A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - 8 stars out of 10

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - 8 stars out of 10

Amidst the overwhelming barrage of recent remakes of classic horror films, this is definitely the best.  Obviously it cannot match the original (which has become one of the ultimate classics of the horror genre and a standard against which all other horror movies are measured), but it is a very effective retelling of the original.  The special effects are awesome but more than anything, this remake helped me to appreciate Wes Craven's amazing special effects in 1984.  The original special effects were actually more effective for me than the incredibly realistic CGI in this film.  The original Freddy was better, hands down.  There really is no comparison to Robert Englund, although I found that the reimagining of Freddy as a child molester made him incredibly creepy.  He's still scary but he accomplishes true creepiness whereas the original Krueger was just scary.  I was also impressed by the quality of actors casted for this horror film, particularly Jackie Earle Haley, Katie Cassidy, and Thomas Dekker.  I hope that "Nightmare" fans will give this film a shot instead of immediately writing it off because it is a remake.