A Nightmare On Elm Street: 10 Ways The Reboot Can Make It Work
5. If It Ain't Broke...
Hat, glove, stripy jumper. That silhouette is iconic, and any potential remake would be wise not to mess with it. Freddy's redesign in Wes Craven's New Nightmare and his bright red head in Freddy Vs. Jason proved that you can bend the rules a little, but one dreads to think what an all-new, completely updated look might come up with (the reboot really pushed it). That's not to say we can't have some fun though. One of the more interesting elements of the remake was in its suggestion that Freddy might be innocent of the crimes he was murdered for. It balked at the last minute, but maybe that's what the film actually needed - some confidence. So play about with those established elements if you like - just do it well, and stick with it to the end. Keep the core elements of the series and the character, but don't slavishly replay previous films' work just because you feel like you should. Now, cue the inevitable 'Female Freddy' debate...
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.
