A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)Movie Reviews

Poster art for "A Nightmare on Elm Street."

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Avg. Critic Score: 35 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

Iffy for 17+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

67

Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman
It's not every day that one of our rogues' gallery of iconic psycho killers gets to be played by a creepy and fascinating actor -- in this case, Jackie Earle Haley taking on the role of Freddy Krueger. Read full review
50

San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle
So any "Nightmare" movie has a built-in handicap going in, but the better ones find ways to compensate, by casting appealing young actors (they're always young), by having imaginative dream sequences and - most important of all - by keeping the dreams short. By that standard, this new "Nightmare" is a fairly decent effort. Read full review
50

Los Angeles Times |
This "Nightmare" is mostly stale goods. You'd think Bayer's music video background would jibe well with the playful surreality of Craven's premise. But when not paying homage -- the claw in the bathtub, the morphing wall -- Bayer surprisingly traffics in factory-level horror atmospherics and loud, saw-it-coming shocks. Read full review
50

The New York Times | A.O. Scott
It's moderately entertaining and instantly forgettable. Poor Freddy. I can't help thinking he deserves better. Read full review
40

Arizona Republic | Bill Goodykoontz
Call it what you want, but the best word to describe it is: unnecessary. Read full review
38

Rolling Stone | Peter Travers
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. Read full review
30

Variety | Dennis Harvey
While the 1984 film has aged, its now-familiar jolts still pack more punch than this pic's recycled ones, which sometimes register so tepidly as to cause snickers. Read full review
30

The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen
The back-to-the-beginning approach unimaginatively goes through the motions, offering scant justification for its boring existence, at least from an artistic point of view. Read full review
25

Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert
I stared at A Nightmare on Elm Street with weary resignation. The movie consists of a series of teenagers who are introduced, haunted by nightmares and then slashed to death by Freddy. So what? Are we supposed to be scared? Read full review
12

Washington Post |
Good ol' Fred loses any sense of playful shock he once possessed and turns into a generic figure meticulously manufactured to simultaneously gross and freak us out. It doesn't work. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says Iffy for 17+ Teens sliced and slayed in grisly slasher remake.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that A Nightmare on Elm Street -- a "reboot" of the classic 1984 slasher film, and the ninth film about "Freddie Krueger," a serial killer who attacks teens in their dreams -- contains all the expected gore (throat-slashing, burning bodies, car crashes, eye-stabbing) and nightmare imagery (like a girl sinking into a pool of blood), with a slightly darker tone than the original. In this version, Oscar-nominated actor Jackie Earle Haley plays Freddie as a more twisted, tragic figure -- a suggested child molester (though nothing is seen or even overtly discussed) -- who is taking his revenge against the people who destroyed him. The movie contains strong language (including "f--k" and "bitch") and some mild hints of teen sexuality, as well as some references to drugs (for staying awake).

Families can talk about the film's extreme gore and violence. Was it scary? How else did it affect you? What makes horror movies so popular (and profitable)?
What is the impact of seeing so many gruesome images in horror movies like these? Teens: Do you think you'd feel less empathy for someone getting hurt if you saw too many movies like this one?
Why is Freddie scary? What makes him different from other "slashers" like Jason or Michael Myers? Do you think movies like these condone real violence?

The good stuff

Positive messages: The primary themes here are vengeance, denial, and fear. In flashbacks, it is suggested that Freddie Krueger is a child molester. Rather than alerting the authorities, the parents of his victims hunt him down and kill him. Returning through dreams and nightmares, Freddie then takes his revenge by hunting and killing the children, now teenagers.
Positive role models: Though the teens are problem solvers, constantly searching for ways to save their lives and the lives of their friends, their parents are basically vigilantes -- and clearly Freddy's no role model.

What to watch for

Violence: The movie contains tons of horror violence, including throat-slashing, body-slashing, body-slamming, cigarette lighter-burning, face-slashing, burning bodies, car crashes, eye-stabbing, and severed hands. Additionally, we see plenty of terrifying nightmare imagery, such as a girl sinking into a lake of blood. This movie also hints that, in his past life, Freddie Krueger was a child molester, although nothing is actually shown or overtly mentioned.
Sex: No nudity or sex, but two teens are seen lying in bed together, and two other teens share a kiss. Teen girls are shown wearing tight, sexy clothing from time to time. Freddie occasionally makes some sexual remarks aimed at the teen girls.
Language: At least nine uses of "f--k" (in various forms), and at least four uses of "s--t" (in various forms). Additionally, we hear "bitch," "pissed," "hell," "asshole," "Jesus," and "God" as exclamations.
Consumerism: Characters use the "Gigablast" Internet search engine more than once. A character quickly drinks a Red Bull in one shot.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Teens drink coffee to stay awake. One teen takes a prescription drug, which he describes as "basically speed for kids with ADD." Later, he steals epinephrine (adrenaline) from a hospital cart and injects both himself and another teen.

Common Sense Media An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.