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Post by xscrimshotx on Jun 1, 2009 19:33:52 GMT -5
I'm a bit surprised there's not a thread on this one yet...But hey, Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger! I'm not certain how well he'll fit into Robert Englund's shoes (or glove, as seems to be the case), but it'd be interesting to see him in Freddy makeup. Here's plot details from back in March, but in more recent articles I've read, very little, if anything, has changed so far: screenrant.com/a-nightmare-elm-street-remake-plot-details-revealed-ross-6363/IMDB link: www.imdb.com/title/tt1179056/Remakes are plentiful nowdays, but being a fan of the original ANOES, I think it'd be interesting to see how this one turns out. |
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Post by DustinM on Jun 1, 2009 19:44:06 GMT -5
Some of us here (and even more on the cast) hold a bit of a grudge against NOES because there's a decent offering of evidence that it took, in some ways, from Phantasm. I enjoy some of the NOES films but on the whole, Englund ran that character into the ground.
I'm not too excited about this remake because it's the same chaps who did the shamefully bad F13 remake. I've read the script that leaked and I must say, it's not bad. Potential here.
(Note of trivia: Englund took a lot of heat for hosting MTV and being so goofy with the character, robbing it of it's scary qualities. What most people don't know, however, is that the Tall Man once hosted a segment of Entertainment Tonight back in '93 or '94. A bit more dignity in that appearance, though.)
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Post by xscrimshotx on Jun 1, 2009 20:01:29 GMT -5
Some of us here (and even more on the cast) hold a bit of a grudge against NOES because there's a decent offering of evidence that it took, in some ways, from Phantasm. I enjoy some of the NOES films but on the whole, Englund ran that character into the ground. Really? Never heard of this. I don't doubt what you've said one bit, but care to elaborate? I've seriously heard of no connection between Nightmare and Phantasm... I agree though, the Freddy character evolved into this ridiculous comedy thing. The first 2 are the only ones I'm able to watch and take seriously. It started going downhill in the 3rd one, with Freddy's wisecrack one-liners. But back to this remake...there is ONE thing that disturbs me about it so far and that's the modernization of it. **Spoiler**/example: One of the rumored death scenes involves characters witnessing a death through a webcam. I don't know, small atmospheric things like this can make a huge impact on one's ability to enjoy a movie, especially a remake. |
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Post by The Never Dead on Jun 1, 2009 20:13:21 GMT -5
My hopes aren't too high for this but I'll see it. I love the Nightmare on Elm Street series & think it'll be weird seeing someone else play Freddy besides Robert Englund, whom I'm a pretty big fan of. Can't be any worse than the Halloween remake.  |
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vitaman2007
Sentinel Sphere
"Be de be de be de...f#@ you Buck!"
Posts: 698
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Post by vitaman2007 on Jun 1, 2009 22:40:45 GMT -5
I just recently watched ANOES and listened to the commentary.
There was a funny part after Freddy leaped THROUGH A MIRROR and right on cue "....that's a movie first, something coming through a mirror like that...". It was something along those lines.
I can't recall the other one.
ANOES is one of my favorites as well.
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Post by scubasteve on Jun 2, 2009 3:39:21 GMT -5
I’m not holding out too much hope for NOES remake, although the choice of actor should be interesting. However, it is yet another in the spate of remake fever. With F13, the last house on the left and I even saw a poster for a remake of the taking of Pelham 123 (John Travolta and Denzel Washington). Barbarella was in for a remake as well recently! (which fell through as the director didn’t want to travel to Germany to film it - a German film company was the only one who would finance it).
I’ve seen a great few horrors recently (Splinter, Hard Candy, Satan (French film - Sheitan), Let the Right One In. Why does Hollywood insist on doing these remakes when everyone else doesn’t feel the need to and has a few original ideas? I’m sure that this will be asked again and again by many, many people.
Bottom line is I think that NOES is going to be mediocre at best, complete pants at worst. I won’t lose much sleep if this one passes me by.
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Post by krakenslayer on Jun 2, 2009 11:45:53 GMT -5
I really see no need to recast the role of Freddy - Robert Englund IS Freddy, as far as I am aware, no one else has ever played the character in 25 years. Plus, the actor's advancing age is irrelevant to his effectiveness in the role, since he's invariably going to be acting under half an inch of latex playing a wisened, rotten-faced demon, anyway.
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Post by DustinM on Jun 2, 2009 21:15:53 GMT -5
I would be happy to elaborate. An excellent book, Wes Craven: The Art of Horror, also cites Phantasm as being a forerunner to NOES. But from film to film, these are the points that stick out the most to me.
(1) Both pictures feature scenes where a nightmarish figure looms over their respective victims while in bed. (Tall Man over Mike in the cemetery, Krueger over Nancy in the wall). These scenes are remarkably similar.
(2) In both pictures, the baddies lose fingers only to have them instantly re-grow. This goes to show that they're invincible and aren't afraid of pain/harm.
(3) Both pictures have a chase finale, which is not uncommon in the genre. However, both villains "throw ahead" challenges to slow down their prey. In each chase, the ground morphs between Mike/Nancy's feet in the woods/on the stairs, respectively. Both free themselves just in time to escape their pursuers.
(4) By the end of the films, both Mike and Nancy have taken proactive measures to fight back against the Tall Man/Freddy Krueger by setting traps.
(5) The final scenes of both pictures have much in common. Mike and Nancy believe they're safe in reality, away from the dreamworlds they'd spent much of the film in, evil vanquished. Soon, though, their boogeyman resurface before cutting to credits. It seems the dreamworld in both films had not ended where we thought it did.
(6) The aforementioned mirror/window item.
Now those are just among the most obvious similarities. A while back, I had written a more comprehensive list that now escapes me. Perhaps it's on another hard drive. But keep in mind the following:
(1) New Line Cinema, before NOES, was only a distributor, not a studio. So in 1979, they engaged in a bidding war to release the original Phantasm. AVCO outbid them and they lost out. So Shaye was not only very aware of the series but wanted it.
(2) In 1992, New Line made an offer to Don to fund and distribute back to back sequels (P3 and P4). Don didn't feel he had enough material written to do two films at once and turned them down. Once again, New Line wanted their piece of Phantasm.
(3) In 2005, New Line entered into serious talks with Don Coscarelli to remake the original Phantasm. He and Stephen Romano wrote a script for them which was a hybrid sequel/remake, having Mike, Reggie and the Tall Man pass the torch onto a new generation of kids. Many suspect that New Line didn't like the sequel aspect and wanted a more straight remake of the material. They issued a press release, proudly announcing their latest acquisition, only for the deal to fall apart some time later when Coscarelli walked away. Once again, NL failed at acquiring Phantasm.
So when you combine the similarities between films AND the absolute power-hunger that New Line and Robert Shaye has had for Phantasm dating back thirty years, I think the connections are clear. NOES is not a direct-ripoff, but certainly owes some of it's success to Phantasm.
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Post by postmortem on Jun 2, 2009 22:59:39 GMT -5
Dear Dustin,
Very nice breakdown comparing the two! Definitive proof that "Phantasm" came first. Also, makes me wonder if "Phantasm" would be a flourishing franchise by now had New Line first acquired the rights...
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Post by xscrimshotx on Jun 2, 2009 23:00:05 GMT -5
^^Wow Mr. Dustin. Thanks for clarifying. Very interesting points indeed. I mean, interesting to think of New Line as the house that Freddy built, but under the apprenticeship of the tall man. I wonder how much different Phantasm would be, had it been made under New Line? Better, worse, or pretty much on the level of the one we know today? I mean, Phantasm is a cult classic today, which is where it gets a lot of it's appeal. But do you think it would've been more of a "household name" had it been made under New Line?
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Post by scubasteve on Jun 3, 2009 1:23:09 GMT -5
Question is would the integrety of the films have stayed intact? NOES started out great, but is laughable by the end. Would Phantasm have gone the same way?
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Post by xscrimshotx on Jun 3, 2009 3:12:36 GMT -5
Question is would the integrety of the films have stayed intact? NOES started out great, but is laughable by the end. Would Phantasm have gone the same way? Well played with a great point! You know, after thinking about this NOES remake business for a bit, and considering if the plot details are true where Freddy's innocence as to whether or not he was a molester or wrongly accused by the parents comes into question, AND him comming back in some form to exact revenge on those who wronged him...does this smell like a possible ripoff of another movie franchise? I'll give you a hint and brownie points to whomever answers this correctly: CAWWWW CAWWW! |
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Post by scubasteve on Jun 3, 2009 3:16:04 GMT -5
Surely you mean the crow!  |
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Post by xscrimshotx on Jun 3, 2009 3:57:34 GMT -5
Surely you mean the crow! Correctomondo! Boy, I hope it doesn't have that "The Crow" vibe to it, as much as I LOVE that movie (I don't care for the sequels too much except for "Salvation", but even that could have been better). Even Freddy starting out as innocent and just simply becomming the bad guy because of excessive violence to get his point across...well, hopefully it doesn't come to that. Freddy's a bad guy and he should stay that way for the whole 9 yards of this remake, IMHO. |
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Post by Natalie on Jun 4, 2009 6:12:03 GMT -5
I'm glad that New Line didn't get Phantasm. Who knows where they might have taken it if they got their hands on Phantasm. Like what Scrimshot said, it could be better, worse, or stayed the same. I wouldn't want the films looking like the NOES series.
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vitaman2007
Sentinel Sphere
"Be de be de be de...f#@ you Buck!"
Posts: 698
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Post by vitaman2007 on Jun 9, 2009 21:37:29 GMT -5
Dustin, awesome breakdown. And I think you're on the mark with the New Line theory.
It's evident to me now why I like ANOES so much.
Maybe I'll get some of my Phantasm collectables signed by the Elm Street crew at the upcoming Monster Con:
(while handing over the Rue Morgue Magazine with Angus on the cover)
"Mr. Englund, would you mind signing this for me?"
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Post by DustinM on Jun 10, 2009 14:25:26 GMT -5
Ah, here's another one I just remembered.
Both the Tall Man and Freddy Krueger are given unnaturally colored blood in order to emphasize to their prey and the audience their unearthly qualities. The Tall Man's is of course, yellow, and Freddy's is green.
And another.
The Tall Man uses the Lady in Lavender as a disguise to lure in unsuspecting males. Freddy does the exact same thing in NOES 3 (and possibly others, I can't recall).
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Post by xscrimshotx on Jun 12, 2009 10:02:44 GMT -5
Ah, here's another one I just remembered. Both the Tall Man and Freddy Krueger are given unnaturally colored blood in order to emphasize to their prey and the audience their unearthly qualities. The Tall Man's is of course, yellow, and Freddy's is green. And another. The Tall Man uses the Lady in Lavender as a disguise to lure in unsuspecting males. Freddy does the exact same thing in NOES 3 (and possibly others, I can't recall). Wowzers! I can't believe I've never noticed these parallels before....Yeah, I think it's fair to say Phantasm had much, MUCH more than just an influence on ANOES. Bleh, it's kind of ruining it for me now because I can't help but think it's a bit of a rip-off. |
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Post by scubasteve on Jul 5, 2009 12:47:48 GMT -5
Just read that the new NOES will be a new trilogy of movies with Jackie Earl Haley as Freddy (he played Rorschach in Watchmen)
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Post by Natalie on Jul 5, 2009 14:17:23 GMT -5
I hope he won't run the character down. New director, new cast. Maybe there might be some hope... *Maybe*
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