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Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara, Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekker ... see more see more... , Kellan Lutz , Clancy Brown , Connie Britton , Lia D. Mortensen , Julianna Damm , Christian Stolte , Katie Schooping Knight , Hailey Schooping Knight , Leah Uteg , Don Robert Cass , Kurt Naebig , Kyra Krumins , Brayden Coyer , Max Holt , Andrew Fiscella , Bob Kizer , Pete Kelly , Jason Brandstetter , Rob Riley , Scott Lindvall , Dominick Coviello , Parker Bagley , Jennifer Robers , Tania Randall , Logan Stalzer , Christopher Woods , Joseph Mazurk

Platinum Dunes revives the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise with this reworking of slasher film legend Freddy Krueger, a deceased child killer who torments the dreams of the teenagers of Springwood, ... read more read more...OH. Jackie Earle Haley picks up the killer's mantle from series veteran Robert Englund with the reboot from music-video director Samuel Bayer. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

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39% liked it

174,077 ratings

Critics

15% liked it

165 critics

R, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Samuel Bayer

Release Date: April 30, 2010

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DVD Release Date: October 5, 2010

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Stats: 14,681 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (14,681)

  • scottgreen96
    March 30, 2012
    scottgreen96
    A pathetic excuse for an effective re-make, the film does a poor job of capturing any real images of horror, and casting it with C grade actors that do a poor job of giving us a good picture of a character.
  • aquateen2
    January 26, 2012
    aquateen2
    God I hated the emo look. Not neccesarily a bad film but more of a misfire. As Michael Bay always tends to do with his films, he makes this remake of the horror cult classic visually remarkable with amazing cinematography and very realistic gory effects. Jackie Earle Haley does a... read more decent job portraying Freddy. He's not Robert Englund but he manages to capture the surreal humour that made the character so memorable. It's also the only Platinum Dunes horror remake that tries to better it's inspirational predecessor. As the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake was a god awful cash cow. The acting of the teens however is dull and unconvincing and the film suffers from a very cliched script. But ignoring the performances of the cast you have to conclude whether it was scary or not. I jumped quite a lot through out. Freddy didn't scare me. As great as Haley is portraying him he just wasn't that frightening. It was the dark atmosphere and the sinister overtones that creeped me out. It wont age nor will it carry even a fraction of nostalgia like the original in years to come. But this series rehash is probably the best film Bay will ever make alongside the Friday remake. The Friday remake was better than the film that inspired it. Nightmare on Elm Street's remake? Certainly Not.
  • fb100000145236770
    December 27, 2011
    fb100000145236770
    One of my all time favorite horror movies is "Nightmare on Elm Street". Freddy Kruger is by far my favorite villain from any film franchise. As with any remake, I prayed that they did it justice and not butcher the hell out of it(like Rob Zombie's "Halloween"). Well, the remak... read moree is both good and bad. The good, Jackie Earle Haley does a good job making Freddy his own and giving the character a fresh breathe of air. That being said, Robert England is, and always will be Freddy in my eyes. But for the sake of a remake, Haley could have been a lot worse. All the kids are good and well cast for what their roles are meant to be. The remake follows the same template as the original. Freddy Kruger has come back to haunt the teenagers of Springwood, Ohio's dreams and kill them in their sleep. Where they chance it up, is by telling more of his back story this time around. Honestly, I felt it wasn't needed, as the original was so effective because the less you knew about Freddy, the scarier he was. Not the worse remake, but not the best either. As decent as it is, it is ultimately a needless movie, because anyone who wants to see Freddy will go back to the original. There's a reason these remakes aren't referred to as classics;-)
  • FilmFanatik
    November 9, 2011
    FilmFanatik
    I think I've overstated how much I didn't like this film in other places, but let me reiterate a bit. The remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street is such a loathsome and lame attempt to re-envision a classic film series that it's preposterous. Destroying the characters of both Freddy... read more and Nancy, this is the "emo" version of Nightmare, and it doesn't work at all. I don't care about any of these characters and I could care even less about their demise, which is one of the movie's major flaws. The Nightmare series has always worked under the assumption that the audience can relate to the characters and care about what they're going through, unlike most other horror movies. Unfortunately, for this movie, all of that is thrown out and we're left with a hackneyed remake that ends up being the most forgettable film in the franchise by a mile or more.
  • fb100000040220993
    November 6, 2011
    fb100000040220993
    It's amazing to me that filmakers can't summon up competent remakes of old horror films. Given the source material, and the advancements in special effects, a remake of "A Nightmare On Elm Street", should have been a slam dunk. Instead, it was a miserable, and often boring, dis... read moreaster. The writing is awful, the characters are lifeless, and the use of C.G.I. in the dream sequences is underwhelming. Jackie Earle Haley's interpretation of Freddy was passable, but there's no way it could overcome the piss-poor storytelling. This movie is garbage.
  • fb729949618
    October 26, 2011
    fb729949618
    Of all of the remakes: Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street.......this is the most awful in comparison. First off, I didn't like this Freddy and it DID NOT feel like the original in any way what so ever. Disappointed.
  • guaybanex
    October 23, 2011
    guaybanex
    A criminally unnecessary remake. "Nightmare on Elm Street" has better effects and better actors but by adding nothing new to the mix, it is a true waste.
  • CloudStrife84
    September 20, 2011
    CloudStrife84
    Pointless re-make, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Still, why do they have to "re-imagine" everything these days? Isn't the original good enough as it is? I guess it just further reflects the void of new ideas that currently constitutes Hollywood. Jackie Earle Haley is a... read more decent replacer as Freddy Krueger, but he just doesn't have that little extra that Robert Englund brought to the screen. Granted that it's been a while since I saw any of the other Elm Street flicks, but I do remember them to be a lot more scarier than this. As non-frightening as it is, it barely even deserves to be called a horror movie. Adequate entertainment, sure, but it completely lacks any re-watch value. My recommendation is therefore to skip this, and check out its predecessors instead. They may not have the fine-polished special effects that we're spoiled with now, but they sure hold a lot more humor and scare value.
  • CreedsDelight
    August 8, 2011
    CreedsDelight
    Despite a solid lead from Jackie Earle Haley, this is a reboot that should be kicked by a boot. I find it so cute how scary, dark and ominous these filmmakers think are toning the film. Next thing you know it, they'll start rebooting Hellraiser. Death to reboots!
  • ceWEBrity
    July 21, 2011
    ceWEBrity
    It's not a complete wash - the tone is nice, and the acting competent - but for the most part this remake is ill-advised and sort of stupid. There's very little effort put toward generating actual suspense, as director Samuel Bayer is content to let obvious sound cues do his scar... read morees for him, and though the movie is faintly more adult than its predecessor, that somehow makes it feel less subtle. What was an insinuation in Wes Craven's film becomes reality here, which is bold, but it makes for an extremely awkward narrative turn in the third act. For a movie that hadn't accomplished much besides dumb fun for the first hour, this twist really leaves a sour taste; all of a sudden the fantasy takes a dark, nasty plummet. Like many of A Nightmare on Elm Street's other failures, it seems like it might work in concept, the anchoring of a very fantastical story to a cruel new reality, but the preceding events are just too goofy. The foundation necessary for it to work isn't there.

    Other than that, there's really not much to say about this remake. It's a mite darker than most contemporary horror fare, and there are some inventive visual flourishes, but other than that it's almost totally forgettable.

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Critic Reviews

Owen Gleiberman
September 7, 2011
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

I did jump a few times, and I liked Haley's dour malevolence, but overall, the new Nightmare on Elm Street is a by-the-numbers bad dream. Full Review

Christine Champ
May 6, 2011
Christine Champ, Film.com

Freddy's back -- and he's slicker and more sinister than ever. Full Review

Peter Travers
May 14, 2010
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

It's the Bay touch you feel in the way actors register as body count, characters go undeveloped, and sensation trumps feeling. A nightmare, indeed. Full Review

Liam Lacey
April 30, 2010
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

The result of the new Nightmare is, at best, a kind of stand-off between predictability and competent execution. Full Review

Tom Long
April 30, 2010
Tom Long, Detroit News

A Nightmare on Elm Street may be the most unneeded movie of the year. And that's saying something. Full Review

A.O. Scott
April 30, 2010
A.O. Scott, New York Times

Traffics in overly familiar scare tactics, setting up predictable false alarms and telegraphing in advance just when Freddy will pop into the frame and utter one of his labored witticisms. Full Review

Chris Vognar
April 30, 2010
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

The jump scares, given a little extra oomph by the ever-looming possibility of a double wake-up, do what they're supposed to do. They make you jump. Full Review

Jen Chaney
April 30, 2010
Jen Chaney, Washington Post

All we can think of is how much we miss the Robert Englund Freddy. Man, that guy knew how to have a killer good time. Full Review

Kyle Smith
April 30, 2010
Kyle Smith, New York Post

To the audience suckered into paying to see this, here's why your generation sucks. Full Review

Andrew O'Hehir
April 30, 2010
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

This moody, lifeless movie rips off lines, scenes, dream sequences and character kills from Craven's film ... while draining them of energy, suspense and meaning. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Nancy Holbrook: It hurts, doesn't it? That's because you're in my world now, bitch!
    • Freddy Krueger: Why are you screaming? I haven't even cut you yet.
    • Freddy Krueger: Ahhh. So, what games shall we play next, Nancy?
    • Nancy Holbrook: Fuck you!
    • Freddy Krueger: Oooh, that sounds fun.
    • Swim Coach: Are you okay?
    • Freddy Krueger: [to Jesse] Did you know that after the heart stops beating, the brain can function for well over 7 minutes? We got 6 more minutes to play!
    • Jesse Braun: Oh God!
    • Freddy Krueger: Nope. Just Me!
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A Nightmare on Elm Street Trivia

  • I which movie did Heather Langenkamp play Nancy a girl who has nightmares that are the same as her friends.  Answer »
  • "One, two- Freddie comes for you. Three, four- Better lock the door. Five, six- Get your crucifix. Seven, eight- Better stay up late. Nine, ten- Never sleep again." Name THE FIRST one of a series of movies that has this rhyme in it.  Answer »
  • What horror movie involes a badly burned man with knives on his fingers?  Answer »
  • In what "Nightmare on Elm Street", does the character Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) die in?  Answer »
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