Recently, I found my self thinking ,once again, about ideas for the return of "A Nightmare on Elm Street". Dreaming of how might they bring back the big bad burnt one?What follows are the random ideas that popped in my mind.
They tried a reboot.Of which I have only ever watched once,in the theater,and have yet to bear witness to again.I've just never felt the urge....and I've watched some terrible movies more than once on purpose (Manos, sans MST3K,anyone?)And even with given the source material and the advancement in modern special effects they failed to make the remake, for me, nothing more than a emotionless cardboard copy.
No matter where you go, there you are.
Same 'ol,same 'ol.
Everything old is rebooted again.
And that's always going to be a problem with Fred Krueger.He is too much of a known thing.As they say, he is like Santa Claus,every kid knows about him.Knows what he is capable of, what he does.Where is the surprise? The fear? He's been beaten multiple times and still comes back.But he is always beat.
What to do with this Fred Krueger person?
I would want a complete unknown to play the new version of Freddy. Someone whose work with whom we have the barest familiarity.Any actor who is relatively famous will already have baggage."Oh ?..that guy?" .Elements of his voice(regional twang),speaking tone(high/low?), and body(tall and thing?bulky or built?) will already reveal information about the potential look of the killer.Yes,he can perform a voice, but if the actor has a noticeable sound, its bound to come through.
That being said, I loved the tossed around idea of Kevin Bacon playing the part. I can see him getting lost in the makeup and doing some decent character acting.
Why or how is Freddy after the kids in this version?
That becomes more baggage to a "new" story.If its the same old ,Elm Street Children punishment for the parents sins, then we have to hear THAT exposition discovery.... one... more.... time. When we the viewer already are well aware of the tale.Then there is the "how" the kiddies uncover the truth of Freddy.In the original, the teenagers had a faint memory of Freddy from their childhood through the old jump-rope song.What might they remember of Freddy before the terror starts?
A quick idea just struck me : What if the impetus of the new story involves a true crime tabloid television program doing a series on Freddy and his past crimes.How it has effected the town.And in the process of harassing the survivors of Freddy's pre-burned crimes,it awakens long buried memories and the gloved one.
If they rewrite the history ,then that poses problems too. Longtime fans will not be open to the rewrite.It could potentially take away from the threat of Krueger if handled without a proper connection to the children.
For me, A new movie would have to properly introduce the reason why Freddy is after the kiddies.If he just pops up , it carries no weight.I want a reason behind the glove. In the original, it's not just that Freddy is trying to kill you, he's trying to kill you because of your parents. Parents who know about him,actually caused this terror, but still gaslight you,"for your protection", till it's too late.
I've recently been tossing around an idea in my head about a new why of Freddy. What if he himself was the victim of a group child molestation incident,or sex trafficking scenario? That these suburban parents in their white picket fence homes, looking down on the rest of the world, have been complicit in.In the abuse of Freddy as a child, and others.And while still alive, Freddy comes for their children in the same way they had come for him,killing them afterwards, only to be burned alive once the parents find him out.But that doesn't stop him....
Or, Freddy seeks justice, but before he can get it in court, the parents decide to erase their problems and burn him alive.And this is his revenge.
The children still suffering because of their parents sins.
But, the original Nightmare connection:the Parents seeking justice where the courts failed, taking revenge on the man who murdered their first children only to have him come back to punish them some more by taking their second child, is a strong enough setup that needs little change.
The how of his return could be an area of exploration, but it too threatens to take away from the fear of the unknown.
Since it was never explained in the original movie( Forgetting Freddy's Dead giant floating wiggly burnt sperm for the moment,which I still do not subscribe too ,despite it being in one of the films),I've always thought that the sole reason for Freddy's ability to return in the dreams of the children was driven by the pure abject rage and hate within himself. It wasn't just revenge for being burned alive. He HATED so completely.He hated these families and children with their innocence more than anything even before he died.This hate consumed him.And nothing ,not even death, was going to put out that fire.
What would modern kids be afraid of?
Freddy has always played with fear and what kids hold dear. Turning their interests and elements of their teenage culture back on them. Cell phone culture is a definite place for a point of attack. How often do people fall asleep looking at their cell phone screens at night? That bright light in the dark.For many, its a huge part of their lives.What if it was turned on them?What if Freddy used the phone in such a way that the kids involved were afraid to touch them? People use them constantly these days to text each other the most innocuous things.Post pictures of food and selfies.Phones are loaded with personal information.For many, its the main way they reach out and communicate with others.But what if Freddy finds a way to put the fear in the phone.Makes them afraid to use it.Cuts them off....so to speak.
No phone, they cant reach out to others.Call for help.Warn others unless they are together.They would be alone in their terror.
Then there is the act of cyber bulling. What if Freddy could get to one or more of them via a computer in their dreams. Someone could fall asleep and dream of simply being at the computer or on their phone.And then Freddy messes with their insecurities. Makes them think someone is posting terrible things about them.Maybe make them subconsciously post things themselves about themselves or others.To the awake world it could look like the person took their life because of being bullied after Freddy killed them.
The dream world has endless possibilities. The state of special effects and alternate world building continues to surpass reality.I would love to see that world opened up.Go beyond the boiler room.While many dream of everyday situations as their brain tries to work through some internal struggles,it would be nice to see a dream world that is out of the ordinary never seen before construct.Though, depending on the story, Freddy chasing his victims around his boiler room was part of his personal fun when he was alive.So part of him would want to rekindle that spark.
Another approach would be to come into the story mid sentence. What if we were to see a story where everyone in it is already aware of Freddy?What if Freddy was a known epidemic? Beyond Springwood.The entire world was aware and afraid of Freddy. The entire world struggled to get a good nights rest and not die. Freddy's power had expanded beyond the Elm Street children and now no one sleeps.
A whole world of new rules could be built around the threat of Freddy. No one is allowed to sleep alone. Someone must always watch you sleep if you wish to survive. Machines are built to monitor the sleeper and wake them when their REM goes wacky.People go into the dream intentionally to fight and stop Freddy.Soldiers, trained for dream combat.
Krueger could be killing virtually all unborn children in their dreams,wiping out the future before it's born.Taking one..than two from the same mother....and then letting the third be born only to take them on their first night after birth.Tormenting the parents.
I had a dream about the beginning of this story:
It began with a Youtube video:
Late one night a horrific video is posted .
In this video we witness the murder of a young teenage girl. The video is being filmed by a young boy who is now on trial for the murder of the same girl in the video,and accused of others.
In this video the young boy narrates what is happening .We see a fully clothed young female asleep on the bed in the middle of the room.This is her bedroom.
:" This is Tina Grey ( just picking that name,not meaning this is a remake). Tonight is the tenth night in a row that Tina has struggled to get a good nights sleep.
She has been having nightmares. Violent nightmares that have left her scarred and afraid to close her eyes.
My name is Rod Lane . Tina asked me to film her sleeping and wake her if anything looked like it was wrong.
Her Mother doesn't believe the scars on Tina's body are not self inflicted.There are many. (He quietly picks up the camera and moves in for close ups down Tina's body. There are scars on her neck,arms,leg,bottom of her feet.Multiple scars in fours that tell a story of torture)
"Each night there are fresh ones.Ones that she sometimes doesn't remember how they got there.but insists that the cuts happened in her dream
I believe her. (He pauses)
.....I've been having bad dreams too." (Rod raises his arm into frame and pulls down his long sleeve to reveal 3 deep cuts down his forearm.As if he had raised it to block something that was trying to scratch him)
The counter clicks forward.And then fast forwards past an hour.During this time we see Tina move in her sleep,Rolling to one side and back.Nothing out of the ordinary.Only the occasional minor jolt in her body as the hour clicks on.
Then ,suddenly, her body begins to convulse.Her arms raise,and brace.It appears as if that she is struggling with someone on top of her.Something spreads her legs against her will.She screams.
Fresh cuts appear on her body. Not deep,but still bloody.
Rod steps into frame calling her name "Tina.....Tina wake up." She never opens her eyes.
As he goes to her ,Tina's body suddenly moves away from him.As if being pulled.Every time he gets near her, her body is violently jerked away......and then...up the wall.Onto the ceiling
Blood from the cuts on Tina's body rain down on Rod .
He tries to stand on the bed, or a chair,anything to reach Tina.Always calling out to her to "WAKE UP". Pleading,"PLEASE.....wake up" But each time he gets close, she is pulled out of reach. Several times,Tina's body is shown sliding across the ceiling back closer to Rods reach and then it's once again pulled out of reach
At no point does Rod ever touch Tina.
Tina,eyes always shut, cries out throughout her kicking and screaming "HELP ME...........DON'T TOUCH ME ....I KNOW THE SECRET NOW!"
Finally,as Rod tries one last valiant attempt to get hold of Tina by jumping up, her body violently swings at him like a baseball bat.Knocking him across the room and out of frame. Knocking him out cold.
Tina's body is slammed hard onto the center of the ceiling .As if had been dropped from high. She is silent. Her face and body look as if she is fighting a paralysis to move,to get away.To wake.Then , suddenly, her eyes spring open wide in terror,and she directs her horrified gaze right into the camera and cries out ....
"KRUEGER......HIS NAME IS FREDDY KRUEGER"
And as the last syllable passes her lips ,four deep gashes appear across her stomach .Ripping open her night shirt,exposing her belly.Almost as fast as the first cut,it happens again ,this time as if someone has slammed a hand gardening cultivator deep into and across her belly .Gouging open her stomach. Her insides fall out. Her body drops to the bed below in a splash of gore.She is dead.
The camera remains on.The room is quiet except for the dripping of her blood falling to the floor below.The film lingers on this now horrific tableau,Then suddenly stops
At first, the video was treated as a sick hoax. A skilled attempt at a fake snuff film or elaborate horror movie promotional trailer.Seen,copied and pasted by many each time before it was taken down.Shared over and over in a "have you seen this?" fervor.There are even reaction videos posted of people watching it. And then it is discovered that the girl in the video really did die violently like this. And the boy in the video is currently on trial for her murder.
The video was posted by an anonymous source while Rod was locked up securely in jail with no access to the internet.
Then......... another video appears......this time without Rod ,and with a different young person being shown murdered while sleeping
And then another......and another. ....and another....
Soon , an endless stream of videos start showing up ,originating from all over the world. Spreading across the planet like a virus.
The reach of Krueger's glove has now spread beyond the suburb of Springwood. Beyond the children of Elm Street. Parents of the world are desperate.Their children are going through something that they have no control over and do not understand.They cannot live in denial of what their kids are suffering by blaming it on drugs,music,or whatever.It's too widespread and direct to ignore.Kids are traumatized from the terror and dying by great numbers.A world in crisis.
Kids are falling asleep in a moments notice due to exhaustion.And as Freddy's power grows....just falling asleep at random. Parents are willing to do anything to protect their kids. Over prescribing drugs whose side effects are worse than the symptom.But not every Parent can afford the drug in question. Waking their children throughout the night before they can slip into REM sleep.Keeping them home and away from friends and the outside world,not letting them out of sight for a moment.
News programs broadcast known information about Freddy in hopes that knowledge is power.His face is everywhere even when awake. Newscasters give daily guides to surviving a dream:how to identify you are in a dream,means to wake ones self from a deep sleep.
Government agencies try to develop means to stop this new form of terror. They even try to train children on how to control their dreams,to fight back like soldiers.Warriors.But even they are no match for this Freddy.
Now, who would the kids of this story be? Would they have a connection to each other? A direct connection to Freddy,even? Perhaps they could be a small group of "volunteers" to the government program. .Some by choice,Some by court order.Some by Parents who feared the worse and thought this was the best way to help their children survive.Strangers from different circles brought together by their common terror.
What will be the secret to defeating Freddy this time?How could they defeat something that has become so powerful to overcome death itself?Could the secret be in the moments before the dream? Where is Freddy when we are awake? Or does he survive by jumping from dream to dream because someone ,somewhere is always asleep.Is he asleep during these moments? How would they get to him before he got to them?Could they find a way to enter his "dreams"?
I feel there is still so much fertile soil within Nightmare from which to grow a really compelling scary story. But it should probably be a new story and not just a revisit to all too familiar territory. There is enough baggage in the history of Nightmare that it needs to be ignored to a certain degree and start fresh.
Each of the sequels for ANOES were rushed to production ventures because New Line was trying to make money with their cash cow.And make money they did.The House That Freddy Built. While each sequel has its own charms,they always felt to me like they could have gone beyond just setting up the Krueger punchline.Freddy deserves a better story.
ESPECIALLY with a brand new actor under the makeup.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate EVERYTHING Robert Englund brought to the role. Love the variations in performance that he gave to the character with each new movie. And I would love for him to get one last epic hurrah with a competent well structured story .and not just another series of jokes and special effects and repeats of moments.He's earned that.
But the potential new series will be better served for all if he is not involved.His version of Freddy is even more baggage to restrict a new story.Which Freddy would he be playing?The Dark Terror?The Standup Comic? The Meta Monster? What makeup would he favor? He was the Freddy for the 80's/90's.We are decades removed from that time and place and we need a Freddy for today. A post 9/11terrorism,school shooting,twitter rage fueled world.How can Freddy be scary when social media and the news brings all the horrors and hate home in HD in real time?
And if the first movie is a success, then there WILL be a sequel,and we will need a younger performer who can give his (or,heck, her ) all again and again. Sure they can work magic with green screens and digital trickery.They could use close ups of Englund and doubles for action sequences. But it would be better to have a performer who can really get in there and chase the kiddies through the boiler and roll around on the bed with abandon.
I do wish that Englund had been given an opportunity to do a prequel story before the end.A serious,dark telling of the making of the monster.No wisecracks, just pure evil.
But if they tried a prequel now, who would it be for? Who would care? "Hey ,teenagers!That character you loved from your parents 80's? Yeah, this is his origin story" Would it be a prequel of the Wes Craven version of Freddy or the new modern version? And from whose perspective?Freddy's or the parents of his victims? And once you know everything about the monster, how can he shock and surprise you in the following films? I fear the boat on the prequel has sailed.
New sequels or Freddy movies seem like a harder sell as well these days.The fervor for Freddy is nowhere where it used to be like when he was thought enough of a sales driver that his likeness was merchandised on virtually everything.Now he is just a retread of action figures (and yet still we have no Nancy to call our own!! )
Now....if they went the route of a mini series on a cable channel....THAT could be interesting with its extended storytelling possibilities over 13 or so episodes.Work out a couple of successful series and build up to a epic movie release.
Even a ongoing comic book/Graphic Novel series would be of potential.Something that doesn't fall into the gore for scary level of storytelling.Something deeper emotionally and darker in concept.
Rebuild the brand in a different medium.
