YMMV / A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

• Adaptation Displacement: A very specific case, as remake Freddy’s backstory as a pedophile is commonly applied to the original version of the character in casual discussion. While it was implied in the original continuity and Wes Craven originally created him as such, none of the original films called Freddy a pedophile and carefully phrased him as being a child killer or murderer.
• Base-Breaking Character: Kris, or more specifically, Katie Cassidy. Many critics and viewers gave Cassidy props for her performance as Kris, mainly for having a more lively perfomance than her costar Rooney Mara and some even wished the film had made her the Final Girl rather than the decoy. That said, just as many are happy to point out that, while less flatlined, her acting is still fairly stilted, such as her infamous "There's this man... and he's BURNED!"
• Can't Un-Hear It: Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger for many.
• Character Rerailment: Say what you want about about this movie, it at least gets one thing right: it reverts Freddy back into the serious, intimidating villain he was in the original movie, unlike most of the sequels, which made him into a comedic goofball.
• Complete Monster: Freddy Krueger is as monstrous as always. A sadistic pedophile, Freddy used to be a preschool gardener who would take the children to his underground cave, where he would rape them and take photos of them, his favorite being Nancy. When the parents of the kids find out and murder him, Freddy returns from the dead years later in order to kill the kids for snitching on him. In their dreams, Freddy gives the teens a head start so that he can enjoy their screaming and fear before he brutally murders them, all the while making snide comments at them. He then hangs the bodies up in his boiler room as trophies. Setting his sights on Nancy once again, Freddy saves her for last, so that, once her brain goes into a coma via sleep deprivation, he can keep her as his sex toy forever. Despite getting killed again, Freddy immediately returns, killing Nancy's mother.
• Critical Backlash: Amongst those who thought the film to be So Okay, It's Average. While many agree that it’s not a great film, and will point out some of its shortcomings, they also feel that it doesn’t deserve all the hate that it gets, especially from those who deem it one of the worst horror films ever made. Many have defended this movie for bringing Freddy back in the shadows by lessening the comedy and one liners, and appreciate the much more stripped back boiler room environments in the nightmares.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: While the characters are still underwritten, most people agree that Thomas Dekker (Jesse) and Kyle Gallner (Quentin) give strong enough performances to walk away looking fairly good. Quentin was even chosen to represent the film as a survivor in Dead by Daylight.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • There's an interesting parallel between Marcus Yeon's final vlog and this viral clip.
  • The credits theme, "All I Have To Do Is Dream", was one of the covered songs on Freddy's Greatest Hits novelty album.
  • Given how poorly her performance was received, it's kind of funny that Rooney Mara went on to become a widely-acclaimed actress with two Oscar nominations.
  • Jackie Earle Haley would go on to play another horrifically burned Dream Weaver in The Evil Within.
• Just Here for Godzilla: More than a few skeptics were willing to see this just for Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy. Even the harshest critics loved his performance.
• Love to Hate: Even with a different actor, Freddy still proves to be as entertainingly evil as ever. Jackie Earle Haley clearly gave it his all.
• Memetic Mutation: "THIS IS FOR ME MONEY/PEARL!" ^context  Alan Smith, the angry father responsible for Freddy Krueger's death in Quentin's nightmare was played by Clancy Brown. His voice was ridiculously recognizable as Mr. Krabs, leading to people making jokes about him getting revenge on Freddy for stealing his money or harming his daughter.
• Moral Event Horizon: If he didn't cross it in life by molesting the children, Freddy certainly crosses it by puncturing a victim's heart and taunting them that they still have six minutes of "playtime".
• Older Than They Think:
  • A lot of reviewers and people who watched the movie praised the introduction of micro-naps to the series as a clever invention. They were actually introduced in Freddy vs. Jason, in which Lori's father briefly morphs into Freddy in broad daylight when she's sleep-deprived.
  • Arguably present in the original, which would explain the more confusing moments of the film, such as the end where Nancy walks through the door of her mother's bedroom and ends up outside, while seemingly awake.
• The Scrappy: Nancy Holbrook, often cited as one of the worst final girls of all time. Doubles as Replacement Scrappy, since Nancy Thompson in the original movie was loved by fans for being proactive in standing up to Freddy, a trait which her successors carried into the sequels. New Nancy, in contrast, is a reactive character. Rooney Mara's later comments about the lack of enthusiasm she had for the role didn't help either.
• So Okay, It's Average: Critics approved of Jackie Earle Haley's performance as Freddy and the research put into the science of sleep. However, they regarded the rest of the film as another failed attempt to recapture past glories.
• Squick: Damn near everything to do with Freddy qualifies for this trope. Even before he was burned, his interactions with the children are unbelievably uncomfortable to watch, especially if you actually allow yourself to picture him hurting the kids.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Three of them, in fact. Dean was only useful in the opening sequence, then Kris gets it soon after, but not before Freddy messes around with her, causing her to reunite with her ex-boyfriend Jesse. Finally, Jesse gets accused of murdering her while she was sleeping, and gets killed in a jail cell.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: The possibility that Freddy Krueger was innocent of the child molestation charges is a fascinating premise that could have made this new version of the character and his revenge crusade more complex and interesting. Unfortunately, the third act confirms that Freddy was guilty, which not only makes all the time spent on this subplot a waste of time, but ultimately makes Freddy an utterly one-dimensional villain.
• Took the Bad Film Seriously:
  • Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy. Even those who felt that he was no replacement for Robert Englund still said that he was the best character in the film for having actually tried his all to make his character scary.
  • As noted under Ensemble Dark Horse above, Thomas Dekker and Kyle Gallner also gave strong performances despite their characters being underwritten.

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