Somehow I missed seeing the original 1984 film -- and its seven sequels and spin-off television series -- so I'm a Freddy Kreuger newbie. I am, however, way too familiar with by-the-book thrillers, and this remake of Nightmare is a checklist of expected "thrills" and plot twists. So while I was marginally entertained by the story -- why is some scary dude with knives for fingernails stalking a group of teens in their dreams -- I rolled my eyeballs frequently at its execution. Alone in a spooky room? Countdown until ... bam! -- there's Freddy! If a single lightbulb is turned on, it will flicker out in less than a minute. Oh, thank heavens, Freddy has been vanquished ... or has he? Thus, Samuel Bayer's film is fine for what it is -- a B-grade thriller -- but unless you really care that its stars have current hairstyles, there seems little need to re-tell this story.
