Age of The Nerd
It was announced recently that A Nightmare On Elm Street will receive the reboot treatment once again.
Details are scarce right now, but with the 2010 version only being moderately successful, what went wrong, and what improvements can be made?
While it is thought here that Jackie Earl Haley as Freddy Krueger was actually pretty good in the role, the script was overall, lacklustre. The original 1984 movie used eerie atmosphere, smart scares and careful character development. But the 2010 redo relied on cheap scares and decided to try its hand at creating controversy by making Krueger a paedophile child killer. The idea that Robert Englund‘s Freddy Krueger was a child abuser was left ambiguous. The movie, overall, contained little inspiration and that included its climax when Haley’s Krueger unmemorably had his throat slit. The ending was left open ended for a sequel, which thankfully never came about.
So, what can be done to salvage the franchise’s reputation? Well, unlike with many horror movies out to make a quick buck or two, it is important not to go down the “cheap jump scare” route! Its been done to death. They are great for date nights when your girl uses your shoulder as a wall for her to turn to when they happen. But for movie goers and hardcore horror fans, they have seen it all before. Another issue was that characters were not that interesting in Krueger’s last outing. Not even the “last girl,” who was played so dispassionately by Rooney Mara. Wes Craven‘s original made every character interesting and they were people that the viewer cared for. Even the ones that ended up as Freddy fodder. Heather Langenkamp gave the Nancy Thompson character much to fight for, giving her a type of vitality and energy that cemented her place alongside the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis as a classic ‘Scream Queen.’ The legendary horror director Craven constructed an atmosphere that always seemed threatening, which made the villain much more terrifying.
Blood and gore is neither an important nor an unimportant factor. The amount of gore is dependent upon whatever the story calls for. Craven elected to use a heavy amount to match the movie’s overtone, where as 1978’s Halloween used paranoia and an eerie atmosphere, but without the use of heavy butchery. It was kind of a new concept in the early 1980’s to use both, with Friday 13th arguably being the first to do so.
Finally, a movie is only as good as its makers. It will need a great crew with a wealth of experience behind them to freshen up the series. But that experience needs to have an air of quality.
All we can do is hope that they get it right this time. But let’s not hold our breath, eh…
