Post by dave607 on May 1, 2010 5:08:44 GMT 6
Welcome to Freddy 101. In fourteen hundred and ninety three, Freddy sailed across the sea. --not in this story! There has been 8 previous "history lessons" of Freddy Krueger, counting "Freddy vs Jason". But this is a start of a new set of movies & new information so things may not turn out quite the same way. I kinda thought about that going in. We got to learn more about his past as each of the previous installments came out. I started to wonder if they'd mention it in this one all at once or go little by little. The answer is closer to the second one. We see a glimpse into Freddy's life when he was alive & what transpired. We get some new info, not from the other films combined with some old info, slightly different. This is the kind of thing that wont please a lot of people. Some would say "You cant change it!" but if they kept everything the same they'd say "Wow, that's original. Same story we knew 26 years ago." Well, this isnt the same series so they can make a few adjustments. Its better than Gus Van Zant doing his "shot for shot, line for line" remake of "Psycho". What was the point of that?
Being a fan of the original Elm Street series & re-watching them several times, I was curious about this movie. I kept an open mind. Yes, its not Robert Englund. Yes, Jackie Earle Haley sounded like his Rorshack character in the trailer. Yes, the Freddy makeup is different. These are just 3 things die-hard fans battle with before even seeing one second of film, not to mention it being ANOTHER remake. As far as Haley sounding like Rorshack-- its the same actor. Of course it'll sound like him. Robert Langdon sounds like the dude in "The Green Mile" & he sounds like the one from "Big" & he sounds like the one in "Bosom Buddies". But after the first line Haley spoke as Freddy, Rorshack was erased from my mind. The makeup stopped bothering me also. It just takes a little getting used to.
While this movie has an original story, there are a few call-backs to previous Elm Street movies. While not played out & done the same exact way, a fan will recognize them instantly. Freddy still has a few lines of humorous dialog but much darker humor & not as "quip-py" as he has become known for in latter movies of the popular horror series. That is also something that goes back to the original "Nightmare on Elm Street". Freddy has jokes in that one but it was spoken much darker. Jackie Earle Haley's dialog seems more realistic here. If you're burned alive, I dont think you'd be as well-spoken as Robert Englund's portrayal. It will probably mess up your mouth & damage your voice a little.
The soon-to-be-dead teenagers in this version arent as tight-knit close friends as the original & the common thread nightmares brings them to interact more. Long-kept secrets are revealed as they do the necessary digging to find out the who, what, & why of this terrible ordeal. A few unexpected a quick scares will keep you on your feet. The death scenes are definitely a sign of the times. Some of these would have been too much for the older movies & trimmed down or lightened up. But in the day & age of "Saw" & "Hostel", I'm glad they let a gallon more of blood to be spilled.
Personally, I enjoyed the movie tremendously. A great ending, much better than the somewhat "cheesy" ending to the 1984 original. I'm not knocking the old one. Its great. But its hard to come up with ways to kill a guy thats already dead & make t believable. I'm looking forward to the DVD with interviews & hopefully a commentary with a little insight about some changes & story points & what went into them.
Next on my Elm Street list is-- "Never Sleep Again", a documentary about the whole series by the original Nancy-- Heather Langenkamp. With my pre-order, I also got a poster signed by her. That's due for release next week. So hopefully it'll ship soon.
Being a fan of the original Elm Street series & re-watching them several times, I was curious about this movie. I kept an open mind. Yes, its not Robert Englund. Yes, Jackie Earle Haley sounded like his Rorshack character in the trailer. Yes, the Freddy makeup is different. These are just 3 things die-hard fans battle with before even seeing one second of film, not to mention it being ANOTHER remake. As far as Haley sounding like Rorshack-- its the same actor. Of course it'll sound like him. Robert Langdon sounds like the dude in "The Green Mile" & he sounds like the one from "Big" & he sounds like the one in "Bosom Buddies". But after the first line Haley spoke as Freddy, Rorshack was erased from my mind. The makeup stopped bothering me also. It just takes a little getting used to.
While this movie has an original story, there are a few call-backs to previous Elm Street movies. While not played out & done the same exact way, a fan will recognize them instantly. Freddy still has a few lines of humorous dialog but much darker humor & not as "quip-py" as he has become known for in latter movies of the popular horror series. That is also something that goes back to the original "Nightmare on Elm Street". Freddy has jokes in that one but it was spoken much darker. Jackie Earle Haley's dialog seems more realistic here. If you're burned alive, I dont think you'd be as well-spoken as Robert Englund's portrayal. It will probably mess up your mouth & damage your voice a little.
The soon-to-be-dead teenagers in this version arent as tight-knit close friends as the original & the common thread nightmares brings them to interact more. Long-kept secrets are revealed as they do the necessary digging to find out the who, what, & why of this terrible ordeal. A few unexpected a quick scares will keep you on your feet. The death scenes are definitely a sign of the times. Some of these would have been too much for the older movies & trimmed down or lightened up. But in the day & age of "Saw" & "Hostel", I'm glad they let a gallon more of blood to be spilled.
Personally, I enjoyed the movie tremendously. A great ending, much better than the somewhat "cheesy" ending to the 1984 original. I'm not knocking the old one. Its great. But its hard to come up with ways to kill a guy thats already dead & make t believable. I'm looking forward to the DVD with interviews & hopefully a commentary with a little insight about some changes & story points & what went into them.
Next on my Elm Street list is-- "Never Sleep Again", a documentary about the whole series by the original Nancy-- Heather Langenkamp. With my pre-order, I also got a poster signed by her. That's due for release next week. So hopefully it'll ship soon.