http://www.variety.com/article/VR111797980...egoryid=13&cs=1

Saying that this is a Michael Bay remake is like implying that Spielberg directed THE GOONIES or GREMLINS.

Though with Nispel at the helm, I'd almost prefer Bay were directing! Almost.

Oh wait - do they mean only that Nispel's directing F13?

True, but I think his fine work producing at Platinum Dunes speaks for itself:

# The Hitcher (2007)
# The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
# The Amityville Horror (2005)
# The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

Oh yeah - this bodes well for little more than a tidy opening weekend take. It's just that Bay is so... unique in his hands-on brand of cinematic outrage.

Could be interesting... but then, I was never a fan of the series.

Although I think that they should retain Englund. Then he was a youngster playing a creepy old man. These days, he could pull it off even creepier.

If creepy is the direction they're going, instead of camp.

Now I understand what I'll the Chainsaw fans were griping about....
NIGHTMARE is, in my opinion, the best of the (well-known) '80s horror cycles; or at least the most thematically rich.
Too bad all of this will be presumably wasted on the predicably low level of talent involved.
Why does Bay get access to both franchises? Can we please make up a new phrase like 'remake whore' and make it stick to him to make him stop.

Man, I sound like a whiner.

Why would being branded as a whore stop Bay from doing... anything?

I'm with Brandon on this one. I actually have gotten into quite a few heated conversations concerning ELM STREET. I think the original is one of the best modern surrealist films of the last 30 years or so. In fact, I think it works thematically much better as a surreal piece than a horror piece. I really can't imagine remaking it, let alone with Bay in charge. I hope this falls apart before it goes into production.

You're really worried about the good name and integrity of Nightmare On Elm Street being tarnished after Freddy Vs. Jason? Let 'em do what they want. At least the premise of a bunch of new, crazy dream gags has more promise than most of these junky remakes.

According to Fangoria.com, music video vet Samuel Bayer has been signed as the director for this.

The Variety piece mentions 2 Freddy Krueger tv-series. Am I going blank on this? All I remember is the absolutely horrendous "FREDDY'S NIGHTMARES" in which I masochistically watched each and every episode week-after-week for two years in my ridiculous completist days. If there is another Freddy Krueger show in existence, I'm thankful I missed it.

I loved the original film when it first came out, but I don't think it's aged very well. It's oh so 80's, and that's not usually a good thing. I still admire it for the impact it had at the time, but bring on a remake! It can't be any worse than the 8 sequels.

Would Jackie Earl Haley make a good Freddy Kruger? I think so given his performance in LITTLE CHILDREN.

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/15483

It news sure to please the original's fans, Latino Review has reviewed the script and states - among many things - that Nancy is now a goth chick and there opening scene features a GUITAR HERO party. Whew!

Could they mean two seasons of Freddy's Nightmares, perhaps? I think there was two,

Bloody Disgusting says that Jackie Earl Haley is pretty much a lock now to be the new Freddy Krueger. I've got to say that - even if the remake is a terrible idea - that is pretty inspired casting and his role in LITTLE CHILDREN proved he works well with kids (gah!).

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/15803

I still think the whole thing stinks, but if anyone's going to try and replace Englund, THIS is the man to do it. I'm actually more interested now,though he's got some awfully big gloves to fill.

Variety confirmed Haley as Krueger a couple of days ago.

Ya, FREDDY'S NIGHTMARES lasted two seasons and that's probably what they meant. Still, the Variety story also indicates there were 9 films, when there were only 8, and that's including FvJ. Some sloppy fact-checking goin' on.

Nevermind!

Eh? Don't just tease us and then walk away, Sir. Speak up young man!

Obviously, William was making a reference to NIGHTMARE REDUX director Samuel Bayer having done the video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit", from Nirvana's Nevermind LP.

Obviously. :P

Ah, nothing that important. A site had posted a link to the new teaser for the ELM STREET remake. But, upon further reading, I found out it wasn't the real teaser but a really slick promo someone made last year.

Let's take a look, shall we?

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/09/27/a-nigh...-teaser-trailer

This begins quite promisingly with slick cinematography and the very reassuring presence of Jackie Earle Haley who radiates just the right amount of grounded talent to pull this thing off.

And then it all goes to hell. Yes, it looks pretty, but the few moments of any spoken dialogue from anyone other than Haley deflate my unreasonably high hopes. For as slick as it is, it also looks remarkably cheesy and visually generic which is a shame since a higher budgeted remake would've left room to really play with the dream versus reality aspect. It's too soon to tell, but it ultimately looks no more interesting than THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (which poured on a lot of resources and generated absolutely no real sense of dread).

Then there's the closer. I'm fine with Haley's Freddy voice and I like the IDEA of what they're doing with the make-up, but I certainly hope that's just an unflattering angle. As someone said on another forum, he looks like a muppet.

What really surprises me (I'm not sure why, it is a Michael Bay production after all) is the filmmaker's insistence to identically recreate all of the famous iconography from the first film (girls skipping rope in slo-mo, the bathtub, the girl on the ceiling, the metal claw pipe scratching). Is it too much to ask that the remakers at least try something creative? Hmmm, THE REMAKERS. Now that sounds like a scary horror movie!

It looks like there's a bit of ELM STREET 2 in there, too- i.e., the pool party scene.

Vincent

Yup, this is the scene where they rock out while playing GUITAR HERO. I wish I was making that up.

I kinda hate the voice.

On the screens I've seen the trailer on, the reaction has not been good at all. The consensus is that it looks cheesy, and I don't think people are digging on a new Freddy.

The makeup looks awful and the utter piece of horse manure about adding CGI to it is absolute garbage. Really insulting to makeup artists. And the notion of making sure Freddy looks like a real burn victim completely ignores the whole point.

I would agree. People were flat out laughing at it yesterday on the big screen.

I think of all the big-screen re-imaginings of these types (TCM, FT13, HALLOWEEN), ELM STREET has the most potential for an interesting remake (not because of any lack in the source material, of course). But, having seen this trailer before ZOMBIELAND, the above comments are right, they seem to be too afraid of deviating from the source material to too large of a degree.

I think I can see little hints of differences - Freddy just may be played as a speech-impaired, quasi-childlike creep, pre-immolation - which would make his "blossoming" as a revenant kind of interesting. But yeah, the whole "he'll look like a burned person really would" doesn't make any sense - he doesn't have to, it's all a dream! He can be anything! I don't mind the voice, actually, and am glad they lost Englund's sneery, mocking tone (or at least, in what we've seen, he doesn't have it - maybe he just uses it when he's in power!).

I guess any hope that they will remember that its a story about suburbia, and about the parent's sins coming back to haunt their children, should probably be given up right now... (hey, what if Freddy is originally innocent in this one? Seems unlikely....)

First review from the screening is up. "Sigh"


Indecisive sounding NOES. Thanks Brad Fuller!

I know what you mean. Cohesion and literacy are a lost art. I read the whole review and I'm not sure I learned anything.

So, who on The Simpsons will be the villain in the next Nightmare spoof? Hans Moleman?

I think they did that once in a "Treehouse of Horror" episode and Groundskeeper Willie was the Freddy character.

Exectly! Nice to see that AICN is maintaining its high quality standards (*cough*). About that proposed "geek braintrust" near the end...maybe y'all should wait a while....

I want a "Johnny Depp blood fountain"!

Thanks for the link, though, Domenick. Forgot to say that.

Here is a high quality pic of the new Freddy Krueger as a doll:

http://www.aintitcool.com/images2009/freddyfig.jpg

Looks like Patrick Kilpatrick.

I wouldn't tell him that.