items tagged with Roger Kumble

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

Before its title card appears, director Samuel Bayer's reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street opens -- as these things usually do -- with a dream sequence, in which a frightened, sleep-deprived teen finds himself face to face with the scarred and monstrous personage of Freddy Krueger. Granted, the murderous apparition with the razor-blade gloves and snappy sweater-and-hat combo, last seen in 2003's Elm Street/Friday the 13th mashup Freddy Vs. Jason, hasn't been away from cineplex screens for terribly long. But Freddy's arrival should still provide both a jolt and a kick, especially with the creepy, ferrety Jackie Earle Haley taking over the role from Robert Englund, whose initially horrifying figure in Wes Craven's low-rent classic descended into camp long before the series reached (what we incorrectly presumed was) its conclusion.
Read More About (How) Freddy Got Fingered: “A Nightmare On Elm Street” And “Furry Vengeance”...

FRAILTY

Until it flirts with supernatural looniness in its last reel, Bill Paxton’s directorial debut Frailty is a strong, scary, deeply affecting piece of work – so good, in fact, that it easily ranks, thus far, as 2002’s finest film achievement.