Let's Talk About Rebooting A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and FRIDAY THE 13TH

The spark nostalgia is hidden deep within the foundation of horror franchises like A Nightmare On Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Child’s Play. Fans are constantly chomping at the bit for a taste of something new and familiar, and with Halloween (2018) on the horizon and development plans for a new Child’s Play TV series in the works, fans are getting that taste.

With Halloween and Child’s Play receiving new attention, the faint cries of, "What about me?," can be heard from the development hells of both the Nightmare and Friday film series. Through various comic book adaptations, e.g. Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Ash vs. Jason vs. Freddy, and videogame properties like Mortal Kombat and Friday the 13th: The Game these franchises have managed to live on and keep hope alive for some fans. However, the wanting of a new movie has not subsided, and fans are still wondering both when and how their beloved slashers will once again grace the silver screen.

Fans have already been down reboot alley once before, and were left lying cold and bloody in a gutter of mediocrity. Friday the 13th (2009) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) contained pieces of greatness, but fell short of fans’ expectations. The question then, given the history of both franchises, how does one go about rebooting these iconic characters, but without bringing on Star Wars Fans level of hate? 

I believe the key to rebooting these long standing franchises is to preserve the spirit of the characters, and the history and/or legacy of the franchises. Preserving the spirit of a character, you think, would be an easy task. With so many other films to pull and learn from, any competent writer, director, and/or producer should be able to zero in on what makes a character accessible and memorable. Freddy, Jason, and even Leatherface are each iconic in their own way, a way that makes preserving nostalgia possible. Freddy has his glove, sweater and hat, Jason has his iconic hockey mask and machete, and Leatherface has his apron, chainsaw, and...well somebody’s face. Combine these iconic physical characteristics with character traits from past films and you should be able to bring them to life. With this remark, I think the less popular films of each franchise should be left on the cutting room floor. For example, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning is a great film for fleshing out the character of Tommy Jarvis, but not for Jason Voorhees. There is so much that can be said and debated regarding how to preserve the iconic nature of these slashers that I will save any further remarks for the comments section. 

When it comes to preserving the history and/or legacy of a franchise there are many different storytelling avenues that a rebooted film franchise can take. The history of the franchise can be ignored, while a character’s legacy is explained through rumors, campfire stories, myths, and tales of old. Or, the history and legacy can be preserved as one entity and in the form of an epic that keeps on spinning. I think utilizing the idea of myth allows for one generation’s story to be passed onto the next without leaving too much of a character behind. However, if not done correctly then a character’s legacy can be lost as well. To give two examples of how to do this properly I look to the Child’s Play films and Halloween (2018). Love or hate the latest Child’s Play films, the one aspect that continues to drive that series forward, aside from the wonderful voice work of Brad Dourif, is how the series preserves the history and legacy of franchise. Halloween (2018) on the other hand, addresses the history and chooses to focus on the legacy of the characters in the films. In the latest trailer, Allyson Strode states with regards to Laurie Strode: “[Michael Myers] was not her brother, that's something that people made up.” Die-hard fans of the Halloween franchise might hate this dismissal of the franchise's history, but the legacy of the films is preserved in the spirit of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode. Michael retains his iconic look and rage, while Strode has morphed into a personification of Dr. Loomis. Thus, by taking this route, the new Halloween film can move forward without tripping over the remains of the other Halloween sequels and reboots.

If you have made it this far, then I will leave you with my thoughts for rebooting A Nightmare On Elm Street and Friday the 13th. I think Robert Englund’s idea for a new A Nightmare on Elm Street film, as expressed in a recent GeekTyrant article, manages to capture the legacy of Freddy Krueger. The history of the film franchise can be regulated to myth, or maintained in the film through character dialogue in the form of hush whispers about the bogeyman that lurks in people’s dreams, hunting for their souls. Thanks to the internet in this new world the story of Freddy Krueger is given new life and allowed to take a global approach forcing our intended victims to ban together and find a new way to stop Krueger’s legacy of terror. The history of the character can be ignored altogether, or verbally acknowledged by the characters or Krueger himself.

As for Friday the 13th, I think there are two ways the series could move forward. The more controversial of the two ways involves a retelling of the entire franchise from the perspective of Jason Voorhees. Think Old Man Logan with Jason Voorhees as he struggles to free himself from the clutches of the film’s antagonist, the Lake. Stay with me here. Using voice over narration the audience is given privy to Jason’s thoughts and feelings. Jason is revealed to be a tool of a cursed Lake that is in actuality a gateway to Hell. Jason as a boy was an innocent that was taken by, and then forced to be the Lake’s guardian and executioner, reaping souls endlessly. Jason’s forced servitude eventually gives way to anger and rage turning him into a mindless servant until he is reawakened. Similar to Logan in Old Man Logan, Jason can be both sympathized with and feared. At the same time, this point of view narration would allow the film to unite all the best parts of the film franchise while explaining away the bad. For example, after Part VIII Jason is left to rest while a copycat demon continues his legacy in the ninth film. Thus, Jason Goes to Hell, a film that is at times shunned by the fandom, does not focus on Jason, but actually focuses on this copycat demon. The end of that film would serve as connective tissue to Freddy vs Jason, and the copycat demon would be what ultimately inspired Freddy to revive the real Jason as a way to preserve his own legacy. 

If this unique take on the character and franchise does not strike your fancy, then rebooting the franchise with Jason’s father and an older Tommy Jarvis might be the answer. These two characters each have a connection to Jason, and serve as the audience's introduction into the franchise’s history. The two characters unite to stop Jason who is continuing his hunt for new victims. Eventually, a collection of cannon fodder along with two older characters are trapped at Camp Crystal Lake trying to survive Jason’s onslaught.

I have some ideas for how to preserve the history of the Halloween franchise as well, but that might be an article for another day.

Sound off in the comments with your own thoughts!

Guest Article By Joseph Fridley (@brother_fridley)