"Nightmare on Elm Street" racks up a large body count

Whenever one thinks of 1980s horror flicks, it is hard not to imagine knife-wielding Michael Myers of "Halloween" or the deformed hockey masked Jason Voorhees of "Friday the 13th."

With the horror genre being prime pickings for Hollywood remakes, it only follows that Freddy Krueger would once again resurface to haunt the dreams of adrenaline-seeking moviegoers.

Director Samuel Bayer has once again brought to life the knife-fingered Freddy Krueger with his remake of "A Nightmare on Elm Street," released last Friday. The film held true to the original plot while adding an amped dose of graphic ferocity.

"I'm a huge 80s horror fan," said 18-year-old moviegoer Adam Stazer, who was dressed accordingly, complete with knifed glove. "Even though I was excited, I'm always skeptical of any remake, but this movie went over and above what I expected. It was completely demented."

Starring Jackie Earle Haley from "Watchmen" as the burnt dream-stalker Freddy Krueger, "Nightmare" retells the story of a group of teenagers living in the town of Springwood who are all afflicted with the same and all-too-real nightmare, leaving them afraid to fall asleep. Graphically depicted, the film delves a little deeper into Krueger's history, yielding a more substantial character while still maintaining the camp-value of the original, seen in Krueger's iconic laugh and crudely sinister witticisms.

"It's always fun to see how a director will do a particular scene that was in the original," said Joey Beran, 40, who saw the 1984 original in theaters. "The violence [in the remake] was so much more brutal, which adds a kind of seriousness. [But] Freddy was just as foul-mouthed as I remembered, so it balanced out."

While horror movies and remakes are rarely met with critical success, audiences can't seem to resist the temptation of Freddy's burnt flesh and superhuman abilities.

Moviegoer Angie Martinez said that "Nightmare" wasn't as good as she had hoped it would be. "Every horror remake I've ever seen always falls short of my expectations. I guess I should save myself the twelve dollars, but I just can't help myself."

Whether you're familiar with Freddy Krueger or just coming onto the scene, horror remakes still seem to entice audiences into the movie theater. Complete with obligatory special effects and plenty of knife-induced injuries, "A Nightmare on Elm Street" still draws a large body count.