But as I said, there are some things that just don’t hit the bulls-eye. At a two hour running time, it does a hard job running the plot and atmosphere hand in hand; the exposition comes really late in the game and the cloud of dread isn’t as sharp as it was (say on the first Elm Street). The Freddy look is new, but often too over-lit to be extremely effective. Kids in horror films either work or they don’t (it doesn’t here). The ending is a bit too fantasy and silly (there’s some weird stuff with Freddy’s tongue wrapping around things and dodging knife stabs…)

But ultimately, it’s the concept and themes that win out in this. It does raise some interesting questions: what’s horror’s place in a civilized society? How does working on scary movies affect you personally and professionally? How can you be a responsible parent when the world is surrounded by horror imagery? Heady stuff for a character who once rapped with the Fat Boys.