If there's but a few things in life that are certain, it's death, taxes and reboots of popular horror franchises. That's how the old saying goes, right? Just as Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and Leatherface are all set to return to their own respective series after absences of varying length, so too has the re-emergence of the Bastard Son of a Hundred Maniacs has been announced. To say things didn't go so well last time they tried to remake A Nightmare On Elm Street would be an understatement, so it's with some trepidation that we approach this news. One can only hope that lessons have been learned and that the team behind this redo have the savvy to build on past mistakes to make it a New Nightmare worth having. Accepting that there's nothing we can do about this film being made, instead we'll take a run through of the things we'd like to see from A Nightmare On Elm Street reboot - as well as some things we definitely wouldn't - from casting to the specifics of life as a dream demon. One thing's for sure, though: poor Jackie Earle Haley shouldn't expect a call anytime soon...
10. A Little Directorial Vision
With nothing against director Samuel Bayer, the one thing any decent A Nightmare On Elm Street film needs (aside from Freddy himself), it's a strong, individual directorial vision. The 2010 reboot was music video/documentary maker Bayer's first gig, and it shows. The setting and methods of murder might have been different, but the approach taken was basically the same as that of Platinum Dunes' other horror remakes at the time - grim, gritty and miserable. While that (mostly) worked for Jason and Leatherface, A Nightmare On Elm Street needed a lighter touch and a vision that was the director's own rather than that of the studio. While one could certainly argue we're running short on a Wes Craven for our generation, there's plenty of talent could be tapped. James Wan, for instance (being a man who knows his way around the atmosphere and scares of a supernatural horror flick), The Babadook's Jennifer Kent, or even Joel Edgerton, fresh off his chillingly effective thriller The Gift. One thing's for sure - as our most outspoken horror icon, Freddy deserves more than simple worksmanship.
A film critic and professional writer of over ten years, Joel Harley has a deep and abiding love of all things horror, Batman and Nicolas Cage. He can be found writing online and in print, all over the Internet and in especially good bookstores.
