I'll cut right to the chase and explain what is wrong with this movie instead of wasting your time setting anything up. I know how awful that feeling is, because it's exactly what this movie did for nearly 2 hours of my day - waste my time.
SPOILERS
Focused too much on the secondary characters at the beginning, which was a problem because it was excruciatingly obvious that they were all just Freddy Fodder. I actually wanted to see them die quicker instead of spending a half hour with the plastic Barbie chick that couldn't act to save her own life and the annoying kid that went to jail because someone did in the first movie.
In the original, the group of four was together a lot of the time. They all shared the same plight together. The whole purpose of the sleepover was so that they could be there for each other if something bad happened. Here, we still have the same four roles, but two of them do their own thing and the other two are only communicating by phone, if they communicate at all. The inability for this new film to create a connection between the kids causes a disjointed feel and makes it impossible for us to care about anyone.
In this one, that kid going to jail means nothing and his demise means nothing. Not to me or the actual heroes of the story: the curly haired dude with the dirty sanchez and the winner of the Emily Blunt look-alike contest. They never saw it happen, never grieved over it, never even seemed to give a hell. It almost seemed like something from a different movie. In the original, the kids went to the jail, watched it happen, and Nancy's father was a cop. They were much more involved and therefore, the death meant something. It wasn't just killing time like it is here.
When we do get the actual heroes, it's so far into the movie, I couldn't help but wonder why not start the movie at that point? The other two dying did not have any effect on what the heroes were doing. The only constant was Freddy, who seemed much less threatening in this movie than in the original. Emily and Sanchez just kept doing what they would have if Barbie and the criminal didn't die at all.
The micro-naps part was not necessary and added nothing to the movie. It was just an excuse to get Freddy into the film more. But when you show him for no reason other than to sit around and taunt the kids, perhaps slash at them once or twice, the fear goes away. The more I see, the less I'm afraid. Bringing Freddy into the picture when the kids are still awake completely defies the concept of the movie!
There were several inexcusable moments of what can only be described as "****ing ****ty writing". The dude falling asleep in the pool and then witnessing what happened to Freddy years ago for absolutely no good reason was the worst. It was insulting and nothing more than a plot convenience. The girl sets the alarm on her phone to wake herself up in the bath, but never thinks of using it later on when she asks the dude to wake her when trying to bring Freddy into the real world. Why? This is life and death and you didn't think of a contingency plan when there was one that you already used sitting in your pocket? Another plot convenience. Then there's the kid with the adrenaline, which does absolutely nothing to him - an obvious plant for a later pay-off.
This is a movie for idiots. Plain and simple. There's actually a scene in this movie where the girl pulls a piece of Freddy's sweater out of the dream world and into the real world, and the first thing she says is "Freddy's sweater". Really? Are you kidding me? What kind of sped wouldn't understand that scene if the dialogue was omitted?
It's sad, because the original Nightmare is not a very great film. The concept is absolutely brilliant, but it could use an update. Even sadder than that is the fact that Hollywood's mission is not to make money by providing the public with a quality product. It's just to make money.
There were some things about this film which I liked, but were mostly too brief or underdeveloped. The other kids in the school picture, the hospital sedation, etc. Just not enough to bring this turd out of the sewer where it belongs.
It's better than the new Halloweens and Friday the 13th, but that is about as close to praise as a racial slur. It's kind of hard to screw up with such a brilliant concept. However, that didn't stop Hollywood from trying.
SPOILERS
Focused too much on the secondary characters at the beginning, which was a problem because it was excruciatingly obvious that they were all just Freddy Fodder. I actually wanted to see them die quicker instead of spending a half hour with the plastic Barbie chick that couldn't act to save her own life and the annoying kid that went to jail because someone did in the first movie.
In the original, the group of four was together a lot of the time. They all shared the same plight together. The whole purpose of the sleepover was so that they could be there for each other if something bad happened. Here, we still have the same four roles, but two of them do their own thing and the other two are only communicating by phone, if they communicate at all. The inability for this new film to create a connection between the kids causes a disjointed feel and makes it impossible for us to care about anyone.
In this one, that kid going to jail means nothing and his demise means nothing. Not to me or the actual heroes of the story: the curly haired dude with the dirty sanchez and the winner of the Emily Blunt look-alike contest. They never saw it happen, never grieved over it, never even seemed to give a hell. It almost seemed like something from a different movie. In the original, the kids went to the jail, watched it happen, and Nancy's father was a cop. They were much more involved and therefore, the death meant something. It wasn't just killing time like it is here.
When we do get the actual heroes, it's so far into the movie, I couldn't help but wonder why not start the movie at that point? The other two dying did not have any effect on what the heroes were doing. The only constant was Freddy, who seemed much less threatening in this movie than in the original. Emily and Sanchez just kept doing what they would have if Barbie and the criminal didn't die at all.
The micro-naps part was not necessary and added nothing to the movie. It was just an excuse to get Freddy into the film more. But when you show him for no reason other than to sit around and taunt the kids, perhaps slash at them once or twice, the fear goes away. The more I see, the less I'm afraid. Bringing Freddy into the picture when the kids are still awake completely defies the concept of the movie!
There were several inexcusable moments of what can only be described as "****ing ****ty writing". The dude falling asleep in the pool and then witnessing what happened to Freddy years ago for absolutely no good reason was the worst. It was insulting and nothing more than a plot convenience. The girl sets the alarm on her phone to wake herself up in the bath, but never thinks of using it later on when she asks the dude to wake her when trying to bring Freddy into the real world. Why? This is life and death and you didn't think of a contingency plan when there was one that you already used sitting in your pocket? Another plot convenience. Then there's the kid with the adrenaline, which does absolutely nothing to him - an obvious plant for a later pay-off.
This is a movie for idiots. Plain and simple. There's actually a scene in this movie where the girl pulls a piece of Freddy's sweater out of the dream world and into the real world, and the first thing she says is "Freddy's sweater". Really? Are you kidding me? What kind of sped wouldn't understand that scene if the dialogue was omitted?
It's sad, because the original Nightmare is not a very great film. The concept is absolutely brilliant, but it could use an update. Even sadder than that is the fact that Hollywood's mission is not to make money by providing the public with a quality product. It's just to make money.
There were some things about this film which I liked, but were mostly too brief or underdeveloped. The other kids in the school picture, the hospital sedation, etc. Just not enough to bring this turd out of the sewer where it belongs.
It's better than the new Halloweens and Friday the 13th, but that is about as close to praise as a racial slur. It's kind of hard to screw up with such a brilliant concept. However, that didn't stop Hollywood from trying.