Nightmare On Elm Street Reboot Kills Need To Restore Franchise Magic
As a horror fan, a Nightmare on Elm Street reboot seems inevitable, either as another full remake, a requel, or even a sequel to the original franchise. One of the most important elements of the franchise that sets it apart from other slashers is the unique kills that made me fall in love with the original films. The dream logic of Freddy Krueger is what makes him an interesting character, removing the creativity from his kills is a recipe for failure.
Creative Kills Set The Franchise Apart
One of the defining traits of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise is its imaginative and surreal kills. Whether it is Freddy turning his victim into a cockroach or sucking them into a hole in their waterbed to be liquified, the series is full of memorable instances of Freddy’s powers, creating terrifying moments. Like many fans, I think of these moments as the most iconic scenes in the franchise.
Method Behind The Madness
Any Nightmare on Elm Street reboot must recognize that imaginative kills aren’t just popular window dressing; they’re thematically critical to the franchise. Freddy functions as an avatar of fear, preying on the fears of the Elm Street parents by targeting their children and using the literal nightmares of those children to torture them. Repetitive, generic kills turn Freddy into an ordinary serial killer and remove his power as a metaphor for the dark terror lingering in our subconscious minds.
No matter what tonal direction a Nightmare on Elm Street reboot takes, it needs to find unique ways to scare audiences. In a more serious take on the series, this can be used to explore the psychology and fears of the specific victim. In a more campy, comedic version, the dream logic kills can be used to set up jokes or revel in campy fun.
The Reboot Was Dull
There are a lot of problems with the 2010 reboot A Nightmare on Elm Street, but one of the biggest is how unimaginative its kills are. Most of the kills in the movie are either directly lifted from the original or are very simple kills where Freddy stabs or slashes victims with his knife gloves. As a result, what should be the movie’s scariest moments instead bored me.
Freddy Will Be Back
While direct horror reboots aren’t as common as they once were, the industry is still obsessed with reviving classic franchises. Halloween was given a requel series in 2018, while Scream opted to continue the original franchise with new sequels. Despite the dramatic failure of 2010’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, it’s only a matter of time before the franchise returns.
Embrace The Nightmare Logic
Rather than hoping in vain that the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise will be held up as too sacred for further reboots, I hope the next attempt understands what made the original movies work. Of course, creative kills aren’t the only important factor in the franchise, but they are central to the franchise, and I don’t think any continuation can work without them. Filmmakers involved in resurrecting the franchise should put time and effort into exploring the nightmare logic that made Freddy so popular in the first place.
