As David Gordon Green’sHalloweenmovies have successfully reinvigorated the iconic slasher franchise, there’s been a lot of talk about giving Wes Craven’sA Nightmare on Elm Streetseries a similar treatment.The ExorcistandThe Texas Chain Saw Massacreare both gettingHalloween-style reboots that will retcon every previous sequel – it’s only a matter of time before it happens to every other horror classic.Instead of simply remaking Craven’s seminal 1984 original or trying to fit into the existing seven-sequel pile-up, a newElm Streetreboot could follow on directly from the shocking cliffhanger ending of the firstNightmare.Robert Englund could even returnas an older Freddy.RELATED:Horror Movies Need A New Iconic Slasher VillainThe usually magnificent Jackie Earle Haley proved in the 2010 remake that no other actor can play Freddy with quite the same goofball menace as Englund. The best way to continue theNightmarefranchise is a soft reboot bringing back Englund. But previousElm Streetsequels have proven that Englund’s presence alone doesn’t make a great movie.Craven’s originalNightmare on Elm Streetscript has one of the juiciest and most inventive horror premises ever conceived. Freddy is the ultimate boogeyman, stalking his prey on the dreamscape where he has all the control. But a movie with a great premise needs great execution to really work. Craven executed his vision masterfully, seamlessly taking audiences in and out of the dreamscape with the relentless terror of John Carpenter’sHalloweenandthe tense atmosphere of Stanley Kubrick’sThe Shining.Any potentialNightmare on Elm Streetrevival would need a filmmaker whose command of tension, visual flair, and passion for horror match Craven’s. Thankfully, horror cinema is in a good place right now and there are a few strong candidates out there.
Mike Flanagan
Anybody who undertakes aNightmare on Elm Streetreboot needs to have their own personal vision, but one that still honors the Craven tradition. One filmmaker who’s proven himself to be adept at translating another horror visionary’s work is Mike Flanagan.
Flanagan is one of Hollywood’s go-to guys forStephen King adaptations, having brought bothGerald’s GameandDoctor Sleepto the screen. InDoctor Sleep, Flanagan not only adapted King’s work – as if that wasn’t enough pressure – he also made a spiritual sequel toKubrick’s iconic (and extremely unfaithful) adaptation ofThe Shining, checking in on Danny Torrance as an adult. On both counts, Flanagan succeeded.
On top of his well-established ability to bring familiar horror classics into a new medium or a modern setting, Flanagan is also a fantastic horror director. His breakout filmHushis tense and terrifying from beginning to end.
Fede Álvarez
Fede Álvarez’s 2013 version ofEvil Deadis a rare example of a horror remake that uses modern filmmaking techniques to enhance the terror of the original. 2013’sEvil Deadmatches the intensity of Sam Raimi’s groundbreaking 1981 original with a bigger budget and CG capabilities.
The remake honors the original’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of gore with even gnarlier, nastier violence that pushes those boundaries even further. One character cuts off their arm with an electric turkey-carver to prevent the spread of a demonic possession – and then the possession spreads anyway.
Álvarez worked wonders imbuing the biggest scares fromThe Evil Deadwith gruesome CGI, as well as bringing in entirely new concepts that filmmakers couldn’t even imagine in the ‘80s. He could do the same forA Nightmare on Elm Street’s blood-soaked dreamscape.
Ari Aster
Ever sincehis debut featureHereditarywas labeled this generation’s answer toThe Exorcist, Ari Aster has been one of the most exciting new voices in horror. HisWicker Man-style “folk horror” follow-upMidsommar– a bizarre, gruesome, psychedelic odyssey through the murderous rituals of a Swedish cult – proved he wasn’t a one-trick pony. Horror films tend to favor night-time settings because darkness is an innate human fear, butMidsommarmanages to frighten audiences in non-stop broad daylight.
Aster certainly has his own unique vision of horror, but there are moments in bothHereditaryandMidsommarthat prove he’d be a good fit forA Nightmare on Elm Street.Hereditaryhas a few disturbing nightmare sequences symbolizing Peter’s guilt with visions of his sister’s head rolling off in the corner of his darkened bedroom.Midsommardoesn’t have any straightforward dream sequences, but from the moment Dani arrives at the commune and she’s given a psychedelic drug, the rest of the movie isa haunting, hypnotic tripfull of dreamlike visuals.
Nia DaCosta
Although the recentCandymanreboot has been primarily attributed to producer Jordan Peele,it was actually directed by Nia DaCosta. The new movie is a direct sequel to the original that brings back the titular slasher, expands on his socially conscious mythology, and ignores all the previous sequels that fans hated.
The social commentary is ultimately a little ham-fisted, but as a supernatural slasher, 2021’sCandymanis wildly satisfying. When it comes todirecting and editing horror sequences, DaCosta has shown that she has an unparalleled instinct for what should appear in the frame and what should be left to the audience’s imagination. This can be seen in one particularly shocking sequence in the newCandymanreboot set in a high school bathroom.
With moments like a journalist’s slit throat being smeared across her apartment window in a haunting static wide shot, DaCosta managed to create brand-new iconic visuals out of the grisly murders of a well-worn paranormal killer. If DaCosta can make Candyman scary again after a slew of laughable sequels, she can do the same for Freddy.
David Lynch
A slasher in which unsuspecting victims are killed in their dreams is the perfect premise for a David Lynch movie. It’s highly unlikely that Lynch would return to filmmaking toreboot a franchise– especially after his experiences working with a big Hollywood studio onDune– but his disturbing cinematic sensibility would fit this particular franchise like a glove.
In unsettling masterpieces likeEraserhead,Blue Velvet, andMulholland Drive, Lynch has carved out a surreal, dreamy vision of suburbia and Americana. His atmospheric filmmaking style is marked by creepy imagery draped in ambient noise. If theElm Streetrights holders are looking for a filmmaker who’ll bring their own idiosyncratic ideas to the table instead of just shallowly emulatingwhat Craven did, Lynch is their guy.
