Platinum Dunes, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures.

Written By: Wesley Strick and Eric Heisserer, adapted in part from Wes Craven’s 1984 screenplay and film.

Arriving on the heels of Leatherface, Michael Myers, and Jason Voorhees before him, the character of Freddy Krueger cemented himself in cinematic lore as one of the most fearsome and I suppose, captivating serial killers in the world of horror films. Created by Wes Craven, Krueger was a deplorable character – a child murderer who would kill people in their dreams. However, what set apart Krueger from the three characters named above was that he interacted with his victims. Leatherface grunted, Myers and Voorhees never spoke; however, Krueger was always willing to engage with his victims. Burned beyond almost all recognition with his trademark right-hand razor glove, Krueger was sarcastic, at times funny, and completely deplorable. Most of all, he was enigmatic, in large part due to the performance of Robert Englund, the actor who played Krueger with such zeal and charisma that audiences, for awhile, returned again and again to see him lay waste to many a clueless character.

In 2008 or 2009, word came of a relaunch to the series with acclaimed, award-winning music video director, Samuel Bayer, at the helm. Bayer, if you are unfamiliar, has made iconic and groundbreaking music videos for the likes of Metallica, Green Day, Blind Melon, Justin Timberlake, and one particular video which helped launch Nirvana from the underground Seattle rock scene to the biggest band in the world, virtually overnight. Add Oscar-nominated actor, Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children, Watchmen), as Freddy Krueger and I had hope, as did many, that this might just be one relaunch idea that could take some flight.

Well, I could not have been more wrong.

A vile and contemptible film, Samuel Bayer’s reboot of “A Nightmare On Elm Street” is a waste of everyone’s time and energy. Bayer proves that in one film, he is not a feature film director and has churned out a lazy, amateurish effort that relies on silly sound effects, cheap jump cuts, and some of the worst acting to come down the pike this year.

With this reboot of the “Elm Street” series, we again have teenagers being murdered while they sleep, suddenly and systematically one-by-one. Friends describe sharing the same nightmares where a razor-gloved burn victim in a red and black striped sweater haunts them and comes very close to killing them. Sleep is the death sentence and as their dreams intensify, the friends decide to stay awake by any means necessary. Once Nancy (Rooney Mara) shares the nightmares with her mother, Gwen, (Connie Britton), Gwen makes a call and indicates that Nancy is remembering. What exactly? More on that in a moment. Nancy has caught the eye of Quentin (Kyle Gallner), an awkward teen who thinks Nancy is out of his league, but shares with Nancy the same dreams. Working with each other, and in respect to their friends who have been sliced up by Freddy already, Nancy and Quentin go into their dreams to defeat Freddy and end the horrors once and for all.

And the audience yawns.

If I sound detached from the film, I am. I think it occurred around the moment that Kellan Lutz, or Emmett from Twilight as he is more likely known, freaks out in a diner and slices his throat in front of his girlfriend. Maybe it’s the standard issue black costumes everyone wears at his funeral. Or, it could be when one victim gets tossed around the room like a toy, bouncing off of the walls to and fro, until she gets eviscerated in mid-air and crashes to her bed in a heap, only to have her boyfriend say her name and tap her cheek to see if she’s still alive. Sigh.

Absent from the 2010 “Elm Street” is any of the dark humor, satire, or uniqueness of Wes Craven’s first film. Suffice to say, I was bored within 15 minutes. And then I got angry.

You see, that moment Nancy has seemingly forgotten? Well, it turns out that all of the targeted children attended a preschool together and Fred Krueger was an assistant at the preschool, who lured children into a secret location and…well, you probably know where this is going. A sick, unnecessary, and rather deplorable new angle that apparently Wes Craven backed away from when creating his Freddy Krueger in the 1984 original. In 2010, being a child killer is simply not enough apparently, we have to go there. Word to those involved – your new twist is not scary, it is merely wrong on all levels.

I am sure that this movie will draw a big opening weekend, and Haley has signed on for two more sequels, so alas – there are more of these to come. I can only hope that at some point, audiences will show they want better in their scary movies by not attending these cheap, assembly line productions, which relegate the scares to sound effects and quick cuts designed to pop a gasp from a newbie to the genre.

Then again, perhaps Samuel Bayer, producer Michael Bay, and especially the screenwriters of this film should rest their heads on their pillows and think about the trashy film they’ve made. And if they happen to see the 2010 version of Freddy Krueger in their dreams, may that be a dream they do not shake for a very long time.

Should I See It?

YES

You loved the first one and want to see how the 2010 version fares.

These Michael Bay-produced remakes are up your alley and you enjoyed the recent relaunches of “Friday the 13th”, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “The Hitcher”, and “The Unborn.” All made by the same studio.

You are a fan of Jackie Earle Haley’s recent work in “Little Children”, “Shutter Island”, and “Watchmen.”

You like horror movies and will see every one.

NO

Just watch the original. Please.

I am far from a prude and think that if handled right, most any subject can be dealt with in a proper setting. A teen-oriented slasher film is not the place to throw in pedophilia and child molestation story arcs, especially when those elements are absent in the source material.

People left during the screening, including one guy with a “Night of the Living Dead” sweatshirt and Elm Street slash hat. So, if he leaves…

You are a fan of Samuel Bayer’s music videos. Watch those instead.