Rating: 2.5/5
Hey, Freddy! Leave those sleepy kids alone!
When Dean slits his throat in the middle of a diner, Kris (Katie Cassidy) and Nacy (Rooney Mara) watch in horror. Kris notices the trembling hands and tense body language, signifying he did it against his will.
During Dean’s funeral, Kris witnesses the unsettling sight of her younger self, with a visibly injured chest, present at the ceremony. When Kris looks at the memorial pictures, she can see herself and Dean playing together as children. Except she doesn’t remember meeting Dean until high school.
After the funeral, Kris tries to tell her ex, Jesse (Thomas Dekker), what she saw. But Jesse gaslights Kris and advises her to give up her obsession, claiming she is behaving irrationally. While staying together, though, he witnesses the terrifying image of Kris thrashing about the room and collapsing on the bed, covered in blood.
With Jesse in prison, Nancy and her friend, Quentin (indie darling Kyle Gallner), try to understand what’s happening. They only know they dream of Freddy Kruger, covered in burn scars.
As the grip of sleep deprivation tightens, Nancy and Quentin gradually piece together the intertwined past of all the victims. What’s worse, their parents know about it.
I’m not as offended by this as others, maybe because I don’t have nostalgia for the original series.
I like the mood of the dream world and how it all bleeds together. I also like how the movie uses its time with each character to develop the audience’s relationship with them. The logic behind Freddy’s victim choices is more meaningful in this movie.
Katie Cassidy does well in this movie! The other performances are fine. I’d blame the script before the actors — except for Thomas Dekker. I don’t know what that guy is doing.
CGI Freddy is so lame, though. They had an actor but lacked faith in the makeup department to create a convincing burn victim look, so they compromised the performance. It undercuts their effort to make this Freddy scarier.
Also, they still gave him lame quips.
Gigablast.
** SPOILERS **
I loved the reference to New Nightmare, where Nancy cuts off Freddy’s hand. I laughed when she said, “You’re in my world now, bitch.”