8 Horror Movie Re-Castings That Were TERRIBLE
4. Jackie Earle Haley - Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare On Elm Street)
Platinum Dunes made it their mission across the 2000s to remake every single horror property you loved as a kid, mostly to little acclaim.
Their reimagining of A Nightmare On Elm Street required something of a defter touch though. That's because when it comes to slasher Freddy Krueger, so much of his success can be attributed to actor Robert Englund's impressive, sinister charm, and as such fans were eager to see who the studio had tapped to fill his deep boots.
Initially it seemed like they'd pulled off the impossible as well. Jackie Earle Haley was given the role, just off the fan-pleasing turn as Rorschach in Zack Snyder's Watchmen. At the time, my younger self thought this was perfect, and it was unclear how the filmmakers could fail with such talent in tow.
Rest assured they managed it somehow though.
It turned out that Haley wasn't the fit we all expected, and combined with the poor script and shocking CGI burn effects was nowhere near as menacing as he could have been. Unsurprisingly then, once Freddy himself was botched, plans for sequels went down the drain.