Wes Craven’s A Nightmare On Elm Street is one of the most iconic horror franchises of all time, standing alongside Halloween and Friday the 13th, but unlike its contemporaries, the franchise has yet to give birth to a successful reboot. The 2010 remake was widely considered a failure, both by critics and audiences, removing a lot of what made the original series such an iconic installation.
In addition, many of the later movies in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise made some serious missteps that are generally accepted as late-stage-franchise camp now that time has passed, but would not be given the same lenience if brought to a new reboot. Freddy Krueger’s character, the blend of horror and wise-cracking dry comedy, and strong, relatable protagonists are all important elements of the series that need to be balanced in a new entry.
It’s only a matter of time before Nightmare on Elm Street is rebooted again, and hopefully it will get the Halloween 2018 treatment rather than the Rob Zombie remake treatment. However, regardless of direction, there are certainly some specific mistakes that a reboot would need to avoid in order to be successful and give Freddy a chance at a bright future again.
Freddy Krueger is the iconic face of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, synonymous with the series, so it’s incredibly important to the success of a reboot that Freddy's character is approached correctly. In Wes Craven’s original 1984 movie, a lot of Freddy’s character came from Robert Englund’s acting — he added the wisecracking attitude and elements of comedy that interplay with the terror of a killer who isn't easy to fight back against.
Throughout the series, Englund was the face of Freddy Krueger except in the 2010 remake, in which he was replaced. While Englund endorsed Jackie Earle Haley as the new Freddy, the movie’s writing and character design didn’t do the new actor any favors. The new reboot opted to take Freddy in a different direction, picking and choosing elements from the original movies. It also attempted to update the movie for a modern audience by making it scarier, removing a lot of the comedic elements, and changing Freddy’s look to be more like an actual burn survivor.
While the idea of making Freddy’s burns more realistic is ultimately a good one, it wasn’t executed well in the 2010 remake, and was done with CGI rather than practical effects, a fatal mistake in and of itself. For a new reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy will need to be carefully designed, paying careful attention to his original look, and balancing that with an update to the aesthetic that will set the character apart from his original incarnation without appearing either cheesy or wholly unrealistic.
A large part of what makes Nightmare on Elm Street unique from other slasher movies is Freddy’s wisecracking taunts that give the film - and him - a slight comedic edge. While the comedy aspect overtook the horror to some extent as the Nightmare on Elm Street sequels released, it’s an integral part of the character and the franchise; a reboot would need to be cognizant of that.
One of the major downfalls of the 2010 reboot is the fact that they removed this aspect of Freddy, trying to make the movie more scary by getting rid of Freddy’s comedic side. Unfortunately, that approach made the movie feel forced and unoriginal, taking away much of what makes Freddy who he is as a character. That being said, it’s important not to go too far and risk following in the footsteps of later sequels, which had a tendency to overdo the movie's innate comedy to the point of silliness. A reboot of the franchise would need to achieve the same balance between horror and comedy that Craven created in his original film.
The final element that really ensured the success of the original Nightmare on Elm Street and is very important to consider for a reboot of the series is the protagonists, particularly the movie's lead or final girl. Nancy Thompson is one of the best final girls of all time, solving the problem of Freddy's repeated attacks on her and her friends through research and ingenuity, which is definitely a theme that should continue into a remake of the movie.
Throughout the original series, the protagonists are a varied group, but they’re always relatable, interesting, and dynamic. Obviously, this is just a basic technique of writing good characters for any movie across the board, but paying special attention to the leading characters in Nightmare on Elm Street is incredibly important for a remake where so much of the movie takes place in the characters’ psyche via the dream world Freddy creates.
Above all, the Nightmare on Elm Street series is about a killer that haunts teens in their dreams who is defeated by a resourceful teen girl who refuses to be taken down. The overall story is presented with a blend of horror and wisecracking, dry comedy. A reboot would need to be sure to incorporate all of those themes with finesse in order to stick with the tone of the franchise and ensure the success of the film.
When the 2010 reboot was completed, Wes Craven was reportedly upset that they didn’t consult him at all for the movie. The filmmakers attached to the remake choosing not to involve the original creator with their project was perhaps the biggest indicator that the movie would not be a success. While Craven has unfortunately passed away since, any eventual remake or reboot of this iconic franchise will need to approach the project as an appreciative labor of love, bringing the series into the modern day more thoughtfully.
A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the most iconic slasher franchises, and destined for a reboot in the near future. The most important things for a reboot to consider is the character of Freddy, the protagonists, and the blend of horror and comedy that made the original movie unique. Incorporating all these aspects with a deft hand and avoiding the tropes of creating a flat, generic slasher movie can ultimately work to make the next A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot a success.
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