A Nightmare on Elm Street

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A Nightmare on Elm Street

R

Released Apr 30, 2010

1h 36m

Horror

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Popcornmeter

14%

Tomatometer

184 Reviews

43%

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100,000+ Ratings

Teenagers Nancy, Quentin, Kris, Jesse and Dean are all neighborhood friends who begin having the same dream of a horribly disfigured man who wears a tattered sweater and a glove made of knives. The man, Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley), terrorizes them in their dreams, and the only escape is to wake up. But when one of their number dies violently, the friends realize that what happens in the dream world is real, and the only way to stay alive is to stay awake.

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Critics Consensus

Visually faithful but lacking the depth and subversive twists that made the original so memorable, the Nightmare on Elm Street remake lives up to its title in the worst possible way.

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

It's cliched, boring, and anticlimactic.

Rated: D+

Sep 11, 2017

Full Review

Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

I did jump a few times, and I liked Haley's dour malevolence, but overall, the new Nightmare on Elm Street is a by-the-numbers bad dream.

Rated: B-

Sep 7, 2011

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Christine Champ

Film.com

Freddy's back -- and he's slicker and more sinister than ever.

Rated: B

May 6, 2011

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

As the final word on Elm Street, this is strangely leaden stuff.

Rated: 5/10

Oct 6, 2025

Full Review

Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Like countless other reboots, this leans into all of the wrong things people liked about this franchise.

Rated: 2/5

Sep 11, 2025

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

A Nightmare on Elm Street is just as tedious as the other horror remakes by Platinum Dunes, avoiding any semblance of creative thought or innovative interpretation.

Rated: 1/4

Aug 18, 2023

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David J.

God awful! Should never have been made. Some movies just need to be left alone and not remade or rebooted.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/05/25

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Broke B

The 2010 Nightmare on Elm Street stumbles as a glossy remake, but its decision to reframe Freddy Krueger as a child molester makes it one of the most disturbing portraits of real-world evil in mainstream horror. The execution falters deeply, yet the trauma at its core lingers longer than the jump scares. Best watched without comparison to the 1984 film by the same name.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/04/25

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Rafael S

Just an average movie, I don't think it's that bad, but compared to the original it's a disaster.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/02/25

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Munchie A

The worst remake I have ever seen. It is hollow.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/13/25

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Michael P

I thought it was going to be bad, but it is as good as a modern remake gets.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/12/25

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Oscar H.

This was the WORST remake of a classic 80’s horror flick! Casting director needs to QUIT his job for casting Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger. Side note:Has Jackie Haley ever seen a Freddy Krueger movie?! Highly doubt it! Whatever he was trying to accomplish he FAILED miserably! Someone hit it on the head with their review saying “Let’s forget this remake was ever made!” Moving forward, if any writers have an idea for a remake they must watch this project as an example of what NOT TO DO!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/29/25

Full Review

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Samuel Bayer

Director

Jackie Earle Haley

Freddy Krueger

Rooney Mara

Nancy

Kyle Gallner

Quentin

Katie Cassidy

Kris

Thomas Dekker

Jesse

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Synopsis

Teenagers Nancy, Quentin, Kris, Jesse and Dean are all neighborhood friends who begin having the same dream of a horribly disfigured man who wears a tattered sweater and a glove made of knives. The man, Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley), terrorizes them in their dreams, and the only escape is to wake up. But when one of their number dies violently, the friends realize that what happens in the dream world is real, and the only way to stay alive is to stay awake.

Director: Samuel Bayer
Producer: Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller
Screenwriter: Wesley Strick, Eric Heisserer
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Platinum Dunes
Rating: R (Language|Disturbing Images|Strong Bloody Horror Violence|Terror)
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 30, 2010, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $63.1M
Runtime: 1h 36m

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