A Nightmare on Elm StREet.

[Eric]

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea ... d=63620005

The pros:
I like Freddy's new look.
I like the presentation of the dream world.
I like the emphasis on showing Freddy alive and being burned.
I like the return of the 1....2.....Freddy's coming rhyme.

The cons:
Not sure about his voice.
Michael Bay has his name attached, which means if Freddy claws somebody they might explode.
It looks like a straight remake of the first movie, so I don't expect much in the way of surprise.

[SineSwiper]

Ugh, just bury this bullshit. Freddy, Jason, Pinhead... They can all gangbang each other for all I care.

[Zeus]

What I'm worried about with Michael "Six Degrees of Shit" Bay (he and Emmerich are the only members of that exclusive club) is not only that they might explode if hit with the claws but that each and every female has a slow-mo ass shot while wearing hoe-clothing and that any semblance of a script is thrown away (not like horror flicks usually have much script but they have to have SOMETHING).

[Mental]

Actually, I'd TOTALLY rather have Bay doing these than the Transformers movies (not like I have a choice).

Transformers: The Movie was the oddest experience of my movie-watching life. I loved it when I exited the theater, caught up in the excitement of the battle scenes, then started feeling troubled on the way home about the plot, and I swear it was like my body decided FOR ITSELF that I actually hated the movie after all while I slept because when I woke up I couldn't seem to remember any of the good parts and started becoming increasingly angry about the plot, though I tried to play it off on here for at least a few days, I think.

It was like eating a bag of chips made with Olestra, or something. None of the enjoyment stayed and then in the end I realized how much selling out Bay had done to turn it from a real robot movie into a "standard" Hollywood blockbuster. And in the end it just left a hollow feeling, like the one you get in your stomach after all that shit works itself out of your system.

Nightmare was always supposed to be a bit campy and about the spectacle, so it might be more up Bay's alley than Transformers. I hope he doesn't fuck this up too. NoES was probably my favorite movie series growing up...if he does, I swear *I'm* gonna put on a glove made of knives and go into his dreams and get my own revenge on that guy proper this time.

[Kupek]

That's the guy who played Rorschach. Maybe he's getting typecast as "guy with obscured face and gravely voice."

[SineSwiper]

That's the guy who played Rorschach. Maybe he's getting typecast as "guy with obscured face and gravely voice."

Ugh. The guy is a better actor than that...

[Zeus]

That's the guy who played Rorschach. Maybe he's getting typecast as "guy with obscured face and gravely voice."

Ugh. The guy is a better actor than that...

Why are we automatically assuming this film will suck?

[SineSwiper]

Why are we automatically assuming this film will suck?

Name ten great horror movies. You've got 60 seconds.

[Zeus]

Why are we automatically assuming this film will suck?

Name ten great horror movies. You've got 60 seconds.

I'm going to stick solely to horror flicks as opposed to including thrillers. Here we go:

The Ring
Friday the 13th 1
Friday the 13th 2
Nightmare on Elm Street 1
Nightmare on Elm Street 7 (New Nightmare)
Hellraiser 2
The Thing
Cell
Saw 1
Exorcist

I can go on if you'd like. I'm missing films like Poltergeist, The Omen, Dawn of the Dead (either), etc. And I'm only including the excellent ones.

[SineSwiper]

Well, I disagree with many on that list, but anyway. My point is that horror movies, as a rule, suck. The exceptions are just that, exceptions, like Saw, Cell, Cube. Those had innovative and/or intelligent stories.

Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm St, Halloween, Hellraiser. These movies are all part of the problem. Crap like these are produced 3 times a year.

So, if I'm a betting man, the odds are good that any random horror movie, especially one based on a shitty series, will suck.

[Zeus]

Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm St, Halloween, Hellraiser. These movies are all part of the problem.

You do know I was talking about the original films and not the remakes, right?

[Oracle]

The exceptions are just that, exceptions, like Saw, Cell, Cube.

... Saw? Really?

Just watch one of those educational videos about cattle slaughterhouses. Same thing. Plot is probably better, too.

[SineSwiper]

... Saw? Really?

Just watch one of those educational videos about cattle slaughterhouses. Same thing. Plot is probably better, too.

Nah, I liked Saw because it was all about no-win situations, and he always left a way out, even if it meant losing a limb or killing somebody else to get out. The whole series is about how normal people can't comprehend that there is no third easy option.

[Eric]

Yeah, this looks very promising.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea ... =103206439

[RentCavalier]

Man, hatin' on horror movies here? Have you not watched any Hammer Horror movie in your life? Have you NOT seen the Satanic Rites of Dracula? For shame. FOR. SHAME.

Horror movies are awesome, though they should be judged by slightly different criteria than regular movies.

[Zeus]

Horror movies are awesome, though they should be judged by slightly different criteria than regular movies.

I'd have to agree with that statement. But then again, you can say that about a lot of films, like the coming-of-age or gross-out comedies (sometimes they're mixed) or the mindless action flicks. I mean, should you judge a movie like 2012 the same way with the same criteria as The Hurt Locker?

[RentCavalier]

Only if 2012 had the same basic goal as the Hurt Locker did.

[Zeus]

Only if 2012 had the same basic goal as the Hurt Locker did.

With Roland Emmerich at the helm? Fat chance

[Eric]

[Eric]

Saw this over the weekend, and it seems like it'll break $40 million before the weekend is over.

Loved:
Jackie Earle Haley's Freddy. Robert England established the character, but lets face facts, he became rather ridiculous after the first few sequels, gone was the menacing killer, and eventually we had the comedic killer, who laughed, because quite frankly the way he killed people became more of a joke/funny. Jackie's Freddy is a disturbing and dark character, you believe that he genuinely enjoys tormenting his victims before killing them, a child molester turned killer out for revenge(The movie missed a great opportunity near the end that makes you question this). It's rather similar to what Heath Ledger did for the Joker's character, Jack did an awesome job with the Joker, but Heath reinvents the character. Jackie pretty much does the same thing here with Freddy, and it was awesome to watch unfold on screen.

The teenage cast(victims): Kate Cassidy(Kris, seem film in above post) is the focus for a lot of the film, it actually kinda blows when she gets killed off, the rest of the cast plays the insomniac role well. These kids have been tormented by Freddy, and can't sleep as a result, they're scared to fall asleep, look tired, tortured, and afraid, and you believe it, and almost feel sorry for them(One scene involving a nod to brain death in particular has you like "Well shit, it sucks to be that guy.")

Dislike:
Nancy, I just couldn't get as involved with her character as I did in the original Nightmare movie. This might be in large part that when compared to Heather Langenkamp's Nancy she just doesn't hold up. The original Nancy had all these issues with her alcoholic Mother, and cop Father splitting up largely in part because they had murdered Freddy when he was a mortal with the lynch mob, the consequences of their actions aren't felt nearly as well as they are in the original movie. The new Nancy really put me to sleep...and I really just typed that, wow.

The Glove: Yes, this is an odd thing to bring up, but it might as well be brought up. The Glove's backstory in this remake is kind of weird, maybe they can give it a better follow-up in the sequel(Which has been confirmed), but in the original movie the glove was Freddy's weapon as a mortal that he used to kill the children, Nancy's mother took it afterwards, and used it to show Nancy that the killer she keeps dreaming and going on about is in fact dead, as well as the dread Nancy feels when she finds that same glove missing later in the movie, the glove would transition from real world to the dream world. The Glove here is kinda weird, the children he apparently molested have claw marks, and it shows up in a book at the school as a weapon used for torture, but you never saw it on him as a mortal, and it doesn't really make sense if he never killed anyone.

Overall: I enjoyed the total package, I like Platinum Dunes' remakes of Texas Chainsaw, Jason, and now Nightmare. I enjoyed seeing an edgy nightmare film that doesn't try to go for cheap laughs and actually takes itself seriously. It goes to a pretty dark place and I respected the movie a lot more for it. It's not perfect, but it is worth watching if you liked any of the previous Nightmare offerings.

[Shellie]

Hrm, I heard the movie was bad, but your review makes me want to see it now. I'm conflicted. Maybe I'll catch it one day on OnDemand.

[Flip]

I saw it this weekend, too, which is odd in itself because i never go to the theater, but i was out with friends and we didnt have anything else to do.

I was entertained overall, but i started to get tired of the 'JUMP OUT THE SHADOWS!!!' scare tactic. The first few times i tensed up in my seat, as expected, but later in the movie when you knew it was coming i started to get anxiety over it, ha. Its such a cheesy way to scare people.

Freddy was cool and i think a lot creepier than the original. His one liners were humorous, but like eric said, he wasnt a joke of himself. I was squirming at the parts where he really showed his pedophile side, they might have gone too far. I didnt like how they pumped the bass in his voice, like batman, it was wayyyyyyyy too much.

I'm glad it was only 90 minutes, a good length for this kind of horror film.

[RentCavalier]

Yeah, it was alright but WAY too similar to the Original. They didn't do anything particularly new or exciting with it. Great, but not memorable.