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"A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (2010)" (2010) (Jackie Earle Hailey, Rooney Mara) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Extreme Extreme Extreme Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Heavy Extreme Extreme None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None Moderate Heavy Extreme QUICK TAKE: Horror: Various teenagers try not to fall asleep lest they be attacked by a disfigured ghoul who can kill them in their nightmares with his steel-clawed hand. PLOT: When Dean Russell (KELLAN LUTZ) seemingly commits suicide in a diner after many sleepless nights, his teenage friends begin to wonder if something strange is happening to all of them. After all, the likes of diner waitress Nancy Holbrook (ROONEY MARA), Quentin Smith (KYLE GALLNER) who has a thing for her, his friend Jesse Braun (THOMAS DEKKER) and his ex-girlfriend Kris Fowles (KATIE CASSIDY) have all been having quite similar nightmares. They feature a badly disfigured man, Freddy Krueger (JACKIE EARLE HALEY), who's equipped with a steel-clawed hand and apparently wants to torment all of them. Worse yet, if he kills them in their sleep, they end up dead back in the real world. As he begins to pick them off one by one, the survivors not only try to figure out who he is and why he's after them, but also fight to remain awake lest he find and kill them in their sleep. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into horror movies or are fans of the original film (1984), they might be interested. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For strong bloody horror violence, disturbing images, terror and language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JACKIE EARLE HALEY plays a ghoul who torments and kills a group of teens in their nightmares, seemingly enjoying the agony he puts them through. We also learn that he was a pedophile before he was found and murdered by parents in the past. He uses strong profanity. ROONEY MARA plays a teenage waitress who's troubled by nightmares where Freddy tries to kill her. With her friends dwindling, she races with Quentin to figure out who Freddy is and why he's after them. She uses some strong profanity. KYLE GALLNER plays a guy who likes her and ends up in the same boat as her and the rest. He uses prescription pills and stolen adrenaline to try to stay awake, and also uses strong profanity. THOMAS DEKKER plays another teen facing the same predicament. He uses strong profanity. KATIE CASSIDY plays Jesse's ex-girlfriend who also has the Freddy nightmare issue. She uses some profanity. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated horror film. Profanity consists of at least 16 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some sexually related dialogue and material (including visuals in a bathtub) are also present, while various male teens are seen in small & formfitting swim trunks. Violence consists of characters being wounded or killed in various grisly ways. That has many bloody/gory results, and those scenes, moments of peril and standard horror movie scenes featuring imminent doom or attack could be unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary to viewers. Bad attitudes are present, as is behavior that some kids might want to imitate. Some prescription and related medication is used by a teen to stay awake, while some tense family material and thematic elements (including that related to pedophilia) are also present. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, lights flicker in a store in Nancy's nightmare. Later, there's some of that from flashing emergency responder lights. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's a spin around camera shot focusing on Nancy. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Jesse says that Dean was on a lot of medication before his death. About some prescription pills he's using to stay awake, Quentin says it's like speed for kids with ADD. He offers some to Nancy, but she declines. Quentin takes another of his prescription pills. Quentin steals adrenaline from a hospital (to keep himself awake). He then injects that directly into his leg and reacts to the sudden jolt of energy. He offers the same to Nancy, but she declines. BLOOD/GORE Freddy's appearance, with a badly burned/scarred face, including some holes through the skin, could be unsettling and/or scary to some viewers. In what turns out to be a nightmare, Dean slowly follows a waitress through an otherwise empty diner into the kitchen where big fires are burning on the stove, while pig carcasses and parts (heads, hooves, etc.) are viewed. After hearing things, and turning and finding no one there, he then encounters Freddy who slices at him. When Dean wakes up in the dinner, his palm has several bloody scrapes on it (while some blood is also on the table). In a nightmare, Freddy comes after Dean again, with the two struggling. Back in the real world, we see Dean by himself, holding a knife in one hand and trying to stop that with his other. He then jabs the knife into his throat and then slices that open, with very bloody results. Kris finds an image of Freddy's claw along with bloodstains in her textbook. Just then, everyone in the classroom blasts away to dust or ashes. Kris gets up at night, heads outside, and finds her dog lying on the ground with bloody slash marks across its side, while we see its blood on Freddy's claws. An invisible Freddy slashes Kris across her body, leaving bloody gashes, while her blood splatters all over Jesse. In a nightmare, Jesse sees several dead and blood-soaked bodies hanging in a factory. Freddy's clawed hand bursts out of a teen's chest, killing him, with bloody results. We then see the dead teen in real life, with a pool of blood forming beneath his body on the floor. We see a flashback to young Kris being found with scratch marks on her back (from Freddy when he was the school handyman). Following an explosion, Freddy runs out, fully engulfed in flames, his face badly burned. Nancy sees a bloody body in a bag being dragged across the floor, followed by the bag being upright and Kris "alive" inside it (all bloody and menacing). Nancy tries to stay awake by taking a hot car cigarette lighter and burning her forearm with that (leaving a burn mark there). Nancy's view alternates between being in a store and a factory, with Freddy approaching (scraping his claws on metal, sending sparks shooting) and then attacking her in both locales (invisible and visible), slicing her arm with his claws, leaving her bloody. Freddy grabs Quentin and repeatedly slams him into some factory pipes, bloodying his face. He then slices Quentin's chest, bloodying him there as well. We see various bloody bodies hanging in a factory. After pinning Nancy to her bed and coming on to her, Freddy throws her across the room and into a wall. She then stabs a large pair of scissors into his eye, with him slowly pulling that out, trailed by some viscera. Quentin slices Freddy with a large blade from a paper cutter, and tries again, but Freddy stops him and they struggle, followed by Freddy stabbing his claws into Quentin (with bloody results). More fighting follows, including Freddy throwing Nancy aside, while she stabs him in the leg with something. Freddy then goes to kill Quentin, but Nancy uses that blade to sever his clawed hand (with bloody results). She then uses the same to slice him across the throat (also with bloody results), followed by setting the room and him on fire. Freddy suddenly comes through a mirror, drives his clawed hand through the back of a woman's head and out through her face (with bloody results) and then yanks her back into the mirror. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Freddy has a bad attitude, not only for tormenting and killing the teens in their dreams, but also for being a past child molester/pedophile. In what turns out to be a nightmare, a waitress doesn't respond to Dean, prompting him to call her a "bitch." Nancy learns that her mom lied to her about her past, and is upset with her about that (the mom was doing so to try to protect her from painful memories). Rather than go to the police, parents in a flashback chase Freddy and then end up burning him alive to get revenge on him for abusing their kids. Quentin steals adrenaline from a hospital (to keep himself awake). FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Freddy's appearance, with a badly burned/scarred face, including some holes through the skin, could also be unsettling and/or scary to some viewers. In what turns out to be a nightmare, Dean slowly follows a waitress through an otherwise empty diner into the kitchen where big fires are burning on the stove, while pig carcasses and parts (heads, hooves, etc.) are viewed. After hearing things, and turning and finding no one there, he then encounters Freddy who slices at him. When Dean wakes up in the dinner, his palm has several bloody scrapes on it (while some blood is also on the table). In a nightmare, Freddy comes after Dean again, with the two struggling. Back in the real world, we see Dean by himself, holding a knife in one hand and trying to stop that with his other. He then jabs the knife into his throat and then slices that open, with very bloody results. Kris sees a young version of herself at Dean's funeral (with slash marks across the girl's dress), followed by Freddy's hand suddenly grabbing adult Kris' leg. As Nancy sleeps, Freddy pushes against the wall above her, warping it outward, with his clawed hand then coming through that. Kris goes up into the attic space above the family garage and slowly makes her way through that to some boxes of old material. In one, she finds her childhood dress that has slash marks across it. Just then, the lights go out, she hears sounds, and Freddy suddenly grabs and pins her to the attic floor (she then wakes up in a fright back in the real world). Kris finds an image of Freddy's claw along with bloodstains in her textbook. Just then, everyone in the classroom blasts away to dust or ashes, with Kris finding herself in a decrepit room with Freddy there, slowing approaching with his clawed hand. With her mom gone for several days, Kris is alone at night and hears sounds in the house. She goes to the window to look out and Jesse suddenly startles her there. Kris gets up at night, heads outside, and finds her dog lying on the ground with bloody slash marks across its side, while we see its blood on Freddy's claws. She hears Freddy and then runs, but her house turns into a school where she encounters her childhood self who leads her to Freddy (who scrapes his claws down a blackboard). She then ends up back in her bed, with Freddy on top, attacking her. In the real world, Jesse wakes up to find her thrashing about and tries to wake her, but is knocked off the bed. He then sees her levitated and smashed to the walls and ceiling in the room, followed by lethal slashes down her clothed front, killing her and splattering Jesse with her blood. Quentin falls asleep in a library and then follows a young girl in his dream until he finds Freddy seated with other kids. Freddy then quickly turns around. Jesse is let out of his jail cell, but then realizes he's in a nightmare where the hallway is suddenly walled off and the lights start to go out. He then finds himself in a factory where various young kids watch as Freddy walks toward him, scraping his claws on metal and sending sparks flying. Jesse then sees various dead and blood-soaked bodies hanging there and screams when Freddy gets near (prompting Freddy to ask him, "Why are you screaming? I haven't even cut you yet"). Freddy then disappears, Jesse looks around, and Freddy's clawed hand suddenly bursts out of Jesse's chest, with bloody results. It's then implied that Freddy tortures Jesse in the nightmare before he's fully dead. We twice see Nancy's bare back as she undresses to get into a bathtub (but no other nudity). We then see her fall asleep in the tub, with a view from the end of the tub looking back at her, including with her knees up and spread in the water. Freddy's clawed hand then emerges between her legs (the sexual context quite obvious), but then goes back under the water when there's a knock on the door. Nancy returns to her bedroom to see it covered in snow, with that then turning into a school. Freddy is then behind her, and then right in her face, and he runs his claw through her hair while licking her face and into her ear. While competitively swimming in a lap pool, Quentin is suddenly pulled underwater, struggles, and then emerges from a pool of water outside a factory in the past. He then spots parents chasing Freddy (still in human form) into a warehouse where they surround and then burn him alive by throwing a lit can of gasoline through a window. That results in an explosion, followed by Freddy running out, fully engulfed in flames, his face badly burned. Nancy sees a bloody body in a bag being dragged across the floor, followed by the bag being upright and Kris "alive" inside it (all bloody and menacing). A nurse's hand suddenly turns into Freddy's clawed hand as the nurse tries to sedate Nancy in an emergency room. Freddy is suddenly in the middle of a road at night in front of Quentin's SUV. That causes him to swerve off the road, go through tall grass and then end up slamming into and stuck in some shallow water. He and Nancy then set off on foot, wary of Freddy being around. Nancy purposefully goes to sleep to try to pull Freddy back into the real word. Quentin yanks the large blade off a paper cutter, but ends up falling asleep as well, resulting in him being in the same factory as all other dreamers. Nancy hides her in closet and peers through the slats to see Freddy wandering about her room, followed by coming her direction. He then disappears, but is then suddenly by her in the closet. As Nancy tries to run away from Freddy down a hallway, the floor turns to tar or something similar and Nancy starts to sink in that, prompting Freddy to ask, "How's this for a wet dream?" She then ends up back in her bedroom, pinned down by the invisible Freddy. We then see him there, with her in a large version of her old childhood dress as he remarks it was always one of his favorites. He tells her that her mouth might say no, but her body is saying yes, and then later runs his clawed hand up her clothed body. Quentin frantically tries to rouse Nancy from her nightmare, all as Freddy raises his claw up to impale her. Just as he thrusts that down, Quentin jabs an adrenaline shot into her chest, bringing her back to reality. She grabs Freddy's arm and yanks him back with her. GUNS/WEAPONS While not a traditional weapon, Freddy use a glove equipped with long steel blades/claws that to wound and kill others in their sleep. In a nightmare, Freddy comes after Dean again, with the two struggling. Back in the real world, we see Dean by himself, holding a knife in one hand and trying to stop that with his other. He then jabs the knife into his throat and then slices that open, with very bloody results. We briefly see old sketches of various medieval weapons. Arriving police spot Jesse covered in blood and aim their handguns at him. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "What the f*ck?" "That's/she's already/ f*cked up," "Shut the f*ck up," "I didn't f*cking think so," "Let me the f*ck out of here," "F*cked up memories," "Open the f*cking door," "F*ck you," "F*cking bastard," "Why don't you just f*cking die?" "Oh sh*t," "Ah sh*t," "How's this for a wet dream?" "Bitch," "What the hell are you doing here?" "I know I've been an asshole," "Oh God" (followed by "No, just me"), "Why are you screaming? I haven't even cut you yet" and "You're in my world now, bitch" (said to a man). Some of the attacks, stunts and related scares might be enticing for some kids to imitate. A prisoner has tattoos. Nancy tries to stay awake by taking a hot car cigarette lighter and burning her forearm with that (leaving a burn mark there). Quentin steals adrenaline from a hospital (to keep himself awake). He then injects that directly into his leg and reacts to the sudden jolt of energy. He offers the same to Nancy, but she declines. JUMP SCENES Freddy suddenly appears and claws at Dean in a nightmare. Dean accidentally but suddenly spills some coffee onto a dinner table. Kris sees a young version of herself at Dean's funeral (with slash marks across the girl's dress), followed by Freddy's hand suddenly grabbing adult Kris' leg. Kris suddenly encounters Freddy in her attic. Kris reaches out for the attic pull-down string, when her mom is then suddenly behind her. With her mom gone for several days, Kris is alone at night and hears sounds in the house. She goes to the window to look out and Jesse suddenly startles her there. A figure suddenly passes by in the foreground of a camera shot. Jesse suddenly grabs Nancy in her bedroom. Quentin falls asleep in a library and then follows a young girl in his dream until he finds Freddy seated with other kids. Freddy then quickly turns around. Freddy's clawed hand bursts out of a teen's chest, killing him, with bloody results. Freddy is suddenly behind Nancy. Nancy watches a series of video blog posts by another student who then falls asleep on camera, followed by him suddenly bursting or being thrust into the camera (no blood). There's a sudden knock at an SUV window. A nurse's hand suddenly turns into Freddy's clawed hand as the nurse tries to sedate Nancy in an emergency room. Freddy is suddenly in the middle of a road at night in front of Quentin's SUV. Nancy hides her in closet and peers through the slats to see Freddy wandering about her room, followed by coming her direction. He then disappears, but is then suddenly by her in the closet. Freddy suddenly comes through a mirror, drives his clawed hand through the back of a woman's head and out through her face (with bloody results) and then yanks her back into the mirror. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 16 "f" words, 7 "s" words, 2 asses (both used with "hole"), 1 hell, 3 uses each of "Oh God" and "Oh my God," 2 each of "God" and "Jesus" and 1 use of "G-damn." SEX/NUDITY The camera focuses in close on Nancy's clothed butt as she walks away (showing Quentin's view). Kris shows a little cleavage. An overhead view looking down on Kris shows some cleavage. Kris shows a little more cleavage in another scene. An old painting, seen as a small image, might show a nude woman lying on her back with her head hanging down, but it's so small and briefly visible that we didn't catch any explicit details. We see Kris and Jesse cuddled up in bed asleep (he stays to comfort her from her worries, but we don't know if any sex occurred). Both are clothed, although she's in a top and small pajama type shorts. We twice see Nancy's bare back as she undresses to get into a bathtub (but no other nudity). We then see her fall asleep in the tub, with a view from the end of the tub looking back at her, including with her knees up and spread in the water. Freddy's clawed hand then emerges between her legs (the sexual context quite obvious), but then goes back under the water when there's a knock on the door. Nancy returns to her bedroom to see it covered in snow, with that then turning into a school. Freddy is then behind her, and then right in her face, and he runs his claw through her hair while licking her face and into her ear. We see Quentin and other male members of the swim team in very small and tight swim trunks. In Freddy's old hidden room at the school, Quentin finds photos of Nancy as a 5-year-old, apparently pedophile and/or child porn related (we don't see the images). Quentin and Nancy briefly kiss. Freddy suggestively asks Nancy what game she wants to play. When she angrily replies, "F*ck you," he replies, "Oh, sounds like fun." As Nancy tries to run away from Freddy down a hallway, the floor turns to tar or something similar and Nancy starts to sink in that, prompting Freddy to ask, "How's this for a wet dream?" She then ends up back in her bedroom, pinned down by the invisible Freddy. We then see him there, with her in a large version of her old childhood dress as he remarks it was always one of his favorites. He tells her that her mouth might say no, but her body is saying yes, and then later runs his clawed hand up her clothed body. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We see some grieving family members at Dean's funeral. Nancy learns that her mom lied to her about her past, and is upset with her about that (the mom was doing so to try to protect her from painful memories). Quentin is upset with his dad over his father's past actions toward Freddy. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Nightmares, dreams and what they mean. The notion that if you die in your dreams, you do the same in real life. Pedophiles. Revenge. Sleep deprivation and what it does to people. The old story of the Pied Piper. VIOLENCE Dean encounters Freddy who slices at him. When Dean wakes up in the dinner, his palm has several bloody scrapes on it (while some blood is also on the table). In a nightmare, Freddy comes after Dean again, with the two struggling. Back in the real world, we see Dean by himself, holding a knife in one hand and trying to stop that with his other. He then jabs the knife into his throat and then slices that open, with very bloody results. Freddy suddenly grabs and pins Kris to the attic floor (she then wakes up in a fright back in the real world). Kris finds an image of Freddy's claw along with bloodstains in her textbook. Just then, everyone in the classroom blasts away to dust or ashes. Kris gets up at night, heads outside, and finds her dog lying on the ground with bloody slash marks across its side, while we see its blood on Freddy's claws. She hears Freddy and then runs, but her house turns into a school where she encounters her childhood self who leads her to Freddy (who scrapes his claws down a blackboard). She then ends up back in her bed, with Freddy on top, attacking her. In the real world, Jesse wakes up to find her thrashing about and tries to wake her, but is knocked off the bed. He then sees her levitated and smashed to the walls and ceiling in the room, followed by lethal slashes down her clothed front, killing her and splattering Jesse with her blood. Arriving police spot Jesse covered in blood and aim their handguns at him. That's followed by pinning him to the ground to cuff him and then slamming him into a car. Freddy's clawed hand bursts out of a teen's chest, killing him, with bloody results. It's then implied that Freddy tortures Jesse in the nightmare before he's fully dead. While competitively swimming in a lap pool, Quentin is suddenly pulled underwater, struggles, and then emerges from a pool of water outside a factory in the past. He then spots parents chasing Freddy (still in human form) into a warehouse where they surround and then burn him alive by throwing a lit can of gasoline through a window. That results in an explosion, followed by Freddy running out, fully engulfed in flames, his face badly burned. Nancy watches a series of video blog posts by another student who then falls asleep on camera, followed by him suddenly bursting or being thrust into the camera (no blood). There's a sudden knock at an SUV window. That's followed by Freddy grabbing Nancy and throwing her to the street. Nancy tries to stay awake by taking a hot car cigarette lighter and burning her forearm with that (leaving a burn mark there). Nancy's view alternates between being in a store and a factory, with Freddy approaching (scraping his claws on metal, sending sparks shooting) and then attacking her in both locales (invisible and visible), slicing her arm with his claws, leaving her bloody. Freddy breaks glass in a door to get into an abandoned school. Quentin sees Freddy slice Nancy, but that was just imagined. Freddy grabs Quentin and repeatedly slams him into some factory pipes, bloodying his face. He then slices Quentin's chest, bloodying him there as well. After pinning Nancy to her bed and coming on to her, Freddy throws her across the room and into a wall. She then stabs a large pair of scissors into his eye, with him slowly pulling that out, trailed by some viscera. Quentin slices Freddy with a large blade from a paper cutter, and tries again, but Freddy stops him and they struggle, followed by Freddy stabbing his claws into Quentin (with bloody results). More fighting follows, including Freddy throwing Nancy aside, while she stabs him in the leg with something. Freddy then goes to kill Quentin, but Nancy uses that blade to sever his clawed hand (with bloody results). She then uses the same to slice him across the throat (also with bloody results), followed by setting the room and him on fire. Freddy suddenly comes through a mirror, drives his clawed hand through the back of a woman's head and out through her face (with bloody results) and then yanks her back into the mirror. Reviewed April 28, 2010 / Posted April 30, 2010

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