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A Nightmare on Elm Street

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

tomatometer

13

Average Rating: 3.7/10
Reviews Counted: 163
Fresh: 22 | Rotten: 141

Visually faithful but lacking the depth and subversive twists that made the original so memorable, the Nightmare on Elm Street remake lives up to its title in the worst possible way.

15

Average Rating: 4/10
Critic Reviews: 26
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 22

Visually faithful but lacking the depth and subversive twists that made the original so memorable, the Nightmare on Elm Street remake lives up to its title in the worst possible way.

audience

39

liked it
Average Rating: 2.9/5
User Ratings: 173,263

My Rating

Movie Info

Platinum Dunes revives the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise with this reworking of slasher film legend Freddy Krueger, a deceased child killer who torments the dreams of the teenagers of Springwood, OH. Jackie Earle Haley picks up the killer's mantle from series veteran Robert Englund with the reboot from music-video director Samuel Bayer. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

R, 1 hr. 30 min.

Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Wesley Strick, Eric Heisserer

Oct 5, 2010

$62.0M

Warner Bros. Pictures

A Nightmare on Elm Street Trailer & Photos

More Photos (22)
More Trailers and Videos (10)

Cast

Critic Reviews for A Nightmare on Elm Street

All Critics (167) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (23) | Rotten (144) | DVD (16)

It's the Bay touch you feel in the way actors register as body count, characters go undeveloped, and sensation trumps feeling. A nightmare, indeed.

May 14, 2010 Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | Comment
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The result of the new Nightmare is, at best, a kind of stand-off between predictability and competent execution.

April 30, 2010 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comment
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A Nightmare on Elm Street may be the most unneeded movie of the year. And that's saying something.

April 30, 2010 Full Review Source: Detroit News | Comment
Tom Long
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Traffics in overly familiar scare tactics, setting up predictable false alarms and telegraphing in advance just when Freddy will pop into the frame and utter one of his labored witticisms.

April 30, 2010 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comments (3)
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The jump scares, given a little extra oomph by the ever-looming possibility of a double wake-up, do what they're supposed to do. They make you jump.

April 30, 2010 Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | Comments (11)
Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

All we can think of is how much we miss the Robert Englund Freddy. Man, that guy knew how to have a killer good time.

April 30, 2010 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comments (3)
Jen Chaney
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Haley offers a darker, meaner take on the iconic character.

November 5, 2011 Full Review Source: Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) | Comment
Greg Maki
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

There's really no reason to see this dreadful picture; better to rent the 1984 feature.

August 18, 2011 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

For fans of the Nightmare franchise, and slasher films in general, the new version does exactly what you want and not much more.

April 20, 2011 Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | Comment
Joshua Starnes
ComingSoon.net

For a film about the dangers of falling asleep it tried damn hard to make the audience nod off.

February 1, 2011 Full Review Source: What Culture | Comment
Mike Edwards
What Culture Source: What Culture

Like many horror fans, I approached viewing the recent remake of the post-slasher classic with extremely low expectations. Not low enough, though!

October 13, 2010 Full Review Source: CampBlood.org | Comment
Brian Juergens
CampBlood.org

Jackie Earle Haley is a good choice to replace Englund but the new film doesn?t reinvigorate the franchise.

October 11, 2010 Full Review Source: KPBS.org | Comment
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

Like Rob Zombie's Halloween, this new take on A Nightmare on Elm Street gives a movie boogeyman a psychological makeover, though Samuel Bayer directs the thing with all the nuance of a "Stranger Danger" video.

October 5, 2010 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comments (2)
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

The best part of the film is the musical score; the worst part is everything else. (Blu-ray Edition)

October 5, 2010 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
John J. Puccio
Movie Metropolis

...it has nothing new to say and works with an original that didn't need remaking.

October 5, 2010 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
John J. Puccio
Movie Metropolis

Ultimately, the remake plays out more like the parade of increasingly daft sequels that milked the last drop of blood out of the Krueger franchise.

August 9, 2010 Full Review Source: sbs.com.au | Comment
Simon Foster
sbs.com.au
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for A Nightmare on Elm Street

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God I hated the emo look. Not neccesarily a bad film but more of a misfire. As Michael Bay always tends to do with his films, he makes this remake of the horror cult classic visually remarkable with amazing cinematography and very realistic gory effects. Jackie Earle Haley does a decent job portraying Freddy. He's not

January 26, 2012
Michael M.
Michael Miller

Super Reviewer

One of my all time favorite horror movies is "Nightmare on Elm Street". Freddy Kruger is by far my favorite villain from any film franchise. As with any remake, I prayed that they did it justice and not butcher the hell out of it(like Rob Zombie's "Halloween"). Well, the remake is both good and bad. The good,

December 27, 2011
Everett Johnson
Everett Johnson

Super Reviewer

A Nightmare on Elm Street Quotes

View All

    1. Freddy Krueger: [to Jesse] Did you know that after the heart stops beating, the brain can function for well over 7 minutes? We got 6 more minutes to play!
    – Submitted by Ben C (2 months ago)
    1. Jesse Braun: Oh God!
    2. Freddy Krueger: Nope. Just Me!
    – Submitted by Ben C (2 months ago)
    1. Freddy Krueger: [Kris finds her dog mangled] I was just petting him. [laughs]
    – Submitted by Lucas M (5 months ago)
    1. Freddy Krueger: [Nancy falls into a pool of blood] How's this for a wet dream?
    – Submitted by Lucas M (5 months ago)
    1. Freddy Krueger: Jesse: *Screams* Freddy: Why are you screamin'? I haven't even cut you yet. *Chuckles*
    – Submitted by Jennifer A (10 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Nightmare on Elm Street (DE)
  • A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) (UK)
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