"I'm your nightmare...!"

I support the Platinum Dunes' Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) reboot, and let me tell you why: The original film, the first Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), is near perfect — that is, until the last five minutes! The production ran out of money and creator-writer-director Wes Craven couldn't film the original climax in the script, so he had to slap something together and we got the infamous car scene. This ending made no sense in the context of the story and came completely out of left-field — it was a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment — where it just ends abruptly, with little to no explanation, leaving the audience scratching their head in complete confusion! Nevertheless, every kid remembers being scared to death by Freddy Krueger after watching it! I find that people have forgotten that the first film was actually a serious, cerebral "mind fuck" of a horror film that straddled between psychological terror and splatter/slasher, which made it fresh and new — and Freddy was originally a serious monster that was, in fact, a child molester and serial murderer. Subsequently, five sequels went by, one by one, over the span of a decade, which spiraled down in quality each time, focusing more on cheesy comedy and moving further and further away from the scariness and intelligence of the original. It turned Freddy into an icon, but with great sacrifice: The character had evolved into a "clown" and the films just became a joke! Little kids started running around with Freddy gloves (which is really messed up when you think about it)! And this is when Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) came in...

Just when I thought the franchise had ran its course and Freddy could do no more, the seventh film New Nightmare blew me away! Wes Craven returned to the series after years of avoidance, with a bigger budget and more freedom, and he went out to "remake" the original 1984 film the way it was meant to be, but still transform it into something new and completely original. The film takes the phrase "art imitating life" to a whole new meaning; it ran like a reality show (before they became popular) and a behind-the-scenes documentary in one, where the cast of the first film (now ten years older), including its crew and executives, are playing themselves in a pseudoistic real-life setting! New Nightmare brought the character of Freddy Krueger back to what Wes Craven originally intended him to be, back to his original child molester-murderer roots — the personification of evil! He was darker, sicker, scarier, more menacing than ever before, and I was happy beyond all belief! Freddy Krueger has finally earned back his claws! And it brought back the original ending of the first film, with action and emotions and closure! New Nightmare was a praised by critics, but was box office failure. Audiences just didn't like it, which was a damn shame; and, I feel, there were two main reasons behind this: (1) The Nightmare franchise is a series primarily remembered by its sequels. We were introduced to Freddy during the original film, primarily as kids who shouldn’t have been watching it in the first place and, for a solid decade, we watched the sequels, primarily as teenagers! Audiences were used to and were expecting "Freddy the Clown." This was "recon" before it existed! Nobody fuckin' expected that! They didn’t want to be scared; they wanted to laugh! There's a hypocrisy to this that just blows my mind! (2) Up to this point, nobody had ever seen a film like this! Nothing like this had never been done! It was too original, too self-aware, too ahead of its time. It didn't just push down the fourth wall, it shattered it — it was too real too soon! And a few years later, what happens? Wes Craven moved to Dimension Films and churned out Scream (1996), which was a blender re-packaging of New Nightmare, and it became an international blockbuster — what bullshit! And you know what's worse? The next film was Freddy vs. Jason, which brought back the "clown" and I was pissed beyond belief!

Now, don't get me wrong, I love Robert Englund and I always will. Jackie Earle Haley isn't Robert Englund, he will never be Robert Englund, and he's not even trying to be: Jackie is going to be Jackie! Freddy hasn't never truly been done the way he was suppose to be, and the film itself has never truly been done the way it was suppose to be! But if there's a franchise that needs to be rebooted/re-conned/remade/revitalized, it's Nightmare on Elm Street! And we're getting the 2010 Platinum Dunes remake, with Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy — and whether or not the film does well, we, at least, got Freddy back to his roots! No more jokes! No more clowns! He's a serial killer again! He's a child molester again! He's a rapist again! He's not a character you're suppose to like! He is the ultimate monster! He is the ultimate badass! The remake should not be compared to the original films. It's a different film entirely and should be judged as a completely different animal...

I saw the film opening weekend and I loved the film! I've seen it six times to date. This remake was just classy! When was the last time you saw a classy horror, let alone a classy film in general? Next to Wes Craven's New Nightmare, the 2010 remake is the perfect Nightmare film. The story flows great, the acting is wonderful, the cinematography is gorgeous, the editing is nice, the dialogue is quite good. There's no sex, no nudity, the blood and gore is minimal, and the swearing is tasteful. They took subject matter that was vile, child abuse and molestation, and executed it with sophistication. It even have animal cruelty; animals never die in films and children are rarely ever in danger in films! Jackie Earle Haley's Freddy Krueger was chilling and orgasmic! I didn't know whether to be creeped out by him or turned on by him... The practical effects were excellent. The CGI was, unfortunately, unspectacular and were the only true flaw of the film, but I'm a animator, so I'm trained to see those things. Nonetheless, they were effective and that's what counts in the end. (Hollywood forgets that CGI should assist the film, not be bogged down by it.) The film, also, didn't hold back:  It took risks and it was smart and classy! I loved that they used "what you see in your mind is far worse than what you see on screen" tactic and far more terrifying. There was nothing superfluous about the film. Definitely one of the best films (particularly for a remake) I've seen in a long, long time! If you haven't seen it, watch it! I recommend the film to horror and non-horror fans alike!

As for the stamp, since "The Springwood Slasher" was a popular stamp, I thought I'd make one of Burned Freddy. This is from the gorgeous Market Micro-Dream Scene (just wow!) where Freddy appears to Nancy. The trailers are running non-stop on television and I want to molest the cardboard standee in the movie theatre, wheeee!

Promotions for the Film:

- Trailer #1
- Trailer #2
- Trailer #3
- Behind-the-scenes featurette
- An "adorkable" interview with Jackie Earle Haley
- A fantastic visit to the film set

Clips from the Film (which excited me to no end!):

- Clip #1
- Clip #2 (Gorgeous!)
- Clip #3 (Eee!)
- Clip #4

(If you are going to post this stamp, please +fav. It would be most appreciated it! To place this on your journal or a shoutboard, if you are a DA subscriber, copy and paste the following code:  :thumb161522741:)



Medium - Photoshop, Jasc Animation Shop.

A Nightmare on Elm Street © Wes Craven/Platinum Dunes/New Line Cinema.