. Freddy, Who's Better?

Now for Robert Englund his pros and cons as Freddy Krueger are as follows:

1. In the first movie he was a truly demonic entity that was terrorizing teenagers on Elm Street for a truly mysterious reason and it appeared that he was an unstoppable killing machine and there was no way these teens were going to survive!

2. He perfected the glove with knives attached to it, and made it cool!

3. He also managed (in my opinion really up to part 5... but that was more the fault I think of the writers then him), to have this sort of awesome demonic presence that was more of a job that he really enjoyed.

4. Also in all honesty his burn scars were cooler then in the remake!

5. I thought that I would mention the laugh. Robert Englund's version of the laugh is so megalomaniacally cool, that it is just unforgettable!

6. The chemistry to some extent between Freddy & Nancy from the original movie series vs the Freddy & Nancy from the remake seemed more real to me.

7. Lastly, he made Freddy what he is, in the hearts and minds of people all over the world!

Cons:

1. At the beginning of the series, Freddy is getting his revenge on the Elm Street families to make right his murder, vs the eventual methodical job like way that he killed children just for the sake of killing them.

2. I also preferred the more shriveled up burnt demon like Freddy, more then the refined burn victim he would become in successive movies!

Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy: Pros & Cons.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320"] Jackie Earle Haily as, 'Freddy Krueger' in, 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' (2010)![/caption]

Pros:

1. Jackie Earle Haley plays Freddy in this movie more like how Robert Englund did it in part 1 of the original series, but instead of being more methodical and demonic, it was more like a psycho path that some how became super natural.

2. I also felt that Jackie Earle Haley brought to the character what had been lost over the years in what Freddy was originally intended to be... I mean over the successive sequels Freddy remained scary, but as the sequels got more campy... I felt that Freddy only seemed to scare like 4 year old girls... In this case I felt like Jackie Earle Haley brought the respectably creepy killer back to the world that was written out of the character slowly over the years!

Cons:

1. I know Jackie Earle Haley was trying to make Freddy more it's own character, the signature moves that have been a staple of the character for decades he either didn't do or didn't do right!
2. Also the character looked just off enough to make it almost seemed like he wasn't a burn victim, but some one with some light scarring!

In the end, I liked both actors playing this character, but I have to admit that my favorite though was Robert Englund... The first and still the best!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Robert Englund... Still the best Freddy Krueger out there![/caption]

For more information on the original and remake Freddy Krueger's please enjoy these trailer for, A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984), and, A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)!

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984):

http://youtu.be/jdb_HSvf2Zk

A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010):

http://youtu.be/polKMrfyK-A