It is difficult to think of a classic horror film made between 1975 - 1985 that HASN'T been rehashed in the sudden influx of remakes in the first part of this century.
Some of them, such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake of 2003 (Dir. Marcus Nispel) surpassed the original (In my opinion... which is right) and some, such as the ABYSMAL remake of Day of the Dead (Dir. Steve Miner, 2008) fell short of their brain splattered mark and then some.
Because of the over saturation in the horror market of these DREADFUL remakes (other offenders include My Bloody Valentine, and sure to be another to cause controversy, Dawn of the Dead (I would rather stick hot needles tipped with zombie saliva into my eyes than be forced to sit through that TRIPE again). It was decided, probably by the undefinable 'them' of the industry that the word "Reimagining" was much less offensive to fans of the original films. Of course the word 'Reimagining' means they can basically take the title and a few key scenes and to hell with the rest... but I digress!
The newest victim/candidate for the remake... sorry... reimagining rampage is Nightmare on Elm Street. Originally released in 1984 and launching the career of one Johnny Depp it was one of the first horror films I was ever forced to watch, with my older brother sitting on my back and holding my eyes open ala Clockwork Orange. Wes Craven has publicly spoken against the reimagining, whereas Robert Englund approved it. What side shall we come down on? Well....
Lets put aside for a second that it's not Robert Englund donning the stripy sweater and fedora. Lets put aside the fact that Kellan Lutz is in the film, not for very long I might add and this doesn't stop him being cited above such actors as Jackie Earle Haley and Clancy Brown perhaps as a nod to the fame he has found in the Twilight films and perhaps as an attempt to appeal to the teen audience. Lets have a peek at what the film actually offers....
The pretty and the dull: Quentin (Kyle Gallner) and Nancy (Rooney Mara)
The film is directed by Samuel Bayer, who found his fortune directing MTV music videos, most recently a spate of pop punkers Green Day videos and most famously the video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. The film does indeed have a sheen of MTV about it. From the impressive neon infused opening in a diner to the trippy sequences in a drug store later in the film, where Nancy starts experiencing 'micro-naps' (is this phenomena even possible? Answers on a postcard please...). Of course there are what Roger Ebert called "A lot of Dead Teenagers" shiny pretty things looking sexy and awaiting their sure demise by the razor tipped hands of the dream demon. Heather Langenkamp of the original is replaced by the most uninspiring, mousy Nancy to have ever fallen asleep in a tub and there is a fair amount of actors in their late 20s playing teenagers. The one saving grace in terms of the 'teens' is Quentin Smith, played by Kyle Gallner who is turning into something of a genre favourite. His character is the love interest of Nancy (although this itself is slightly unbelievable, with Nancy being a one dimensional tortured artist type so self absorbed she would never notice a boy pursuing her) and is the closest in comparison to Johnny Depp's character of Glen in the original. It is fair to say that Gallner does not possess the pretty boy poster looks of Depp but this is not to say that he is not attractive and in fact, it is the fact that he had ADD, wears a Joy Division tshirt and is obviously a bit of a indie outcast in comparison to the all American look of Katie Cassidy and Thomas Dekker that make him so compelling.
I think the aspect that this film misses is that CGI is not always the way to go. Yeah sure, the dream sequence in the original where Freddy Kruger's arms lengthen to a ridiculous reach is silly and hokey by today's standards but maybe that is why it was so scary? Something about it's improbability made it all the more like a dream. I think the biggest offender in this reimagining (look... even I'm doing it now) was the part when Freddy manifests in the wallpaper behind Nancy as she dozes.... and it just looks soooo.... bad. Like, really bad and its almost like a kick in the face of one of the iconic set pieces of the original. A part of these 1980s horror classics such as Nightmare on Elm Street or Return of the Living Dead part 2 was undeniably their rawness. They seemed more primal and real BECAUSE of their unrealness. I don't want anatomically correct blood splashes, I want the geyser of blood denying the properties of gravity and spurting straight to heaven.
Nice try 'reimagining' of Nightmare on Elm Street, but no cigar. (However the shots of Kyle Gallner in his speedos = much appreciated.)
