From the Red Corner: Nightmare remake can be good if fans keep an open mind

A young man sitting at his table closes his eyes for just a second while the faint sound of music fills the air. Finding himself alone in the diner, he begins walking towards the kitchen where a figure comes out and attacks him.
The young man wakes up as the dark haired waitress pours him coffee and tells him he'll be kicked out they catch him sleeping. The young man apologizes, then notices the cuts on his hand where the killer's claws had cut.

This is the first several seconds of the trailer for A Nightmare on Elm Street, which arrives in theaters April 30th.

A Nightmare on Elm Street directed by Samuel Bayer, is a remake of the 1984 slasher horror film directed by Wes Craven. Like its namesake, Nightmare is about a group of teenagers who are being stalked by the killer Fred Krueger, who has the power to stalk his victims in their dreams. Although most remakes have been met with animosity and distaste, if a fan comes into the movie with the right attitude, they might find that they enjoy it.

The original film was notable for many reasons, including creating innovative and creative special effects, despite being on a budget of $1 million. The film would also go on to spawn several sequels, video games, and comic books. The franchise also heightened the careers of many of the cast and crew including Robert Englund (who only had a dozen films under his belt) who had starred as Krueger, Patricia Arquette who played Kristen Parker in the third Nightmare movie, and Johnny Depp who played the boyfriend who would end up getting swallowed by his bed.

Although some of the sequels were not as well received as the others, the Elm Street franchise is a horror franchise that is embraced by many fans and Freddy Krueger is a pop culture icon around the world.

No sooner that when Hollywood was planning to remake A Nightmare on Elm Street, fans were ready to grab their pitchforks and torches, as they do whenever a remake of a franchise is announced. It wasn't until the beginning of April that people have started to come around.

Although I am a fan of the Nightmare series, I think that a remake is actually a good idea, and inevitable It gives a new fans to experience something new, and old fans a chance to see Freddy Krueger and his work in a whole new light, so to speak.

Perhaps the biggest complaint I have heard fans make is that Jackie Earle Haley is taking over for Englund, who had played the character in eight of the movies. I had recently read Englund's autobiography "Hollywood Monster..."and in it Englund talks about how he had grown exhausted of playing Krueger. An interesting note is that Englund is actually excited for Haley playing the role. He also spoke about how CGI can help enhance the film's premise of blurring reality and dreams, which had become a stable in the Elm Street franchise.

While Englund supported the idea of the remake using CGI, fans have also complained about the film using computer technology. I agree that using too much CGI can ruin a film and the organic special effects and make-up used in the Elm Street films was used very well, I think that CGI can make the cuts between an awake sequence and a dream sequence almost seamless. An example in the remake, is when Nancy (Rooney Mara) is being chased by Krueger in the pharmacy.

Other examples of complaints include, the possibility of Krueger being a sympathetic villian, and the casting of Mara as Nancy.

In addition to the Nightmare remake, there is also a documentary coming out called Never Sleep Again: The Nightmare Legacy, which features interviews of cast and crew members who have worked on all the Nightmare movies, and short-lived Nightmare television series.

I'm sure there will be fans of the remake and there will also be people who want Bayer's head on a silver platter. Either way, there is always that bit of advice for anyone who is going to watch a Nightmare movie.

Don't fall asleep.