The release day for the remake of ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ is steadily approaching and that there to the left is the new poster. Interesting – though predictably – they’re starting off with an image of Freddy. Let’s face it – you don’t know anyone else in the movie. And by the time Freddy vs. Jason rolled out, Freddy was the only character from the series that you probably remembered. There’s probably a generation who don’t even know there was a Nancy.
It’s kind of a shame. The Wes Craven original was about the kids being hunted down by Freddy, not Freddy hunting down the kids. Also – Freddy was truly creepy in that first movie – really, really weird – something he never got back to in all the sequels. Judging by the trailer for the new ‘Nightmare’, that same tone is back, though it seems that the story backs up a bit and shows Freddy’s origin. Whether or not that’s a good thing, only time will tell.
And the original wasn’t perfect. It was pretty low budget stuff, and Craven hadn’t yet really honed his chops yet, so a lot of it was pretty raw and there was a tendency for over acting. But when that thing came out, no one had ever seen anything like it before. Freddy wasn’t a character you rooted for – he was someone you dreaded showing up. And you didn’t watch the movie because of the cool hallucinatory kill sequences – you were caught off-guard, having no idea where he was going to come from next.
No matter what, the remake won’t have that going for it.
Then taking a look at some of the stills from Bloody-Disgusting today, it looks like this remake is hewing pretty close to the original in a lot of ways. Which, outside of a money standpoint, I don’t really understand. Obviously remaking the original, which basically built New Line back in the day, is the way to go if you want to make some cash. But with a story that has a playground this vast – we’re talking about dreams, people – it’s a shame they couldn’t continue the story line and come up with some places to go. After Dream Warriors, this series got incredibly lazy. And now that a generation of ‘Nightmare’ super fans have come of age, it seems like somebody would come up with a really interesting new take on this thing.
But there I go, talking like I’ve seen any of this, and I haven’t. It could be amazing and I sure hope it is. But so far in the world of horror remakes, ‘Dawn of the Dead’ is the only one I can think of that I really couldn’t do without.
If you can think of another one, chime in and let me know…
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Boobses.
That’s a good point, Todd. You know – the female body also played an important role in the ‘Nightmare’ franchise, though for an early 80s slasher movie, it showed comparatively little flesh. Actually, I’m not sure there was nudity in the original at all.
Generally used as a marketing ploy – the promise of naked breasts to entice the breast-loving component of the audience – in the original ‘Nightmare’, nudity wasn’t needed. The dreams were the hook. Even in the famous bathtub scene – which looks to have been redone for the remake – not a inch of nipple to be seen.
Is that what you’re getting at, Todd?
Yupit. Dats right.
burp……
Whoa! You are totally operating on a different level, man.
Yes, right again – basic human bodily functions also play a huge part in the ‘Nightmare’ series. Though Todd’s example is that of a more gastric nature, generally the processes of the brain play the most important role.
Not only does the character of Freddy somehow insinuate himself into these processes, he can manipulate them, turning them against their owner. Whereas, in our world, our dreams can’t actually physically kill us, in the world of ‘Elm Street’, they most certainly can.
Well done, Todd. Well done.
Craig…………….I hope nobuddy else reds this bcuz U is crazzy, man!!!!
Why dont U cal me????
…..burp…………bBABBarrfffffFFFFFFFF….ppppghh
This shit looks dope!! My mind is farting all over itself!
I clearly cannot control the volume of brilliance in the comments today. Mercy.
Boobses?