Les griffes de la nuit

Bavard, illogique, surexplicatif, le scénario culmine sur une confrontation trop expéditive.

The filmmakers' use of computer-generated effects doesn't help much, and makes a few of the scenes that should be horrifying look silly. The cast - notably Rooney Mara and Kyle Gallner as Freddy's longest-surviving prey - are reasonably adept at screaming, crying, looking sleepy and earnestly delivering expository information they glean from research on the Internet and at the local bookstore.

The general consensus is typically a question: why did they bother? Now the company has put out their eighth film and sixth remake, this time tackling the legendary Wes Craven film A Nightmare on Elm Street, and, surprise, surprise, it is just as pointless as the others.

Thus, it seemed possible a reboot might be more corrective than redundant - especially with the inspired choice of Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy 2.0. Alas, little about New Line's return to the well delivers on that promise.

Un simple produit puéril pour faire accourir les adolescents dans les salles, alors qu'ils peuvent très bien trouver la version originale dans n'importe quel club vidéo et passer un bien meilleur moment. Au moins, il y a le délectable Jackie Earle Haley pour passer le temps. C'est déjà ça de pris.

La faute de cette bourde ne revient pas à Haley, ni aux acteurs et actrices, qui font ce qu'ils peuvent suivant les ordres d'un réalisateur apparemment déjà blasé (Samuel Bayer), d'un producteur peu subtil (Michael Bay) et de scénaristes nouvellement adeptes du copier/coller.

What we want are freaky visuals, and as an exercise in "re-imagining," to use Hollywood's favorite rehash euphemism, 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. In the end, your last fever dream about failing to study for an exam was probably scarier.