A Nightmare on Elm Street

The film takes place in a small town where a handful of teenagers are experiencing horrifying nightmares that leave them maimed or dead. Those who are able to stave off sleep get together to try to solve the mystery of who this burned, red-and-green-sweater-wearing, finger-knives-scraping creepazoid is who’s haunting their dreams. If you’re a fan of the original, this Nightmare is not strictly a remake, rather more a re-imagining. Unfortunately, what has worked well for other recent horror updates does not here. A too drastic change in the back story takes the film into dark, disturbing, and ultimately nonsensical territory. It’s here the film dwells a bit too much, rather than exploring the simple terror of a monster overtaking your dreams. It feels almost as if the writers just wanted to add something perverted instead of creating a plot that makes sense. Jackie Earle Haley makes for a decent villain. He’s weird looking, and has a gruff, deep voice. There’s something about him, though, that feels more like a comic-book character than Robert Englund ever did in the role. Stylistically, while the film generally looks good, it relies heavily on recycled scenes from the original. Feather River Cinemas, Paradise Cinema 7 and Tinseltown. Rated R