05 June,2010 07:28 AM IST | | Tushar Joshi
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
A; Horror
Dir: Samuel Bayer
Cast: Jackie Earle Haley, Rooney Mara, Kyle Gallner
Rating: '
What's it about: If you were a teen in the early '90s, there was no escaping the menace of Freddy Krueger. Wes Craven created this classic in 1984u00a0u00a0-- about a bunch of teenagers getting the same dream of a disfigured man dressed in a red and green striped sweater. Now Michael Bay tries his best to rehash the old story by using cheap gimmicks to try and raise a scare.
What's hot:u00a0 Jackie Earle Haley does a commendable job of playing Freddy. Of course his wit and sarcasm has no charm unlike his predecessor, yet there is an earnest approach in playing the character. Digital effects and camerawork give the product a fresher treatment.u00a0u00a0
What's not: Those who have watched the original, will cringe at the way the dream sequences have been tampered with. New viewers have nothing to take home except a few scenes where loud jarring music is meant to raise scares. The girls seem like contestants from America's Next Top Model while casting Kellan Lutz (Twilight series) is just plain gimmicky. Even when Freddy is doing what he does bestu00a0-- killing his victimsu00a0-- he doesn't seem to be having any fun. Just when you think the story is reaching its logical conclusion there is a distraction that's used to stretch the plot further.
What to do: Hardly a nightmare, the new version is a damp squib compared to the original that created a genre and paved way for imitators to follow suit.
