The Sundance Flu, The Sundance Cold, The Sundance Fever ... how about The Sundance I Feel Like Complete Sh*t ...

Looks like J.J. Abrams does plan to go all Wonder Years for his Star Trek flick! Coming Soon reports that 11-year-old (about to be 12) Jimmy Bennett has landed a role as Young Kirk in Abrams' upcoming Star Trek film, due out at Christmas. Bennett has played a little kid in films like Hostage, Firewall, Poseidon and Evan Almighty. A young Spock will also be featured, leading this writer to believe both characters will appear in the film and talk about how much they "like, like" Winnie Cooper. Fingers crossed.

The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed (what was already previously reported) that New Line is in talks with Platinum Dunes to re-launch the franchise that helped secure their name as one of the big players in town, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form will produce, and a writer will be hired once the strike comes to an end. Since it's a full-out re-do, expect Robert Englund to not play Freddy Krueger, though we imagine he'll still have a role in the film (perhaps as part of Freddy's family). God bless the guy they get to fill his shoes; he'll have to convince tons of hardcore fans that he's the real deal. Dunes and New Line are also prepping a re-launch of the Friday the 13th franchise, with Marcus Nispel directing.

And finally, though it's not really a fanboy film (but I needed one more thing to throw in here, so cut me some slack), Moviehole reports that director Phillip Noyce has officially dropped out of that planned Amelia Earhart biopic starring Hilary Swank. MH spoke with Noyce, who gave the following reason for his departure: "I had worked on Amelia for 5 months from July to end of December 2007, finding all the locations and extensively storyboarding the flying sequences - When it didn't appear that the film was going ahead, I had to make a painful decision to move on and returned to a project that had long fascinated me... Mary Queen of Scots. Scarlett Johansson will play Mary in a film to be shot on location in Scotland, England and Ireland during 2008." Apparently Swank is still attached to the film, which we all thought was moving ahead as planned (script issues, maybe), so we'll keep you updated and let you know what happens.

You can't keep a good monster dead. Bloody Disgusting is reporting that New Line Cinema is "actively developing another Nightmare on Elm Street movie." Bloody Disgusting broke the news nearly two years ago that New Line was planning a prequel to the horror series that began in 1984; as Scott Weinberg posted, it would have covered "the back-story of the pre-dead Freddy Krueger, his unseemly relationship with numerous small children, and the neighborhood parents who strike back ... thereby creating an undead boogeyman who'll haunt them for the next 8 movies." Robert Englund, who played Freddy Krueger, and versatile director John McNaughton were attached to the project.

Those plans have reportedly been scrapped. Instead of an origin story, like the recent Halloween "re-imagination" perpetrated by Rob Zombie, the new Nightmare will be ... something else. New Line is throwing around ideas, apparently, without anything being locked down. Of course, with the ongoing writers' strike, they can't write anything down or have any writer pitch them anything. I imagine a roomful of bedraggled execs, some of whom have never seen any of the Nightmare movies, sitting around a big table, drinking stale coffee, and trying to come up with a new story line. "Can we send him into space in the future? How about if he terrorizes a big city? What if we do it from the POV of a bunch of kids with video cameras?"

In related Freddy Krueger news, Bloody Disgusting's source at New Line says that there are no immediate plans for a sequel to Freddy vs. Jason. Note: the emphasis is on "immediate," which sounds to me like they're putting this on the back burner and maybe allowing a few more years to pass before resurrecting the deranged duo.

If you have a teenager in your house, you already know they think everything their parents suggest is lame. Pop one of these flicks in the DVD player on family movie night, though, and you just might up your cool quotient a notch or two. Your teen is probably familiar with the more recent horror flicks that have come down the pike, but a marathon night of some of these films will show him that mom and dad know horror, too. Besides, every horror fan should have a basic knowledge of some of the old-school stuff. (And yeah, I know there are a lot of films I left off this list, but I could only pick seven, and these are my personal faves ... what are yours?)

Scream -- I can't say I'm a real horror girl, but if Scream had come out when I was a teenager, my friends and I would have watched it over and over again. It's fun, it's creative, it has (like so many great horror flicks) a scary killer in a mask. Who could the killer be? Half the fun of Scream is that the killer could be anyone -- after watching this film, your teen might just re-evaluate her own friends. Which of them might have the potential to be a psycho killer? You just never know.

Sure, it's easy enough to find the up-side of the handsome hunks of horror film. Hunks are easy. They're (mostly) hot, with their nicely whitened teeth and their hair product-styled to perfection, their six-pack abs, their ... sorry, where was I? Oh, right. Hunks versus Slashers. Jeff and Monika have already brought you the hottest hunks and chicks of horror; guess who drew the short straw and had to pick the slashers? (Actually, I volunteered for this one, so I guess that says something freaky about me ... ) My mission: to determine the hottest horror slashers (at least, according to me). These are the bad boys of horror you just can't stop thinking about, the ones who keep popping up in your dreams ... or nightmares. Whether they slash with blades on their fingers, roque mallets, or your basic kitchen knife, these are the boys you don't want to bring home to introduce to the folks over Sunday dinner ... unless you want your family to be the main course.

Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates (Psycho) My mother always told me: Never date a mama's boy. Little Normie's devotion to his mother was sweet, sure, but his methods of showing it left a little to be desired. But you have to admit, there's something about a guy who might stab you through the shower curtain if the mood strikes that guarantees that you'll never be bored while getting ready for your big date night. Anthony Perkins' striking performance as Norman Bates set the bar for horror slashers for decades -- even after all these years, watching Psycho still sends shivers up your spine. (View the trailer for Psycho or go straight to the gallery!)

Doug Bradley as Pinhead (Hellraiser) Sure, all those nails stuck into his skull give new meaning to the word "hammered" -- not to mention making it a little tricksy to coordinate outfits for those hot dates to movie premieres -- but at least, in his own bizarrely twisted way, Pinhead had a sense of fair play. Of course, if you make the wrong choice, your evening is gonna go downhill in a hurry. There's nothing like giant fishhooks pulling your flesh 14 different ways to put a damper on date night. On the plus side, though, you're probably pretty safe being walked home after dinner by a guy who looks like he had a close encounter with a nail gun, on purpose. (View the trailer for Hellraiser ... or go straight to the gallery!)

With Halloween right around the corner, there's nothing more appropriate than purchasing a prop from a horror movie. What better costume than one actually used in a film? What better haunted house than one featured on screen? There are probably a ton of auctions and sales out there for these kinds of things, and I already pointed you folks in the direction of those houses from A Nightmare on Elm Street and In Cold Blood, either (or both) of which could be yours. Now, our friends over at Autoblog have some info about eBay auctions for some famous cars from your favorite horror films. There are three of them up for grabs: the 1958 Fury from Christine; the Dodge van from the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; and the Cadillac Eldorado used in The Devil's Rejects (and The Bad News Bears).

The seller is the Volo Auto Museum, and they have a few non-horror movie cars available too, including the one from Wayne's World and one ridiculous boat used in The Flintstones. But since this season calls for frights, you should be thinking more about the three horror vehicles. Imagine one of them (or all) parked in front of your new Freddy Krueger house? I'm sure your neighbor would think twice about letting their dog poop on your front lawn.

I bet there are some real hardcore fans of A Nightmare on Elm Street who bought a house on Elm Street in their own town just to have that association. But if they wanted to be a REAL hardcore fan, they'd get a place on N. Genesee Avenue. More specifically, they'd get the place at 1428 N. Genesee Avenue in Los Angeles. For those of us who don't know everything Freddy Krueger, that address is the location of the house used in the Nightmare films, otherwise known as "Nancy's house." It has 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, a pool and a fireplace. And it is selling for just under $2 million. The ad for the home says it's a bit of a fixer (must be all the damage from Freddy) but "with some work this could be your Family Dream House." Right. Because the kids are really going to love living there. Of course, there are some twisted people out there, and I can envision a fan-couple moving in with their young daughters, who they make play jump rope on the front walkway.

As for anyone looking for a creepy home with a little more space, there's also the Clutter Home in Holcomb, Kansas. This home is available through a private auction and has the added creepiness factor of actually being a multiple murder site. Yes, I think it was featured in In Cold Blood (but maybe not in Capote or Infamous). However more than being a movie location, it's where the Clutter family were killed in the middle of the night by Perry Smith and Richard Hickcock. This "beautiful" property has 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and, "ample space for the children to work on 4-H projects and school activities."

Whichever of these you choose, you should start packing right away, because with Halloween right around the corner, you'll definitely want to do something extra scary for the trick-or-treaters (actually, the Clutter home probably isn't a popular trick-or-treat stop unless the Holcomb kids have good legs and not much interest in filling their candy bags).

Big fan of Freddy Krueger but way too young to have enjoyed his debut on the silver screen? (How I envy you.) Well here's some good news: On September 20th & 21st, Wes Craven's original A Nightmare on Elm Street just might be playing at a multiplex near you, complete with a brand-new digital upgrade AND a little featurette called "Freddy's Best Kills."

These screenings are, of course, promotional events for New Line's upcoming Elm Street Special Edition (which streets on September 26th), but if you're a horror fan who really enjoys the moviegoing experience, I highly recommend you buy a ticket or two. (DVDs are awesome and all, but there's nothing like seeing Freddy on the big screen!)

I've already snagged a pair of tickets to a Philadelphia screening, despite the fact that, yes, I was in attendance during Freddy's first opening weekend way back in 1984. That scene where Fred's arms get all stretched out and elongated ... yeah, that gave me nightmares for about a week. Plus, hey, it's a chance to see Johnny Depp's cinematic debut -- right before he gets sucked into Freddy's hell-bed!

So you thought that after buying that 8-disc mega-huge DVD set a few years back that you were done giving Freddy Krueger your DVD dollars? Well, HA to that, says New Line Cinema, who'll soon be offering us an all-new Infinifilm Edition of Wes Craven's original A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Boasting new documentaries, featurettes, and the cinematicus-interruptus goodness that is Infinifilm, the new-fangled Elm Street DVD will hit the shelves on September 26th. No word on the sequels just yet, but if sales are good, you just know you'll be forking out another 16 bucks when The Dream Child: Infinifilm shows up. Us horror fans are so damn loyal it makes the studio marketing brigades just drool out loud.

Also in New Line news, as Martha reported back in April, the Final Destination 3 DVD will allow you to jumble the movie up and watch it in whatever order you wish, a new feature that must just freakin' thrill the MPEG to no end.

OK, I shouldn't make jokes about this story, because a guy was actually stabbed by a fruitcake wearing a Freddy Krueger outfit ... and when I say "outfit," I mean the glove too. Yeah, the glove that has knives for fingers. A West Coast moron strapped one of those on, wandered onto Hollywood Boulevard, and stabbed some poor tourist with it.

The AP reports that some silly pseudo-Fred (aka Joseph Zachary, aged 25) stabbed a 37-year-old man just down the street from Grauman's Chinese Theater before getting booked, arrested, and justifiably humiliated. There's really not much of a story here, but it's still slightly more entertaining than Part 5: The Dream Child.

Watch Wes Craven get sued for this.

This should come as no surprise to anyone who hangs in the horror end of the movie pool, but New Line is apparently gearing up to give us an all-new Freddy Krueger misadventure. No, not another sequel or an odd little experiment like New Nightmare -- but a prequel that plans to cover the back-story of the pre-dead Freddy Krueger, his unseemly relationship with numerous small children, and the neighborhood parents who strike back ... thereby creating an undead boogeyman who'll haunt them for the next 8 movies.

Those never-slumbering horror geeks at BD.com got word recently that a director has been chosen for this project, an admired and established filmmaker who is certainly no stranger to scary cinema. And that director is ... John McNaughton, the filmmaker who debuted with the undeniably creepy Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer before moving on to crime dramas (Mad Dog & Glory), pulpy sex thrillers (Wild Things), and comedies so bad they never saw a stateside theatrical release (Speaking of Sex). No word yet on screenwriters, release dates, or cast additions, but McNaughton and Robert Englund (Krueger, Fred Krueger) are apparently already on board.

So ... Jason and Freddy do battle in their combo movie, and then each of the beloved slashers get their own "origin story" prequel. Smart move, if only from a "squeezing the last drops of blood from two popular franchises" perspective.