‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ Remake Plot Details Revealed
Mar 26, 2009 by Ross MillerThe first A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of those classic horror films that just doesn’t warrant being remade. Although fun, the subsequent sequels …
The first A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of those classic horror films that just doesn’t warrant being remade. Although fun, the subsequent sequels weren’t up to the level that the first one was, only being made pretty much to milk the idea (if they were all top notch I would think differently).
But they were sequels, the lesser of the two evils – remakes are a different story…
The original series, and knowledge of the character, is still fresh enough that doing a remake (or reboot, or whatever they’re labeling it) seems pretty pointless. Freddy Krueger is one of those rare characters that having anyone else other than the original guy, Robert Englund, playing him is just dumb. Jason Voorhees and Michael Meyers, to name just a couple of examples, can be replaced as far as actors go because they are behind a mask.
But Englund didn’t just play Krueger… he was him.
There’s been a lot of speculation about how close this remake will stick to the original: Will they make it a straight, event-by-event 21st century update or will they put a completely new spin on it? Rob Zombie tried the latter with his remake of Halloween… and just look how that one turned out.
Latino Review got a chance to get a look at the newest draft of the script, and via a video review have let us know some details about the plot:
After being burned alive by a mob of angry parents, a pre-school gardener/caretaker named Freddy returns for revenge against the children, now 18 years old, that accused him of sexual abuse. But was Freddy a child molester or was he falsely accused? This is the central question and main addition to the film’s plot. Freddy doesn’t have many lines, but that isn’t all that surprising considering that the film’s producers have said the character doesn’t joke around.
In principal, I like the idea of going a new direction with an update of a classic character (if we have to have a remake in the first place, that is), but what they’ve added here is not a good idea. Making it so that Krueger’s guilt comes into question? Doesn’t that go against his evil nature? The whole point of the character is that he was a child molester, was killed by a mob of angry parents, and he comes back in the afterlife to seek revenge and causes malicious, horrific havoc on the late-teens who occupy Elm Street (and anyone else who enters his sights).
It’s encouraging to read that the producers say that the character “doesn’t joke around,” but trying to add some moral side to what is supposed to be one of the most evil movie characters of all time is downright strange. Maybe this won’t be the final direction they go in – hopefully they write another draft sans this new moral angle, or perhaps that’s a red herring and it’ll be shown by the end of the film that he was in fact, guilty.
What are your thoughts on the new addition to the plot? Shouldn’t Krueger just be evil and that’s that?
A Nightmare on Elm Street is set to be released on April 16th, 2010.
Sources: LatinoReview and /Film
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GUILTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whew … thank God I’m off that jury now.
I don’t like remakes in general and I think this is one of the worst ideas yet. Freddy is legend … you don’t remake legends (especially poorly.)
I think the original NOEStreets were cheesy at best, mostly because Freddy was just a killer who acted like a stand up comedian. Tough to be afraid, as a member of the audience, if the main baddy is sending out one-liners every few minutes. Give me a more hard-core Freddy movie, and I’m all up for it.
I like the version of Freddy that was in New Nightmare best. He was all business with minimal use of mind games. That’s the way this one should be.
has there been any talk on who will be freddy in this film?
I liked the first one a lot because of the moral dimension. The sequels had less of it. I think this idea is fantastic and adds depth and smarts. Possibly even more compelling (in theory) than the original. “Making it so that Krueger’s guilt comes into question” calls the parent’s motives into question too. If he’s back from the dead for revenge (or is it a trick on the audience?), he doesn’t have to be evil for evil’s sake, he can be evil for revenge’s sake. Evil for evil’s sake is for Disney villains and stupid movies.
A bigger problem is living up to the original performance. Agree that “Englund didn’t just play Krueger… he was him.”
he should be a failed stand up comidian who then begins working at the school.he has been a very depressed/schofranic(he hears the dreams demons voices because he deep down wants to hurt people and wants to inflct terror.) and the children hate him and say jsut to get rid o him that he molested them. he gets very pissed off and makes the glove (incouraged by the dream demons messing with his mind) and kills the child who started it in the school boiler room(old school) he is not found out but is fired and later arrested. they forgot to read him his rights so he is released and then the parents burn down his house after finding a child slashed to death in the school boiler room. at this time he is shown the dream deamon who promise him power and revenge. he gladly accepts the offer and is them consumed by flames.
10 years later…going through the history of the town a teen finds an artical on freddyand then asks around about him. and then the fun starts…
Yah, I don’t think we need a “maybe some convicted child molesters in real life have been wrongfully accused too” message in the movie. He should simply be guilty.
Guilty. Plus the movie should be a prequel. With his full backstory with the ending showing him become the Demon Dream Master.
@Manowar
Was thinking the same thing after reading “Freddy will kill”‘s post.
So what’s wrong with having Robert play him again AND let Rob Z do it? An ‘aged’ Freddy might even be worse!!! -Stark
please dont let rob zombie direct this
I think that they should definately focus on child molester freddy more in this movie just to plant that seed of utter hatred for him. then let him come back and start killing all the people that you sympathized with. Now that would be an interesting movie but no guilty or non guilty just evil for evil.
what’s wrong w/ folks?
In the Elm street films, Freddy was never a child molester. He was a serial killer who focused on children .
I know, it’s a bit technical, but still…
*It should be pointed out that during the film series, after the end of the original Elm kids, why Fred K never goes into the dreams of the tots, but that’s never a thought…
@Darren
And not to be picky, but how many child murderers DON’T molest the kids before they kill them?
Vic
@ Vic, good point…
I like the idea of a remake, if it’s done properly, I don’t think the original has aged well and certainly isn’t the perfect film. There isn’t necessarily much I would change story line wise from the original, I just think “Remake, tell it a bit better” meaning give us more detail of the events leading up to and the act of parents taking revenge on Freddy (Unlike the ridiculously short and unentertaining establishment we were given in the Friday the 13th remake).
The thought of not having Robert Englund play Freddy has sickened me from the moment I first heard it, as previously put “Englund doesn’t just play Freddy…he is Freddy!”, how do you replace that?
Freddy is not a moral man nor is he innocent, he is a cold blooded killed with no remorse, so why even pretend it could be any other way???
It’s fine that the say the character won’t “joke around”, at least he will be intense, but isn’t Freddy’s twisted sense of humour is one of the reason’s he is such a classic? He needs personality!!!
Would love to see a polished version of the original. Focus on what made the first one great. Less jokes, more horror.
‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’ sereis are awesome, they were entateraining and fun to watch…way better then those bad ‘Friday The 13th Films’ – they were just boring and dull…well just plain bad. The remake was rubbish aswell. I do not think they should remake a horror classic like ANOES, its ok to remake bad ones like F13 becuase they weren’t any good anyways
Friday the 13th became outdated and in my opinion and needed a good face lift. However Elm St DOES NOT. The original Elm st was so far ahead of all those movies that i think its still good today, and Freddy krueger is much more than your standard slasher. He is pure evil and while the idea of remake is stupid, one thing is for sure:they better stay faithful to what krueger is. Because he had so many more elements going on, that were perfect. Because this he is much easier to wreck than some guy in a mask. Also i agree at this point in time it should be Englund or nothing. Maybe in the future a new Freddy ACTOR but for now no. You dont see them remaking the Shining now do you? Maybe in the future just not yet. And freddy is a child murderer not molester, .
Englund was and always will be Krueger, he played the role to perfection. But the character is more than just the actor. What made Krueger so compelling as a villain was that it created a whole new mythology behind it. The addition of a new actor, as long as he stays true to Englund’s performance, will be an additional cause to that mythology.
I don’t believe a straight-out remake would be the best idea. I liked what Zombie did with the Halloween series in the first half of the movie. The rest was just going over old ground and polishing up the old film with new practices; which kind of ruins the whole thing. If I saw something adding to the mythology of Krueger it might work out.
Making out Krueger as a figure compelled by revenge… not going to work. The man was evil, he took pride in his work and that’s another part of what made him so compelling. Give him something to say; we have enough silent slashers already. Freddy talked, Freddy mocked… maybe the one-liners were a bad idea but he needs to talk. He was never a single dimensional character; he was twisted. They need to go deeper into the psychological torturing of the victims; make the dreams more akin to real dreams, delve into Freudian and Jungian territory.
And although Krueger was never plainly stated as a child molester, it was hinted at through-out the series (FvJ “I have to warn you things get a little messy the first time”, anoes “I’m your boyfriend now”, anoes6 “give daddy some sugar”). If they really want the sick and twisted f**k they need then they should delve deeper into that side of things. It might not be so scary as disturbing… but Krueger was that; the darkest representations of the human psyche. Maybe go into the backstory of his dreampowers, tie it in with real practices of the occult, make it truely border on reality and fantasy.
Or if they can’t do any of those things (they most likely won’t, those corporate a-holes)… tell me where the hell he got the Christmas sweater, create a cute little back-story and sell them for 29.95 across the country. same goes for the hat.
additionally: the whole idea of the films kind of focused upon that of child abuse and sexual trauma; teenagers growing up, being tortured by their dreams at the adolescent level, the hand with claws (hands that leave scars), the questions that continue to arise of suicide vs murder. they’re all representations of childhood trauma manifesting itself at the time of sexual exploration.
make no mistake, the figure of freddy krueger and the mythology of the character represents much more than your average slasher film. i don’t think they can straight out say that these films deals with these issues (and the sequels made a mockery of the elements of the original [except for the third, the others were still fun but...]), mainly because of the sensitivities involved. can they really re-capture those elements again? or will they just bury them once more beneath a squal of merchandise?
we think a new actor will bring a good new image 4 the character if they do it right bring on the new elm street
I been debating myself rather to see this movie or say the heck with it and wont see it period. I grew up loving Nightmare on Elm Street film and its sequels just as much as the Friday the 13TH and Halloween franchises. But unlike Jason or Michael, i can never think of anyone to top Robert Englund wearing the glove. Before it was a done deal i hoping we can see Robert Englund play freddy one more time in a Freddy VS. Jason sequel rather if it had Ash from Evil Dead franchise or Michael Myers who i was hoping would tangle with two. Even a prequel sounded good to me because i liked origin story-telling of freddy in Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare. I read too much details about this remake and the more i find out about it, the more i may not see it. Two examples that read about is Nancy Thompson from the original is a gothic chick in this. and some silly webcam death happens. And worst is when people are lookin out the Dreamworld on their computer,lol. Anyways, just about everyone i know already made their descision of not goin. But knowing me i might still, but it will be a matinee showing.
Anoes. WOW! I never thought of the movie the way you talked about it in the post above! WOW! It puts the first movie in a whole new perspective! Thanks for sharing that.
I think that he should be pure evil, becaus ethat IS how the original NIghtmare on Elm went from what I remember. Making him feel any remorse or sympathy weakens the character, makes him more vunerable, which in turn makes him less frightening to the audience.
Why was the Joker in TDK such a great chracater (put aside ledger and just consider the character)? Because he was 100% insane and pure ecil without any remorse or any guilt.
Giving Freddy that same mind set would be the best because NO MATTER what anyone does to him he will keep coming after them because nothing can MENTALLY break him down..
Interested to see how Michael Rosenbaum pulls off playing the creepy Freddy…not quite sure if this is a movie I’d bother spending my time on…but we will see when teh trailers hit
I read the script that went online it’s pretty good and yes Freddy is guity in the script sorry for telling you guys great script cant wait for the movie
I just watched the new Friday the 13th like 2 weeks ago, better than most of them I must say. Hopefully this remake will be as good, better maybe? But I’ve always liked Jason more than Freddy…
Just to let you know I am and have always been a huge Freddy fan! I grew up with the movies, the first came out when I was 1 year old! For them to take Robert Englund out of the movie and add the child molester crap, is just ridiculous!!! That makes him a sick demented PERVERT instead of a sick demented child murderer! I have to see the movie just to see how bad they screwed up the Nightmare on Elm Street name!
Um, I thought he was a child molester/murderer in the original too??