The Nightmare Remake; it might live up to the name, literally and in PG-13.
SKIN PEELER of AICN has posted review of an early screening of A Nightmare on Elm Street. The general view… well.
“Bay and the director obviously wanted to 'Dark Knight'/ 'Saw' it up by adding layer of grit and reality to A Nightmare on Elm Street. The set and makeup departments did an excellent job: Freddy looks like a freakish burn victim, many of the dream and flashback scenes are dark and have that 'Silent Hill' feel. It's like they watched a bunch of great horror films for inspiration... but with the sound muted.”
In general PEELER noted that the movie sadly seems to be aiming for a PG-13, never a good sign for a horror staple. He praised the imagery, but said that Freddy has lost a bit of his humor and sadistic nature.
“In my eyes, Englund's was at times a dark presence of pure anger, at other times a bizarre caricature like an carnival barker or a ngry drunk and pervy uncle. Haley's portrayal seems to be no nonsense, to the point, smarmy, ugly, repulsive and just plain vile... what you would expect from a child molester and it fits the story. However, the writers don't let him playfully toy with his prey as much, he simply twists the screws.”
Some of the more iconic scenes are missing, such as the Bed of Blood death of Johnny Depp and the Tongue Phone. In general the film is meant to be darker and grittier than the original, but loses its fun in the process, and suffers from poor scripting and bad casting for the teens/scratching posts.
The praise really goes to Jackie Earle Haley and his intensity and skill at playing Freddy all be it a newer "Darker" Freddy. Are you guys tired of the use of the word "Darker" yet?
Again, this was an early viewing of the unfinished film, so the effects were rough and the final edit isn't in the can, but it sounds like it could use a little work. As most Bay products it's very pretty to look at, if you like third degree burns and gore, but it sounds a little light on substance.
According to PEELER:
Liked
- Some nice dark visuals, locations & makeup
- any scene with Clancy [frick]in Brown & Jackie Earle Haley.
- the talking bloody corpse in the bodybag at end of hallway. that was cool. more like that, plz
- flashbacks, just remove the naked gimp in the Speedos.
Disliked
- cheesy, unrealistic 29 year old teen characters
- cheesy, unrealistic dialog of above characters with some unintentional laughable moments
- no original Johnny Depp blood fountain or phone tongue? you kidding me?
- too much reliance on scare moments
- not enough psychological horror, the dude's now a freakin child molester for jeebus sake.
- needs some more tightening work in the editing room
- film sadly doesn't yet live up to the exciting trailer
- no bathroom boo-tay? we likie the bootie.
- the webcam scene with the token Asian guy? ...