Samuel Bayer's remake of horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street did some things right, but one deleted Freddy Krueger scare could have benefitted it. Jackie Earle Haley played an unnerving version of the bloodthirsty antagonist in this remake, and his repulsive essence is only amplified by the fact this iteration explicitly states the character was an abusive pedophile before his death. Besides incorporating intriguing psychological concepts like trauma and memory repression into the story, the movie itself doesn't have much zip to it.
This sentiment was widely was shared by critics after A Nightmare On Elm Street's release in 2010. The movie was critiqued for rehashing famous moments from Wes Craven's original, its incredibly dour tone - with many finding the Freddy twist in poor taste - and the fact it just wasn't that scary. While it was a decent financial success, the poor response to the film led to sequel plans being scrapped.
While the Nightmare On Elm Street remake's overall lack of scares is a key reason it doesn't work, there was one removed sequence that could have helped in this area. Near the beginning of the film, Kris (Katie Cassidy) goes into a dimly-lit attic to sort through pictures and mementos. She opens a box containing a picture of herself as a preschooler and a child-sized dress of hers with Freddy Krueger's signature claw marks through the fabric. Naturally, the light goes out, and she trails her flashlight around the dark room, spotting a hat on top of a box before looking away. When the beam travels back, Kris can now see the top of Freddy's head wearing the hat as he blinks his eyes and stares at her.
It's a genuinely effective and suspenseful little sequence, but sadly, in the final cut of A Nightmare On Elm Street this moment is replaced by a cheap jump scare of Freddy suddenly lunging at Kris. This attic scene would have been a great way not only to continue to introduce the slasher but to further set up the movie's major themes. It encapsulates what this remake is thematically about - the past being dug up, loss of innocence and lurking danger - all in two and a half minutes.
Of course, this scene was one of many that weren't used. Another sequence snipped from A Nightmare On Elm Street 2010 showed Freddy sharpening his knives, presumably while he was still alive. Just like with the attic scene, leaving moments like this in could have driven the themes home even harder. The 2010 reboot was creepy and disturbing in some ways, but, overall, it was underwhelming and its critical reception reflected this. While it wouldn't have fixed the movie's problems, the Freddy behind the boxes scene would have given it a boost in the scares department.
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