While I was initially dismayed at the prospect of a remake I did concede to Freddy In Space that I will watch it upon release God willing.
Having said that the TFi qualifications for remake are
- has enough time passed since the original release - ie at least a generation?
- is the cultural landscape conducive for a retelling of that particular story?
- can it time translate - ie are the salient points still relevant?
- is the story good enough to be retold?
The trailer does its job! I'm excited but I don't want to be disappointed.
The Japanese series Ringu had a prequel (Ringu 0). The Canadians had Cube Zero. I hate prequels. Why explain - ie debunk - the myth? Contrary to earlier leaks and according to this trailer this prequel is a sequence which only exists in the first act. Still I think it is a thematic mistake as it serves to humanise Freddy. The beauty of the original was we the audience experienced the film through the hero's eyes. We learnt what Heather learnt as she learnt it. We felt her horror. It was our horror. Setting up Kruger as a lynched victim regardless of his crime justifies his response. That's not horror - that's revenge.
They threw a lot of images in the trailer; there's Tina's levitation scene - it looks horrendous. The pool party scene looks like it's from A Nightmare... part 2 1985. Though there's an excellent close up of a little girl's shredded blouse (knives for fingers) and of course that iconic bathtub scene.
Unfortunately none of the actors look or seem like much kop. I also find it disappointing that the cast looks whiteout. I'm sure there are plenty of Elm Street's, towns and lynch mobs that consist of whites only but the film makers could/should have included teens of other races. We existed in '84 and they exist now.
On a final note it's a gross error to show Freddy's face (lighted) in the film never mind the trailer. In the original we never got a good look at him. He hardly said much. In this trailer he's talking biscuits. That dialogue wasn't chilling it was perfunctory.
Wesley Strick is co-screenwriter. He also rewrote Cape Fear 1991. That was good. That was not horror.
Am I still excited? I'm a horror fan. I intend to see it. I intend to blog it.
I hope I'm scared of it.
20th April 2010Read more Thrill Fiction: Drag Me To Hell
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