I was thinking again about the potential of a series as a way to revisit
the Nightmare and Freddy. The many ways it could be portrayed.
A direct follow up to the last movie in the series: How does a town recover from the terror now that they think it is over.
A series that takes place at a point of time between one of the Original
Nightmares: What was Freddy up to between Nightmare 2 and 3? What
happened after Dream Child, but before Freddy's Dead?
How could they tell a story that would be interesting to long time fans
and not too off-putting to newcomers. Anyone watching the show ,would
have at least seen Wes Craven's original and possibly a sequel or
remake. But what story could they tell that would not just be a blatant
rehash of what came before?
A random idea stuck me: What if our story is driven by the last intended
victim of the living Freddy Krueger. The last girl or boy who he was
going to take before he was arrested. Maybe moments before he was going
to take this child Freddy was chased away. And it's immediately after
this point Krueger gets arrested and then later burned.
So this person grows up knowing what almost happened. Maybe
always,perhaps subconsciously , living in fear,damaged by the experience
and aftermath.
But for some reason ,Freddy never came back for this child after he
became the Nightmares. Maybe Freddy could only first get to the kiddies
of the parents who burned him as part of his revenge pact. I've often
thought it was his intense focused rage and desire for revenge that gave
him the gift to cross over. And since he was intent on making these
parents pay he forgot about this lost child.
Until now......
I picture the first episode opening with a direct homage to the original
Nightmare (it would be a nice touch if the actual filming site of the
first nightmare could be used, but that was reportedly unhealthy to film
in even back in the time of the original movie). While avoiding a
direct copy,it sets the tone for the series while still being A
Nightmare that pays tribute to the original. The character in question
in this dream turns out to be the survivor from before. Much like in the
first movie, Freddy is but a shadow on the wall until the final spooky
reveal.
What if this person had left the town of Springwood many years ago when
their family felt the need to get as far away from the evil. But she
feels that she needs to face her fears and return to the town.
This person reconnects with old friends and neighbors. Through them
learns and explores the history of Freddy. Learns of the "folk tales of
Freddy" and people seeing him in their dreams.
Her presence reawakens something dark in the town as she spreads fear with her conversations. And people start dying.
But what of it? We know what the evil is. We just dont know when we are going to see him.
Where is the mystery? We know what Freddy will do- he will kill, we
just dont know who or when or how inventively. And while that is
something to help build tension on first viewing -will your favorite
character die this week? - it needs a little something more than who
dies this week
The writers would have to set the stage that anyone is fair game.And mean it
Perhaps the "last intended victim" person could be used much like Tina
in the "Janet Leigh" type role. The casting of a significant name that
would lead viewers to believe they will be with us for the entire series
as we learn more about this character. This person is played up as the
hero.Promoted as the "star" in the ensemble. Only to be sliced down
unexpectedly ten minutes into a early episode in the series.
I thought it would be interesting for the first season to be short -
pilot movie plus 7 episodes so viewers might be willing to give it a
chance since its promoted as a short investment of time. And at the end
of the final episode someone, perhaps the one who was the one to survive
the living Freddy but be killed by the dream Freddy is seen waking as
if the entire season was a Nightmare. A premonition dream much like Wes
Craven's ANOES is sometimes spoken as being. This person wakes and is
shown returning to Springwood where the real Nightmare will begin in
season two, or reveals something that makes the viewer see the first
season in a new light. So even if there was never a second season , the
first could be a self contained story that plays into repeating itself.
But still, what would be the mystery? What we learn about the town and
Freddy? Too much rewriting of history can turn off fans of Freddy.
Learning too much would take away the terror.
Where is the threat? Could they play with how Freddy can get to his new
victims? Maybe at first he can only play with their minds in the
Nightmare, but he has no physical effect...yet? Maybe his presence is
enough to make them scared , but not fearful enough to cut....yet. But
his evil influence is enough to cause the dreamer to subconsciously do
something that gets them killed for real. Lack of sleep causes them to
fall asleep driving and crash. Freddy pretends to be someone in their
dream and tells them things they want to hear,manipulates their feelings
and memories, pushes them to hurt others.Maybe Freddy has enough
control to keep them IN the Nightmare and they cant wake to stop
something from happening in the real world.
Ooh, just had a flash: what if the series ends with the "hero" waking in
a hospital,as if from a sleep coma, surrounded by beds in the room
filled with people who she crossed paths with in her dream. People who
were thought to have been killed. And they wake as well. But no one
actually knows each other. Cue Season Two. They are Freddy survivors in a
hospital in a homage to Dream Warriors.
Throughout the first season, one of our main "heros" converses with a
Doctor from who they seek advice on several occasions.Maybe even
befriend. They could be presented to the viewer as if happening in the
main storyline but could also be seen as lucid moments that took place
outside the coma world of season two on second viewing. But in Season
one,Freddy could be shown pretending to be the Doctor at some point,just
in one of the dream moments, so both the viewer and the character can
never be sure what was real. This feeling could then be carried over to
the second season as the awakening coma patients are shown talking to
this Doctor who they now distrust.
Season Two could be the same characters going through therapy, sessions
with stories of their shared boogeyman. Maybe each one of them in this
post coma world has been a survivor of a Freddy attack on their own
group of friends with their own story to tell.How they temporarily
defeated the monster. And its this trauma that has brought them all to
the same hospital in Springwood. Each one could symbolically represent
the hero from a Nightmare movie. One could be a "Jessie" , a
"Alice","Jacob","Kirsten" etc. Cue a cameo by their counterpart as a
ward nurse, fellow patient etc.
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