With the news that a new ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ movie is on the way, Matt Konopka looks at six filmmakers who could be up for the task.
I’ll admit, Barker seems like maybe too obvious a choice, but I don’t care. With Obsession, the young filmmaker proved he clearly has a finger on the pulse of Gen Z. And if Nightmare is going to be done right, it needs a director who can connect to the target audience.
Listen, I know I just said age shouldn’t matter, but sometimes, it does. Barker is the youngest filmmaker mentioned on this list by a good handful of years, and he just unleashed one of the most successful horror films of all time in Obsession, a film about Gen-Z dating. Of course, Paramount is going to consider that when deciding who should helm their teen slasher movie. Barker proved he can deliver mean and nasty horror with an infusion of dark humor…all things that go hand in hand with Freddy. He’s already expressed interest in making a Nightmare movie, and this could be a dream pairing. Sure, Barker may already be attached to another big franchise with Texas Chain Saw, but that shouldn’t stop him from resurrecting everyone’s favorite dream demon if he so chooses.
Panos only emerges with a new project every handful of years or so, like some cryptid, but every time he does, it’s a banger. Beyond the Black Rainbow, Mandy, his episode of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, “The Viewing”. All of them strange, unsettling, and surreal. A perfect fit for the world of A Nightmare on Elm Street.
When I think of Nightmare, I think of horror without limits. Set in dream worlds, these are stories that can go anywhere, do anything. And Cosmatos is a filmmaker who traffics in limitless possibilities. For example, Mandy defies explanation. Like a bad dream itself, it’s at once hypnotic and eerie, visually stunning and disturbing. As Renny Harlin did with Nightmare 4, I could see Cosmatos delivering a neon-soaked trip to Freddy’s house of horror.
Maybe I’ll change my mind if Finn’s Possession remake turns out to be a disaster (I doubt it will be), but even if it is, that won’t change the fact that few horror films have unnerved me in recent years as deeply as his Smile movies.
Smile had its issues, but Smile 2 marked a filmmaker becoming more confident behind the camera, with an intriguing talent not yet fully tapped. With his sequel, Finn crafted a tale oozing with nightmarish imagery. It burrows deep beneath the flesh and makes it shudder. Each film gave Finn plenty of experience in blending reality with tricks of the mind, and that’s essential for a Nightmare movie. More than that, each film delves deep into themes of suicide. While we could argue about Smile’s handling of the subject, we’d probably agree that Smile 2 does a much better job with the issue. Why that matters is that the topic is often at the heart of Elm Street, with Freddy a sort of metaphor for the epidemic of teen suicides. I’m thinking something with the psychological aspect of Nightmare 2, but in the talented hands of Finn.
Jennifer Kent has been referenced many times over the years as someone who could make a terrifying Nightmare movie. I’m not willing to break the trend on this one, because I wholeheartedly agree.
Like Cosmatos, the writer/director behind The Babadook hasn’t gotten behind the camera too often over the last decade or so, but every time she does, it’s a project to remember. Not that that matters. Her debut feature was all I needed to see to make me a believer. The Babadook itself deals with a sort of dream demon, one that haunts the psychological nightmares of protagonist Amelia (Essie Davis). In Kent’s hands, I imagine the filmmaker taking Freddy back to his roots. A shadowy, almost incomprehensible figure unbound by reality. As seen in all of her work, she has no issue with reaching deep into the sort of darkness inherent in Freddy, either. With Kent resurrecting the nightmare stalker, Freddy could be truly scary once again.
Over the years, Jordan Peele has referenced Elm Street many times as one of his favorite horror movies. And he’s a no-brainer to unleash a new Freddy.
Get Out, Us, Nope… every time Peele steps behind the camera, he returns with something unlike anything else out there. All three reflect a perfect blend of horror and comedy, essential to what a Nightmare film requires if you want to unleash the sort of wisecracking yet scary Freddy that fans expect. What also intrigues me about this choice is that, outside of a few exceptions, the Nightmare franchise hasn’t been too kind to non-white characters (justice for Nightmare 4’s Sheila, aka Toy Newkirk). Hell, even Kincaid (Ken Sagoes) is the first to go in Nightmare 4 after surviving Dream Warriors. I have to imagine Peele would change that. This franchise has done the rich, white teen thing enough. With his tendency to dive into complex issues of race and sociopolitics in America, expect Peele to give us a fresh look at Freddy and his effect on society as a whole. Just look at what he did with C.H.U.D. and its unofficial remake, Us.
Listen, I’m always going to have at least one out-of-left-field pick in my lists. And in no universe am I going to miss a chance to suggest one of my current favorite filmmakers take the reins of my favorite horror franchise.
Nightmare isn’t going to be the same without Wes Craven or Robert Englund. You can’t just slap a green and red sweater on a guy and expect it to work. Hiring Schoenbrun would set Nightmare on a transgressive new path that would be anything but basic. Each time Schoenbrun sets out behind the camera, they deliver something wholly unique and unlike anything else in existence. That’s what Nightmare needs. A filmmaker willing to take risks, one who will take the property and mold it into something none of us expect. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma already laid the groundwork for what that could look like, itself an unexpected take on slashers like Friday the 13th. Plus, Schoenbrun often leans towards stories that explore both media and the trappings of our own bodies. What better fit, then, than to pair the filmmaker with Freddy, a demon who turns the body and its need to sleep against the victim. I could see Schoenbrun giving us something queer and punk AF in the vein of Dream Warriors. Sign me up.