When the first A Nightmare on Elm Street film was released in 1984, it was little more than an audacious high-concept horror film from fright-master Wes Craven. However, the film quickly broke out and clearly became so much more than that in the eyes of audiences, critics, and executives alike. The introduction of ‘Fred Kruger’ had well and truly rocked horror fans’ worlds, and they were clearly hungry for more. This led to a total of six sequels, one crossover, and one remake. The last of these was Platinum Dunes’ ill-fated remake, which released in 2010.
That film had the unenviable task of attempting to reboot the whole story, sans iconic Freddy actor Robert Englund, and it was just not up to the challenge. The failure of the film wound up putting the whole series on ice, resulting in no more Elm Street films in the past sixteen years. However, earlier this year, it was confirmed that Paramount was prepping a new Nightmare on Elm Street film.
Then, it was also confirmed that Warner Bros., who held some of the rights, were also prepping a new film, separate from the one Paramount was working on. Given that these two studios are in the midst of a possible merger, things are bound to get messy, but one thing is for sure: people are hungry for more Freddy, and sooner or later, they’re going to get it. And now, the acclaimed and iconic filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun has thrown their hat into the ring, saying they’d like to tackle the franchise.
Schoenbrun is far from alone in this regard. It's as if the sixteen-year wait has built up a metric ton of anticipation for a new film, and the fact that multiple studios are actively working on multiple different versions of said follow-up has only served to further stoke these flames. Everyone from Mike Flanagan to Parker Finn to Lee Cronin and beyond has spoken out about wanting to be involved in a new Nightmare on Elm Street take, in one way or another, but Schoenbrun is far and away the most interesting of these options.
In a recent interview, Schoenbrun said, “I’m trying to get a meeting” when asked about their thoughts on a new Nightmare on Elm Street film. For the uninitiated, Schoenbrun has three feature films to their name, all of which exist as metatextually drenched, thought-provoking works within the horror genre. From the viral dread of We’re All Going to the World’s Fair to the haunting melancholy of I Saw the TV Glow to the profoundly heady and righteously gory new release, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Schoenbrun has more than proved their merit as a writer and director.
The filmmaker has long excelled at body horror, nightmarish visualizations, and stories that explore dream states in one form or another. In these ways and so many more, Schoenbrun could prove such a fascinating choice for how to best relaunch this horror franchise. The last thing I want is a straight-up-the-middle Nightmare on Elm Street reboot that plays it totally safe and has little to offer in terms of new ideas.
Schoenbrun would absolutely bring all of themselves to the table and infuse the new film with an energy distinctly their own, all while undoubtedly paying adoring homage to prior films. For proof of this, one need look no further than Camp Miasma, which essentially does precisely what I’m describing for the Friday the 13th franchise, just without the official copyright.
If we learned anything from the mistakes of the 2010 Nightmare on Elm Street remake, it should be that if you’re going to try and reboot this thing, it needs someone willing to take some truly big swings rather than simply reheat the same old stuff. Schoenbrun would be an absolutely inspired take for this material, and I hope they get that meeting and more.
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