ROTTEN TOMATOES: Platinum Dunes, New Line Announce Plans for New Nightmare on Elm Street

Platinum Dunes, New Line Announce Plans for New Nightmare on Elm Street

Fine, fine. Now where's that Ghoulies reboot?

by Jeff Giles | January 31, 2008

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In a move that should surprise no one, New Line has announced a partnership with Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes banner to reboot the Nightmare on Elm Street series.

In reporting the move, Variety notes that the Nightmare films were New Line's most successful franchise until Lord of the Rings came along, which is mildly surprising until you stop to consider that the studio pumped eight sequels out of 1984's original Elm Street picture, and none of them were exactly big-budget productions.

Platinum Dunes, for its part, is continuing a trend it started with its Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and extended with its impending Friday the 13th reboot, which Variety says starts filming in May. The studio hired Marcus Nispel to direct both pictures, and he's presumably under consideration for the new Nightmare, but the article doesn't mention any names.

The only thing holding New Line back? You guessed it -- the writers' strike. Kind of leaves you feeling conflicted about hoping the strike is settled quickly, no?

The original Nightmare on Elm Street has endured as a horror classic, boasting a 93 percent Tomatometer rating -- but subsequent entries in the series rapidly fell victim to the laws of diminishing returns: 1985's Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge netted 24 percent, and though 1987's Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors rebounded at 75 percent, it was downhill from there, with 1988's Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master topping out at 50 percent, 1989's Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child receiving a 24 percent spanking, and 1991's Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare notching a pitiful 13 percent.

Though 1994's meta-slasher Wes Craven's New Nightmare (83 percent) seemed to reclaim a little of the franchise's fire, 2003's Freddy vs. Jason (39 percent) wasted much of its crossover potential.

What do you say, RT faithful? Are you optimistic about a Bay-produced Nightmare reboot? Or are you convinced that New Line should just leave Freddy down in the boiler room?

Source: Variety

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	Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
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Celeb:	Michael Bay
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(1-20 of 23 posts) | Reply

cgcbooks writes:
on Jan 31 2008 05:41 AM

If Harrison Ford can play Indy in his sixties, Robert Englund can play Freddy at 60. Enough said.

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Like_Suicide writes:
on Jan 31 2008 06:02 AM

Love Robert Englund, but he couldnt make Dream child or Freddy's dead good. But still, he IS Fred. This doenst need a remake with ****ty CG and bad 30 year olds playing teens, the original already had some questionable practical effects and a little bit of cheese acting, but its an amazing movie. I always thought of all the movies, THIS one would never get remade, Damn New Line and there string of failures.

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Gimy writes:
on Jan 31 2008 06:25 AM

get...over...it. "new" nightmare. do you guys know what NEW means? it means getting out with the OLD. i loved the new TCM and i think this could be sweet as well. you guys REALLY need to lose the past and get over the Englund stuff. ok, he WAS freddy. but if you're going to REBOOT the franchise you're going to change the character....or else its SIMPLY a sequel.

they're going to change the look(seriously, 8 movies, same look? uh no) and they're going to make him scarier. for some reason, judge judy just popped into my head. and quite frankly, she gives me nightmares already...add makeup and long daggers...and i'd pee myself. but it could be any # of people because its makeup.

"this one will never get remade". i suggest you never say that again, anything and EVERYTHING from the past will eventually get remade. EVERYTHING. i'm waiting for Leprachaun, the beginning...starring Vern Troyer. you know its gotta be in the works...

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TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Jan 31 2008 06:47 AM

It would take some serious Cajones to re-cast Freddy, seeing as how Englund defined the entire series-- but I think it can be done. Darker. Scarier. More psychological.

And for the love of righteous f#ck, DO. NOT. GO. FOR. TORTURE. PORN. Yes, some gore. Yes, dismemberment if it serves the story but NO TP! It's done. Moment passed. Go rent Hostel and get over it.

Or just leave well enough alone and go rip off some other icon of my childhood.

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fatmc writes:
on Jan 31 2008 07:12 AM

it's "cojones" not cajones (=drawers)

if it's a reboot I don't mind a different actor... after seeing the trailer for Dark Knight I thinkg Heath Ledger would have been great is Freddy... but that won't happen unfortunately...

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fullmetalnek writes:
on Jan 31 2008 07:48 AM

Is not a bad idea to have Friday the 13th, Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Wolf Man remaked, but Nightmare? Is as unnecessary as the Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remakes were. I hope they never remake The Exorcist.

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Shatter24 writes:
on Jan 31 2008 08:20 AM

No more new ideas in Hollywood. A very sad day indeed.

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BrianInSD writes:
on Jan 31 2008 09:04 AM

"What do you say, RT faithful? Are you optimistic about a Bay-produced Nightmare reboot?"

I'm not optimistic about a Bay-produced anything.

Let me guess: It's going to be an origin story that goes back into Freddy's early years to examine all of the sociological factors that led him to becoming a child-molesting serial killer. The director will give countless interviews about how the whole story is really a romantic tragedy and how important it is that the audience UNDERSTANDS Freddy and what drives him to do the things he does. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside just imagining this new "A Nightmare on Hallmark Channel!"

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agniyo writes:
on Jan 31 2008 09:09 AM

The "Psycho" remake stands apart from the others, I think, as more of a cinematic exercise than anything else -- and as an exercise, not wholly uninteresting one, if you ask me. But yeah, it's startling how many re-makes there are. It's all re-makes and adaptations.

Kind of reminds me of the calm before the Lucas-Spielberg storm in the late 70's. There's this sense of the industry being parched for something new...

Of course, seems to me that even in the "calm" of the 70's there was a steady stream of good movies coming out of Hollywood. It just wasn't very lucrative. Nowadays, the pattern seems to be that something highly derivative and shallow comes out, and the critics hate it, but everybody goes to see it anyway... it makes a ton of money and then the producers say, "Yeah, let's turn it into a franchise." It's like the OPPOSITE problem from the 70's, really.

I don't know maybe I'm wrong, maybe the lens of history makes the 70's look better than they were cinematically. Maybe not, though -- there was a lot of good stuff made back then.

The sad thing is, there's got to be good ideas out there now, right? Somewhere? There's got to be better writing, more originality than this? From twenty-somethings working at Border's and living in their Moms' basements, or something? Or some kids coming out of USC? Or The New School? SOMETHING? Or even some of the old guard? Sorkin? Mamet? Uh, who else?

I mean, remaking NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET? They might as well re-make The Exorcist, like "fullmetalnek" suggests. Hell, they might as well re-make "Saw." Why not? It's been awhile since that came out right?

When the writers strike started, I was hoping, "Please let this be about the right to write something other than crap!"

Nope, it's about residuals.

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darrinsgoodman writes:
on Jan 31 2008 09:23 AM

if done in the same spirit as the first one - this could be promising of all the other remakes out there. i remain optimisitic at this point...

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dj_loki writes:
on Jan 31 2008 09:28 AM

I am so tired of these horror movie remakes, especially from the likes of Michael Bay. Just leave them alone, enough already. Come up with something original. And while I'm on it, stop with the j-horror remakes, it was good in the beginning, but just stop for now. For the love of God, please stop.

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John Z. Delorean writes:
on Jan 31 2008 09:31 AM

There's only on freddy and I have to say with good writing and dark humor this could be done well just don't go as cheesy as the Freddy vs. Jason flick.

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zgberg writes:
on Jan 31 2008 10:48 AM

can't come up with anything new so they regurgitate a tired franchise.
I was a huge fan in the late 80's and 90's - when I was in elementary school I had the Freddy mask and glove for Halloween.

Could it be good? maybe. Mostly likely not, I think.

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Ruckas356 writes:
on Jan 31 2008 12:41 PM

Without englund no way, but if he does it anything is possible. I would want to see freddy as normal, killing kids and then have it some how turn into the great dead freddy.

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moviegodfather writes:
on Jan 31 2008 12:44 PM

Micheal Bay will probably have little to do with this other owning the production company. This could be worse, did you guys see Rob Zombie's Halloween. If they hire an actual actor this could be great. Here's an idea why not give Wes Craven another shot. How about Freddy as a actual serial teen killer that everyone belives is just a fictional boogeyman. He hunts the teen children of the parents that burned him up. On top of that maybe we find out that freddy actualy didn't commit the murders he was burned up for and that's why he is exacting revenge in the middle of the night with his homemade glove.

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BrianInSD writes:
on Jan 31 2008 02:40 PM

In reply to this comment (#1543508)
"I don't know maybe I'm wrong, maybe the lens of history makes the 70's look better than they were cinematically. Maybe not, though -- there was a lot of good stuff made back then."

There was plenty of crap made in the '70s too; Even then the great movies were the exception, not the rule. The major difference is that now the crap opens wide on 4,000 screens whereas, in the 70's, it was relegated to the drive-ins and the grindhouses.

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nickyV writes:
on Jan 31 2008 03:56 PM

ridiculous to say the least...how about creating new characters for a new generation...we have freddy, jason, michael, and leprechaun (unfortunately),,,let them have their jigsaw, and other new stuff....i dont wanna share!!!

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johnsomc writes:
on Jan 31 2008 05:37 PM

Michael Gayyyyyyyyyyyy.....

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sarlaccpit_48 writes:
on Jan 31 2008 05:48 PM

Ever wanted to stop the production of a movie?

After seeing what became of Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I don't want the same to happen Freddy
and even Jason for that matter.

Michael Bay please stop!

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SPfan79 writes:
on Jan 31 2008 06:35 PM

"What do you say, RT faithful? Are you optimistic about a Bay-produced Nightmare reboot?"

"I'm not optimistic about a Bay-produced anything."

Hahaha, couldn't have put it better myself

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