Early reviews of test screenings of the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET remake have started to turn up online, and while they are of an unfinished print of the film, there are still legitimate concerns for fans of the classic film.It seems that a bunch of things that made the original Nightmare on Elm Street movie so special are missing from this reboot, such as the iconic 'tongue phone' shot and the hugely memorable 'blood fountain' that are so very much loved by horror fans.
But that's not all. It also appears that much of the atmosphere of the original is missing too, not helped by a mediocre cast. Jackie Earle Hayley (aka Rorschach in the WATCHMEN movie) apparently gives a great performance as a truly evil incarnation of Freddy Krueger. This is great news, as previous Elm Street movies (in particular entries 4, 5 and 6 in the original batch of films) saw the character become a cartoonish joke.
This time round he's the real deal, scarred and terrifying, cold and pure evil. There are also mentions of his background as a child molester and murderer being talked about more in the film, making his character even more unsavoury for the audience. This is cool, as Freddy Krueger should always be the villain and not the hero of a film like this.
Hopefully the film will be tightened up for its release, and some of he pacing issues and scare cues are dealt with. Now that we know this won't be brilliant but it also won't be terrible, we can all stop worrying. It's the same old remake deal. decent, but could be so much better, and nowhere near as great as the original.
