Adam Frazier
On Thursday, June 25th, I had a chance to visit the set of Platinum Dunes’ latest film, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Here’s a little taste to whet your appetite for Comic-Con!
1, 2, Freddy’s Coming For You…
Director Samuel Bayer makes his feature film debut with Platinum Dunes’ new twist on Wes Craven’s 1984 classic, A Nightmare On Elm Street. Bayer, who has directed music videos for Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Metallica, Green Day and The Rolling Stones, is bringing his signature visionary style to one of the most beloved horror franchises of all time.
Written by Wesley Strick and Eric Heisserer , A Nightmare On Elm Street stars Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger and Rooney Mara as Nancy. Kyle Gallner (A Haunting in Connecticut) plays Quentin, who is taking the place of Johnny Depp’s Glenn character.
Platinum Dunes producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form are telling Moviehole that this take on Elm Street is much more brutal and realistic than its predecessors. “I think that if we’re going to try and restart this franchise or at least bring our take to the franchise, it had to be different from what the other one was,” said Form. “It felt like the first Nightmare on Elm Street was kind of a scary, straight ahead horror movie, and then as they went on, they became more funny. In an effort to differentiate ours from what it had become, we wanted ours to feel much more real.”
Jackie Earle Haley’s take on the character seems to be less gleeful and more menacing in demeanor as well. Haley has carved out a niche by playing psychologically damaged, defective characters. How is Freddy Krueger different from Rorschach or Ronnie J. McGorvey? Haley tells Moviehole, “I think what I was playing before was tortured souls, so I figured in this one I’d play the torturing soul.”
What separates Craven’s A Nightmare On Elm Street from its slasher horror brethren is that the villain has to act – he actually has a personality. He isn’t some slow-walking mute masked man. Producer Brad Fuller is fully aware of this reality. “The fact that we have a guy who was nominated for an Academy Award playing Freddy Krueger is very exciting to us. It feels like it elevates our movie.”
Be sure to check out Moviehole’s Comic-Con coverage for all the latest news on A Nightmare on Elm Street and look forward to Moviehole’s visit to the set of Elm Street!
– ADAM FRAZIER
