NightmareOnElmStreet Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Horror fans will be slipping back into a new Nightmare on Elm Street on April 30th, 2010, but we're already being teased with new Freddy Krueger toys, thanks to Entertainment Earth and Mezco Toyz. You can buy a little Freddy of your own in plastic or vinyl next April just in time for Jackie Earle Haley's debut as the mutilated monster who haunts our dreams.

The first question I had when I saw the plastic toy was, why does he look like those little dolls with dried apple heads that are sold at craft fairs by sweet grandmas? But thanks to a wily blogger over at Albotas and the wonders of Photoshop, you can see that Earle Haley's Freddy definitely looks more like this toy than Robert Englund's Freddy.



I'm not sure which I prefer -- the menacing creep with a big smile or the flat-faced, expressionless killer. An early review from a test screening posted at Ain't It Cool News praises Earle Haley for his performance (although not much else in the movie), but will old fans be won over too?

Either one is sure to give me, well, nightmares. It's too bad that Johnny Depp won't be there this time around.

Do you collect movie toys? And, more importantly, do you leave them in the box or take them out?

Check out a larger version of the toy after the jump.

(Via Dread Central)

Michael Myers has his own Halloween: 25 Years of Terror, a certain hockey masked maniac has His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th, even Jaws has the incredibly elusive The Shark is Still Working, but no one has yet chronicled with any depth the behind-the-scenes adventures of everyone's favorite fedora sporting, sweater wearing, knife-glove loving, dreamscape-haunting pedophile. But fret no more, all it takes is a big Hollywood remake to give an icon of fright his very own documentary, and thus we shall soon have Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy.

From the creators of the fantastic and comprehensive His Name Was Jason, Never Sleep Again has already begun filming in Los Angeles, which has long served as the shooting location for the fictional street. The documentary will be narrated by the series' most notable final girl, Heather Langenkamp, and span everything from the original 1984 film to its six sequels (seven counting the missed opportunity, Freddy vs Jason) to the upcoming Platinum Dunes remake directed by Samuel Bayer. Considering how vast their documentarian scope seems to be, I'd also prepare yourself for some coverage of the 1988 TV series "Freddy's Nightmares" as well as all the Freddy lunchboxes and Pez dispensers the crew can find.

For me, this is fantastic news. I love both of the Halloween and Friday the 13th documentaries, as well as the franchises they cover (save for a certain rocker-led two-film reboot I'd rather not talk about for fear of foaming at the mouth), but Krueger has always been my favorite cause for insomnia. And if there are any doubts that the filmmakers will be phoning in Never Sleep Again simply to coincide with the remake, co-director Andrew Kasch would like to dissuade you of that notion right now:

Read the rest over at Horror Squad

We asked, and you delivered. After counting more than 100,000 votes, we can reveal the winners of our super-duper, stunningly creative Ultimate Fan Polls! (Cue drum roll.) May I have the envelopes, please?

Winners of The Ultimate Horror Movie Fan Poll:

1. What is the best horror movie franchise of all time? Nightmare on Elm Street.
2. Which horror movie classic deserves a reboot? Poltergeist (narrowly edging The Shining).
3. Who is the best all-time scream queen? Jamie Lee Curtis (with a decisive 51% of the vote).
4. Who is your favorite slasher of all time? Freddy Krueger.
5. Who would you like to see take a turn as a scream queen? Megan Fox (ahem).

Winners of The Ultimate Sci-Fi Fan Poll:

1. What is the best sci-fi movie franchise of all time? Star Wars (decisively).
2. What is the best sci-fi film of 2009 so far? Star Trek (with 69% of the vote; no robots for you).
3. What is your most anticipated upcoming sci-fi film? District 9 (beating out Avatar).
4. Who is the all-time best sci-fi action heroine? Ripley (Alien).
5. What is the greatest all-time sci-fi creature/alien? Alien (Alien). (Sorry, Chewbacca.)

Big thanks to everybody who voted. You can view all the nominees and the breakdown of votes at Horror Squad and Sci-Fi Squad. In addition, Reuters has a nice story on the poll results. I'm glad to see Jamie Lee Curtis recognized for her multiple roles, but a bit startled that the Star Wars franchise still holds sway. Any big surprises for you? Outrage? Joy?

A couple of us onliners got an up-close look at the fresh flesh of Jackie Earle Haley's Freddy Krueger last month on the Chicago set of the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and from the sound of things, he'll be making his first public appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con later this week. Though the bulk of our set visit coverage will have to wait until closer to the film's release next April, we can share a bit on what Haley's bringing to the legendary character and what the producers are bringing to the franchise...

Haley: "Robert Englund's done an amazing job over the years playing Freddy. Everybody's that's a fan of Nightmare loves Robert and, you know, that's a challenge when you've got to step in a big man's shoes like that, so it's scary but also exciting. You can't please everybody. All I can do is really just try to work from the heart and do the best job at playing Freddy that I can and hope for the best."

More on HorrorSquad!

Oh, what might have been! Alison Lohman gives a terrific performance as the cursed loan officer Christine Brown in Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell, which opens tomorrow. If not for the vagaries of scheduling, though, Ellen Page would have played the lead role. Would Page have been any better? We'll never know, but she joins a long list that inspires thoughts of 'What if ...?'

Once upon a time, we might have seen Leslie Howard as the titular Frankenstein and Bela Lugosi as The Monster. Instead, Colin Clive played the good doctor, Boris Karloff got a jump-start on life, and the rest is horror history. Here are seven more recent examples of actors and actresses who were considered for key roles in great horror films ... and the ones who replaced them, listed in chronological order. [Disclaimer: Based on information provided on IMDb's "trivia" pages, so no guarantees on accuracy.] Better? Worse? You decide.

1. Melanie Griffith / Sissy Spacek (Carrie)

Even though she was in her mid-20s, Spacek looks so young and fragile as Carrie that it's difficult to imagine anyone else in the role. Griffith was 18 or 19 and already had made an impression in Night Moves, The Drowning Pool, and Smile when she auditioned to play the telekinetic high schooler. Conveying Carrie's complexities might have been beyond her still-developing skills at that point. The pic above, left, is from Joyride, released the following year.

Now here's a crafty bit of casting news that should make the horror hounds happy: Latino Review caught wind a while ago, and Bloody-D got on the case most recently, so while this news is not yet OFFICIAL*, I'm making a judgment call on this one: Jackie Earle Haley is going to be playing Freddy Krueger in Sam Bayer's upcoming Nightmare on Elm Street remake. Speaking as only one guy (one guy who's seen all** of Haley's work and all of the Elm St. flicks three times each), I'm going to say it now: This is an EXCELLENT choice!

Obviously Jackie Earle Haley has the acting chops to carry a dark, devious, devilish villain -- but, in the right light and coated with the appropriate goo, this guy makes for one SCARY-looking mofo. Comic bookworms know Mr. Haley as Rorschach of the Watchmen, art-housers recall his chilling turn in Little Children, and a whole bunch of us remember his flick-stealing performance in Steve Zaillian's All the King's Men.

But *ahem* old people like me still know (and love) Jackie from his monumentally colorful performances in Breaking Away, Losin' It, and all three Bad News Bears flicks. I call this great news for the horror faithful, and yet another feather in the cap of a damn good actor who vanished from Hollywood -- and then "came back" with both guns blazing. One expects (nay, demands) a nice little role for the awesome Robert Englund, but if Haley is indeed the new Krueger, then my confidence in this remake has just doubled.

When you shelled out nine bucks this weekend to see if Jigsaw would do anything new in Saw V (answer: nope), you were also contributing to a milestone. With the Friday-Sunday $30 million haul, the Saw series is now the highest grossing horror franchise in history, with a cumulative domestic gross of $316 million. Just think of all the microcassette tapes and countdown timers that kind of money could buy!

Of course, the other heavy hitters in this field -- Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street -- were mostly released in the 1980s, when movie tickets were a lot cheaper. It's no surprise that a franchise launched in the 2000s would be more lucrative. Still, Saw has made its loot in just five films, compared to Elm Street's eight (including Freddy vs. Jason), Halloween's nine (including last year's remake), and Friday the 13th's eleven (including Freddy vs. Jason again).

A curious fact: Prior to this weekend, the race was surprisingly close. Box Office Mojo has the Friday the 13th series at $315 million, Elm Street at $307 million, and Halloween at $275 million. (Lionsgate's press release touting the Saw achievement has the Halloween series at $307 million, but I don't know where they're getting that from.)

But Jigsaw shouldn't rest on his laurels just yet. The Friday the 13th reboot due in February is liable to put Jason Voorhees in the lead again, although that will be short-lived if the seemingly inevitable Saw VI does indeed appear next October. If the Friday remake is successful, though, it could lead to more sequels and more competition. Personally, I'd rather have a mute, hockey-masked punisher as the all-time box office champ over a cancer-brained faux-intellectual who can't shut up. But that's just me! You can vote however you want. In the meantime, congrats to Saw for out-grossing Freddy, Michael, and Jason, and congrats to me for not making a pun on the word "grossing."

From bits of Babel to new nightmares on Elm Street:

• While it might have seemed like Rinko Kikuchi dropped off the cinematic circuit after making waves with Babel, the young actress has kept busy and will soon be seen in the likes of The Brothers Bloom and Shanghai. But that's not all: The Hollywood Reporter posts that she's in talks for Isabel Coixet's next film, Map of the Sounds of Tokyo. A tale of dual identities, the film is said to focus on a fish-market worker who is also a contract killer. It's not clear whether she is that worker, or will have another part in the film. Whatever the case, it'll be nice to see Rinko in something new.
• In a completely different vein, there's a new rumor on Elm Street. Forget Smallville stars -- according to Ace Showbiz, the reigning nightmare king Robert Englund was on Loveline recently, and mentioned the new movie. He said he's heard talks about Billy Bob Thornton taking on the role. I must say -- that's completely out of left field, but I'm not hating the idea. How about you? Could Billy Bob be a good fit for the striped sweater?

Because I can't say it any better than the fans do themselves, I'm going straight to the quote:

We feel young hollywood actress Tara Reid deserves a role in the upcoming Platinum Dunes remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street. She is a very talented and intelligent actor, we feel a a major role, in a major film will help revive her acting career. We feel she would be a truly great addition to the cast. Please truly consider her for a part, and check out how many people would love to see her in you're film.

This is no joke. In fact, 848 friggin people have signed this petition, as of lunchtime, as I write this. Now I understand Tara Reid having fans, and even enjoying her work. However, I am endlessly amused when fans try to assign attributes that just don't fit, like "very talented and intelligent actor." Okay, maybe those 848 think she's talented, but do her roles, or personal life, make "intelligent" one of her main characteristics? Maybe she is, but that's certainly not what she presents to the public.

So, should Tara Reid get to travel to Elm Street, or should she just head back to Salem's Lot? (Her first acting gig was in A Return to Salem's Lot.)

[via JoBlo]

When an established character or film is finding new life in a remake, I find it very, very rare that I'm ever agreeable, let alone impressed, with who the casting honchos come up with. The last time I oohed, it was over Christian Bale in Batman Begins -- because my friend and I had spent one long car ride casting every superhero with their perfect actor/actress counterpart, and Bale was our Dark Knight pick. But this time, I didn't come up with the replacement, and while it's just a very vague rumor, I wouldn't mind it being fact.

A Cinema Blend source says that Michael Rosenbaum has been lunching with Michael Bay. The assumption: this could mean that he's talking with the director about the upcoming Nightmare on Elm Street remake. It's a huge guess, but it's one I'd be quite happy with. Oh yeah, and Rosenbaum is the baldie Lex Luthor in Smallville.

While I don't watch the show, I can completely see the actor take over Robert Englund's shoes -- and this is coming from someone who adores the series -- ever since I found my kid self at a Just the Ten of Us taping with a whole slew of Nightmare cast members. I loved the humor mashed in with creepiness and some absolutely ridiculous deaths -- like Brooke Theiss' demise by bug.

I think Rosenbaum could make it work, but what do you think?