Rerun: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Hey there, listeners.

Welcome to Horror Movie Club.

I'm Brian, I'm on the phone with Ashwin, and today, uh, in keeping with kind of our summer hours, taking things a little slower and enjoying the summer, we are airing a rerun.

Uh, but it's pertinent, because a few weeks ago it was reported that after years of complicated legal issues regarding the rights to the franchise, Paramount Pictures has secured the rights to the original A Nightmare on Elm Street screenplay.

So Paramount is in the clear to begin work on a new film in the franchise.

So we are rerunning our original episode on A Nightmare on Elm Street.

You can hear Ashwin's thoughts on Freddy Krueger's hat.

Uh, it sounds like the plan for the new movie is to make a reboot, uh, but we'll see.

I feel like everything at this stage is largely conjecture.

Uh, how do you feel about all this, Ash?

Yeah, I'm, I'm curious, uh, what direction they'll go in and how they're gonna make this relevant for younger audiences.

Um, so I'm, I, yeah, I'm, I'm a little, uh...

I'm not very optimistic that, that it'll work.

And also, I think we talked about this with the, uh, what was that movie, um, what was the movie, uh, with the guy with the mask, and it was basically like-

Oh, yeah

...

I don't remember

The, the movie that was basically a Nightmare on Elm Street movie.

Yeah, Black Phone.

Yeah, Black Phone 2.

Yeah, part two.

Yeah, yeah.

Which I feel like, yeah, that, that was a, a great, like, uh, way to bring the story back.

So how different could it be, and could it, like, be as good as that film? What do you, what do you think?

Yeah.

You know, I think we're in the minority in liking that movie.

Um, I think the really, the big question is who do you replace...

Who do you use to replace Robert Englund? He, he has said, like when asked if he had one more performance left in him, he said, "I don't.

I literally don't.

I mean, there might be some gimmick thing we could do with a close-up or something, but no, I can't play him anymore.

I'm too old." Uh, he said, "I could possibly voice a really high-end animated version.

That would be nice to ask, to be asked to do, but I know I can't do the fight scenes more than one take now, one angle.

I just can't be snapping my head or anything like that.

I'm an old dog.

Give me a break." So he's out.

Yeah.

I mean, he's like 80.

Yep.

Um, he's 79 years old.

So yeah, I mean, he's...

I don't know that there are really bigger shoes to fill when it comes to horror icons.

Yeah.

So it'll be interesting to see what route they go.

Yeah, that's a hard one.

And he was Freddy, like, throughout the franchise, right?

Yes.

There's never been...

Well, no, that's not true.

[laughs] Sorry, I wiped the remake from my memory.

The 2010 remake had Jackie Earle Haley playing Freddy.

Oh, okay.

And honestly, he didn't do a terrible job, but it just was...

It was not Freddy.

Like, I, I don't know.

Everyone got so attached to Robert Englund's depiction of Freddy that he basically, like, is Freddy, right? It's not like-

Yeah

...

Michael Myers or Jason where you can just put another guy behind the mask, so.

Yeah, right.

It'll be interesting.

I, I have the weird take.

It, it's not even really meant to be a woke take, but just like, let's do something different take, that a woman as Freddy Krueger might be kinda fun.

That would be interesting.

Um, it, I just feel like it would maybe let you avoid some of the like, "Oh, this guy isn't Freddy." Like, it's just...

Yeah, clearly.

Like, we're going a totally different direction, and it would maybe make people be a little bit more open to a, a depiction that was not Robert Englund.

But I'm sure there'd be all sorts of anger from fans that they were casting a woman too, so.

Yeah.

I don't think you're gonna be able to please people.

Yeah, I think it's gonna be hard.

Either you're gonna abandon your legacy and try something new and, uh, try to get a new audience or, and, and piss off your loyal followers over the years or, yeah, totally miss out on the new market.

Um, yeah, I'm, I'm excited.

I still haven't made it all the way through the franchise.

Uh, I haven't listened to this episode we're about to air, but I remember I'm a little, uh, negative on the review here, and I think this has been one of my biggest regrets, uh, in us, um, doing this.

I feel like I, I never really got the vibe of this franchise, uh, and understood the scares of it.

So I'd, I'd love to, like, kind of review, re-review, uh, this film, uh, and, and like, uh, yeah, see if it stands up any better.

Yeah, I mean, maybe one day we could do what we did with Friday the 13th and go back and say, "Hey, that was weird.

Let's see if Ashwin changed his mind." [laughs] 'Cause I love it, and I gave it, I think I gave it a five, uh, not to spoil this rerun for everyone.

But yeah, you know, we, we totally came around on Friday the 13th when we re-watched it recently and re-reviewed it, but-

Yeah

... you know what I'd really like to do, though? We need to make our way through the rest of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise before any new film happens.

We've only got...

I think we've only got two more to go.

Okay, cool.

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm excited.

Uh, we're like-

Wes Craven's New Nightmare and the remake, so.

Yeah.

And those are both very different than the rest of the franchise.

I know.

Conceptually, I'm really interested in both of these ones.

Uh, they sound like a, a great departure from, like, where the franchise has been.

Um, do you think this new one, they're gonna bring back the hat?

Oh, he's gonna definitely be wearing a hat.

Really? Even in today's, like, fashion standards? Like, that's not just gonna be laughable?

It's an iconic hat.

I don't think it's as such a fashion faux pas as you think it is.

Ugh, I, I- [laughs]

And you wore a fedora on stage once.

[laughs] Yeah.

I just don't understand.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, I just...

As, as a horror villain to wear one, I, I feel like it's out, out of place and, uh, uh, the color brown and, and that sweater.

I don't know if it goes.

Uh, and yeah, yeah, I don't know if it's gonna have the intended look of being creepy.

Um, but I don't know.

I'd, I'd, I'd be cool, it'd be cool to see how they might, like, uh, remake him to be more scary in a modern sense.

Yeah.

It'll be interesting one way or the other.

And dude, another weird thing, even more breaking news, I think this was just a few days ago.

It sounds like...

So Paramount has the domestic rights, and somehow, like, Warner Brothers, uh-

uh-And maybe New Line to retain the international rights.

Hmm.

So it sounds like Warner Brothers is planning their own film for international markets.

No way.

Paramount is planning a film for domestic markets, and they're supposedly in talks- Warner Brothers is supposedly in talks with Lee Cronin to direct.

Oh, my God.

Wow.

And Paramount is also trying to buy Warner Brothers, so it's a pretty weird mess.

Like-

Yeah

... that could just end up being the same film if that purchase goes through, but-

Wow

...

it makes me a little less excited about the whole idea.

Yeah.

Wow, what a hodgepodge.

Uh-

Yeah

... and it'll-

And that, that hasn't, like, officially been announced yet.

It sounds like that's a little bit more gossipy, but it seems like it's reliable.

Yeah.

Gotcha.

Interesting.

Yeah.

Interesting to see how that plays out.

And all of this because I think, like, the 35-year, uh, IP is, like, uh, like, uh, their- the copyright, like, expires after 35 years, and that's why it's kinda up again for, uh, estates to come forward and grab it, right? Or reclaim it.

Right, yeah.

The rights went back to Wes Craven's estate, so.

Yeah.

Cool.

Uh-

Yeah.

Strange.

Yeah, it's strange.

Other franchises from the '80s that you think have, uh, got, like...

I mean, I thought the Child's Play reboot was cool back in, like, 2018, '19, but I don't know.

Uh, is there any, any other big ones that have come back in the last few years that you think have done it right?

Hmm.

I don't know.

I don't think so.

[laughs]

I, I feel like, uh, what, like-

I mean, Aliens.

Like-

Yeah

... people might say that Alien did.

I, I don't think that new movie was all that great, but I think it was viewed as a success.

Yeah, I loved that one actually.

Uh, and, and in Halloween, you know, they, they had a three-film run and, like, maybe one or two of them were okay, and obviously made a lot of money.

Um, oh, uh, I thought there was one more.

I was g- oh, The Omen.

Yeah, monetary is one thing, and then critically is another.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

I don't know if, like, old-school Halloween fans are big f- uh, fans of the new ones.

Um, and then, uh, The Omens kinda made a big push, right? In, in, like-

Sure.

Yeah.

Yeah.

First Omen.

Yeah.

Yep.

Yep, coming back.

So interesting that, that these guys will be throwing their hat in the ring literally.

[laughs]

And Friday the 13th, we're getting, like, a series soon.

Oh, yeah.

So.

Cool.

Yeah.

It's coming back.

All right, buddy, anything else? Or should we just let the folks, uh, listen to this rerun?

Let's let it, uh, let's let the rerun ride.

All right.

Enjoy, everybody.

Uh, thanks for letting us take a little time off in the summer and, uh, we hope this, uh, tides you over until the next episode.

Enjoy the episode.