Being cautious about A Nightmare on Elm Street remake sparking interest

It’s a knee-jerk reaction to scoff at Platinum Dune’s remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street. Everything about the project harks back to the trashy remakes they have done in the past (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, Friday the 13th) . I’m yet to see a Platinum Dunes remake that I’ve liked. They’re mostly lifeless efforts carelessly assembled with disregard for the original counterparts, which I find insulting to my intelligence.  I’m expected to forget the original and completely invest in their new take on an already well-told story. There should more to these films than cheap scares, choppy editing, shaky camera work and horrific screams — but they never seem to make that extra effort.

So I’m understandably cautious about being excited for the upcoming A Nightmare on Elm Street — but I am.  The teaser trailer and recent behind-the-scenes clip have some interesting things going for them, not to mention the casting of Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger. I find myself anticipating this film with great interest.  Dammit, I should know better!

Jackie Earle Haley playing Freddy Krueger acts a lot like a safety net. I trust him as an actor and can’t help but think he would bring a great amount of respect to the role and thus the film. I know he can’t complete the entire package but I just find it hard to believe him signing on without being convinced by more substance than style. That’s without considering a paycheck, of course.

The special effects clip reveals some sensibilities behind the new make-up and Haley also talks about the Freddy character being darker, more ominious and less about the wise-cracking. In fact I hear there’s going to be no jokes from Freddy at all, making this a 100% completely scary all-the-way evil version of the character. That’s damn interesting.

Could this (typically described) ‘darker, grittier, more real’ take on Wes Craven’s classic actually stand up for itself and breakaway from the remake mould for once? Potentially — but probably unlikely.

While excited I still proceed with caution. I just know it could turn sour 10 minutes into the film. This does feel a lot like the last time I got excited for a horror-related movie and it was one of the biggest let-downs I’ve ever experienced: Van Helsing (2004).

Platinum Dunes have made it clear that they are rebooting the franchise – so this won’t be a once-off remake of Freddy’s evil nightmares.

A Nightmare on Elm Street remake is released April 30 2010.

Watch the teaser trailer:

Watch the behind-the-scenes clip: