20 Great Horror Roles Ruined By Terrible Acting
14. A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010) - Nancy Holbrook
In her original form, Nancy (played by Heather Langenkamp) was an iconic, all-timer Final Girl. But the version in the Elm Street remake? Yikes!
This version is so blank, glum, and irritating that comparisons to Bella Swan from the Twilight movies would be appropriate. There's also another way that this Nancy could be compared to Bella Swan. Despite her horrendous performance in the Twilight Saga, Kristen Stewart has proved to be an amazing actress, and the same has happened here, for 2010's Nancy is, believe it or not, played by none other than Rooney Mara.
It's still hard to believe that this is actually Rooney Mara, as she's so completely lifeless in this film and yet she's been brilliant in... well, pretty much every single thing she's done ever since. It later emerged that Mara didn't want to do the movie, and that explains her unenthusiastic performance. In fact, the experience nearly drove her to quit acting, but working with David Fincher on The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (which earned Mara her first Oscar nomination) revived her aspirations, and the film world is richer for it.
Still, this early leading role is best forgotten, and it's highly likely that Rooney Mara would like us to forget it as well. So, moving swiftly on!