Line #9 Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet2010


1	[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/A_Nightmare_on_Elm_Street_2010-1-_1602.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:299:''[[{{Tagline}} Never sleep again.]]'']]
3
4	->''He knows where you sleep.''
5	-->-- '''{{Tagline}}'''
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7	This 2010 film serves as both a remake of ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984'' and a reboot of the actual ''[[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Elm Street]]'' franchise; Creator/RooneyMara stars as Nancy and Creator/JackieEarleHaley plays the nightmare himself, Freddy Krueger. The film generally remains close to the origin of Freddy and the overall events of the original film, though it does make some superficial changes to both.
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9	It the feature directorial debut of Creator/SamuelBayer and written by Creator/WesleyStrick and Creator/EricHeisserer.
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11	!! One, two, Freddy's coming for you...three, four, here's the tropes you're looking for...
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13	* AbortedArc: After reading the story of the Pied Piper, it's suggested it might have a connection to Freddy. This is never brought up again.
14	* AdaptationalNameChange: Just about ''all'' of the main characters’ names from the original (excluding Freddy) are changed in some way or outright completely:
15	** Nancy’s first name is still the same, but her last name is changed from “Thompson” to “Holbrook”.
16	** Her mother Marge’s name is changed to “Gwen”.
17	** Tina Gray is changed to “Kris Fowles“ (although, arguably, her first name is still the same, as “Tina” was short for “Christina”).
18	** Rod Lane is changed to “Jesse Braun”.
19	** Glen Lantz is changed to “Quentin Smith”.
20	* AdaptationalVillainy: A minor case with the parents, who in this version murdered Freddy without attempting to bring him to justice by legal means, which they rationalize based on not wanting their children to have to publicly testify about being abused. In the original, they did try to have him legally convicted for his crimes first, only resorting to murder after the charges were dropped due to someone else's paperwork error. While not making Freddy himself any less monstrous, this renders his becoming even more of a monster attributable to the fault of his killers' deliberate decisions, and makes the whole situation more tragic overall.
21	* AdultsAreUseless: Played with. [[spoiler:The parents aren't able to do too much to protect their kids from Freddy in the present, but we see in flashbacks that they were so determined to protect their children from his molesting them that they burned him alive.]]
22	* AndIMustScream: Freddy intends to trap Nancy in this scenario, by keeping her awake for so long that, when she finally did fall asleep, she wouldn't wake up.
23	* AnswersToTheNameOfGod:
24	--> '''Jesse''': Oh, God!
25	--> '''Freddy''': No. Just me.
26	* BlatantLies: Freddy to a hapless victim:
27	-->'''Freddy''': ''brandishing claws'' You don't have nothing to worry about. [[YouWontFeelAThing This won't hurt one...little...bit.]]
28	* CharacterTic: Freddy has a unique habit of rubbing his middle finger and index finger together, which produces a unique sound as the metal of his claws brushes against each other.
29	* ColdBloodedTorture:
30	--> '''Freddy:''' "Did you know that after the heart stops beating, the brain keeps functioning for well over seven minutes? We got six more minutes to play..."
31	* CompositeCharacter: Nancy Holbrook appears to be a combination of Nancy Thompson and Alice Johnson.
32	* DarkerAndEdgier: This version of Freddy is a lot darker than his original counterpart, being completely humorless and considerably more vicious. Not to mention, he's a pedophile in this version, which somehow [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil manages to be creepier than being a child murderer]].
33	* DeadpanSnarker: The remake Freddy enters this territory; he is much more physically subdued than the original, but his love for wordplays and puns remain more-or-less-unchanged.
34	* DecoyProtagonist: The first third of the film follows Kris as she attempts to unravel the mystery of the nightmares, but after she is killed by Freddy, the perspective shifts to Nancy. Fans of the series, of course, might have already guessed that the character named Nancy would turn out to be the real lead.
35	* DiscretionShot: After entering Freddy's lair, Nancy and Quentin discover Polaroid photos of a young Nancy which are strongly implied (from their horrified reactions) to be sexual in nature, but they are not shown to the audience. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since it would obviously be illegal for the filmmakers to produce child porn even if it was only for a movie.
36	* DullSurprise: Rooney Mara's usual reaction to things has little feelings. This was intentional as she didn't like making the film and claimed she didn't even try to give a good performance.
37	* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: Played straight when [[spoiler: you find out all the victims went to the same preschool that Freddy worked at in life]]. It is also justified. [[spoiler:Freddy only went after those particular kids ''because'' they went to school together.]]
38	* EyeScream: Happens twice: [[spoiler:first when Nancy stabs Freddy in the eye with scissors, and again at the end, when Freddy impales Nancy's mother through the head from behind and a blade comes out of her eye.]]
39	* {{Fanservice}}: One of the main characters spends an entire scene that is pretty pivotal to the plot dressed in a speedo.
40	* ForgottenFirstMeeting: The main characters all went to preschool together, but it was so long ago for them that they've forgotten that they knew each other before their teenage years. [[spoiler: Their parents all wanted it that way.]]
41	* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:Freddy jumps out of a mirror and kills Nancy's mom right in front of her, sucking her into the mirror and leaving Nancy screaming before a cut to credits.]] Most likely a ShoutOut to the CliffHanger endings of the original films.
42	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Jesse suffers this fate quite gruesomely, and is still alive long enough, as Freddy puts it, "to play..."
43	* InsultBackfire: During the final showdown with Freddy:
44	--> '''Freddy:''' Hello little Nancy. Now that you've got me, what game do you want to play next?
45	--> '''Nancy:''' Fuck you!
46	--> '''Freddy:''' Oooh! Sounds like fun! But a little fast for me.
47	* IronicEcho: Freddy comments that there's nothing Nancy can do to stop him because they're in his world. When she pulls him out of the dream, she chops off his claw-gloved hand, stating "Hurts, doesn't it? Cause, you're in ''my'' world now [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch bitch!"]].
48	* MotiveMisidentification: Upon learning that the parents had burned him alive due to their children telling them he apparently abused them, Quentin comes to the belief that Freddy wants revenge on the kids for telling stories that got him killed. [[spoiler:Upon finding the lair he had in life and discovering that he actually ''was'' a pedophile, Quentin realizes that Freddy was after them because they told ''the truth'']].
49	* MythologyGag:
50	** This version of Freddy is a child molester, which is what his character was originally supposed to be in the 1984 version.
51	** The tagline "Welcome to your new nightmare" may be a nod to ''Film/WesCravensNewNightmare''.
52	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: As covered under MotiveMisidentification, Quentin and Nancy get it into their heads that Freddy was innocent, and assume he's leading them back to the preschool so he can be [[QuietingTheUnquietDead put to rest]]. When they arrive at Bedham Preschool and [[spoiler:discovering his hidden pedophile cave, Quentin puts together that Freddy has been reminding them of him to make himself stronger, and they've fed right into it.]]
53	* NeverSayDie: Although it's obvious that Freddy molested the kids, they never directly use the word 'molest'.
54	* NeverTrustATrailer: The trailer had several scenes that were noticeably absent from the film itself, which include additional scares from Freddy due to micronaps.
55	* OhCrap: Quentin has one of these [[spoiler:when he falls asleep whilst he should be guarding Nancy.]]
56	* PaedoHunt: This version of Freddy sexually abused the children of Elm Street, which causes the parents to murder him when they find out what happened.
57	* PoliceAreUseless: Aside from arresting Jesse for the apparent murder of Kris, the police in the film barely do anything at all in looking into the recent string of murders. When the parents kill Freddy in the past, there isn't a rogue policeman even there to show there is an actual presence in the town.
58	* PrecisionFStrike:
59	-->'''Freddy:''' ''(to Quentin)'' [[WhyWontYouDie Why don't you just fucking die?]]
60	* PsychoticSmirk: The remade Freddy pulled this one along with him FingerTenting on the film poster.
61	* RapeAndRevenge: [[spoiler:The kid's parents killed Freddy where he hid after they found out that he'd molested their children.]]
62	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Freddy plays this ''quite'' straight with Nancy. While [[spoiler:he abused the children sexually at school,]] he menaces Nancy nonstop with a perverted {{Yandere}} attitude that makes his antics in life seem tame. And when Quentin and Nancy develop feelings for each other, Freddy gets pretty jealous.
63	* ScreamDiscretionShot: Used as [[spoiler:while Jesse's technically flatlined after being killed by Freddy, Freddy informs him in his continuing dream that the brain can survive up to seven minutes after heart failure, and they've still got six minutes to play]]. The scene cuts back to reality, with only his offscreen screams implying what's happening next.
64	* ShoutOut:
65	** [[Film/PulpFiction Waking up an unconscious woman by jabbing an adrenaline-filled needle straight down between her breasts.]] Also, three of the characters are named "Nancy", "Jesse", and "Kris"... the protagonists in the first three original ''Nightmare'' movies.
66	** Multiple moments from the climax are shout outs to ''Film/FreddyVsJason'' (Freddy saying "Why don't you just die?", a female character saying "Welcome to/you're in my world bitch," and [[spoiler: Freddy's claw arm getting chopped off]]).
67	* ShownTheirWork: The writers bring up quite a few biological tidbits in order to make Freddy more disturbing:
68	** Micronaps -- a sleep-starved brain's attempt to "recharge" with tiny bursts of forced rest -- means that staying awake will eventually become meaningless against Freddy.
69	** There is a difference between "Normal" death and brain death. [[spoiler: Freddy knows this, and uses the amount of time between the two to do a couple of SerialKiller [[ColdBloodedTorture victory laps]] on people he has murdered.]]
70	** Staying awake for too long will cause the brain to forcibly enter a coma. [[spoiler: Freddy not only knows this, but he [[BatmanGambit was counting on it.]] ]]
71	* SlashedThroat:
72	** Dean's death, shown in the real world as him cutting his own throat with a knife.
73	** [[spoiler:Freddy's supposed death in the real world near the end of the film, where Nancy cuts his throat with a blade]].
74	* SlasherSmile: Whenever Jackie Earl Haley smiles (no matter innocently) while in full Freddy make-up in the making-of featurettes, it's this.
75	* SleepDeprivation: Of the "can't fall asleep, or bad things happen" variety. This remake includes the concept of "micronaps" where a sleep-deprived brain will temporarily switch into a kind of sleep-mode to try and recover. So the kids aren't even safe from Freddy before the point where they simply can't stay awake any longer. The film also mentions that if you push wakefulness for too long, you can fall into a permanent coma.
76	* SoundtrackDissonance: The end credits roll over "All I Have to Do Is Dream" by the Everly Brothers.
77	* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: Combined with an IronicEcho at the climax.
78	--> '''Nancy:''' Hurts, doesn't it? 'Cause you're in my world now, bitch!
79	* TragicMonster: Subverted. At first, it looks like that this version of Freddy is the spirit of an innocent man who was wrongly murdered for supposedly sexually abusing children. Then towards the end, it's revealed that he actually ''did'' abuse them.
80	* VigilanteInjustice: The parents murdered Freddy after they found out that he had been sexually abusing their children. While Nancy and Quentin call them out for murdering Freddy because they didn't remember what had happened and initially believed Freddy was vengeful over his unjust murder because the parents chose to murder him first rather than take him to court. [[spoiler: Nancy and Quentin do eventually find out that Freddy did in fact molest them and Freddy has no sympathetic motivations for attacking them.]]
81	* VillainHasAPoint: Even though it turns out Freddy actually did molest the children, it's pointed out that the parents were in the wrong for lynching and killing him instead of having him face justice for his actions in court, which does give him an understandable, though myopic, reason to want revenge. Not that this justifies going after the kids instead of the parents though, and any tiny drop of pity one might have had for him is lost with the sadistic ways he kills, not to mention [[AndIMustScream what he plans to do to Nancy]].
82	* VillainousBreakdown: Freddy's not usually prone to losing his cool, but he briefly snaps into an almost childish tantrum. Clearly jealous over Quentin and Nancy's growing affection, he attacks Quentin by banging his head against the boiler room pipes over and over again while furiously screaming [[PunctuatedPounding "You! Can't! Save! Her!"]] He regains his composure after thinking he's gotten the upper hand again, and quickly reverts back to his calm hide-and-seek taunts, [[spoiler: which turns out to be a bad idea - Quentin survives the attack and ''does'' save her]].
83	* WouldHurtAChild: The parents of Springwood have two major fears here. Their children were molested by an employee at their preschool and the parents decided to take care of him themselves. Years later, their children are being stalked and murdered by the same man in their dreams.
84	* {{Yandere}}: Played straight by Freddy himself towards Nancy. While he intends to kill all the children for [[spoiler:telling their parents he molested them]], he saves Nancy for [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil something worse]] because -- as Nancy's mother admitted -- she's ''his favorite one of all''.
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Context Film / ANightmareOnElmStreet2010