Robert Englund Says That He Really Didn't Care for the "Elm Street" Reboot - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 02-23-2012, 04:35 PM

Robert Englund: An Exclusive Interview
February 22, 2012
by Aaron Williams

Did you like the Nightmare On Elm Street reboot? What did you think of Jackie Earle Haley's take on Freddy?

I thought the movie was a little cold. We weren't really given time to see the kids when they were normal, before they were frantic and haunted by Freddy. That made it harder to connect with them, harder to care what happened to them.

Haley made Freddy his own. I think the change to a more "realist" burn make-up with melted features took a lot of the strength away from the character. The strong nose and chin in the make-up I wore gives Freddy presence and power.

And I played Freddy as if he liked being evil, he liked his work. Jackie went a different way.

Krueger changed drastically over the course of the sequels - from dark villain to wise cracking anti hero. What are your feelings on the gradual change?

The change in the way Freddy was written was a response to fans' appreciation of Freddy's evil humor. I think we sort of jumped the shark in number six, but returned to the form for New Nightmare.

Do you have a favorite Elm Street chapter? Least favorite?

New Nightmare is my favorite for a couple of reasons. I think it stands the test of time, a fun reunion with original cast members like Heather and John Saxon. Wes's script is clever and original, the self-referencial horror story.

The first sequel had flaws. Nightmare 2 broke the rules by bringing Freddy out of the dream and into the real world.

Freddy vs. Jason?

That was conceived as a graphic novel so my acting accentuates that.

And yes, throwing down with that big dog Ken Kirzinger was harder than fight scenes with little Heather.

Full Interview Here - http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news...sive-interview

Retro4Life · 02-23-2012, 08:52 PM

This may be the last truly iconic actor/monster pairing, ala Lon Chaney/Wolfman, Bela Lugosi/Dracula and Boris Karloff/The Frankenstein Monster.

Several of the NOES films were 'meh', but even in those, Englund brought real class and energy and menace to the roles. He hammed it up, for sure, but he loved playing the role and wow, did he seem irredeemably evil in them!

I disagree with the 'anti-hero' thing. He was always evil, the only problem was that at times the kids he was after were so bland you weren't invested enough to care if he killed them. That wasn't an issue in the original, part 3, or New Nightmare (and possibly the Jason mashup).

JamesG · 02-23-2012, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

This may be the last truly iconic actor/monster pairing, ala Lon Chaney/Wolfman, Bela Lugosi/Dracula and Boris Karloff/The Frankenstein Monster.

Several of the NOES films were 'meh', but even in those, Englund brought real class and energy and menace to the roles. He hammed it up, for sure, but he loved playing the role and wow, did he seem irredeemably evil in them!

I disagree with the 'anti-hero' thing. He was always evil, the only problem was that at times the kids he was after were so bland you weren't invested enough to care if he killed them. That wasn't an issue in the original, part 3, or New Nightmare (and possibly the Jason mashup).

I think the anti-hero thing in this context refers to the fans embracing Freddy and rooting for him. It's similar to other horror villains that have been embraced like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Hannibal Lecter...

Some fans want these villains to succeed at what they are doing, thus they become "anti-heroes".

I admit I haven't seen the Elm Street sequels in a long time, so I am a bit fuzzy with the details. I LOVE the original A Nightmare on Elm Street.

BTW, have you seen the reboot? I really didn't care for it, I saw it back when it came out.

Retro4Life · 02-24-2012, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesG

I think the anti-hero thing in this context refers to the fans embracing Freddy and rooting for him. It's similar to other horror villains that have been embraced like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Hannibal Lecter...

Some fans want these villains to succeed at what they are doing, thus they become "anti-heroes".

I admit I haven't seen the Elm Street sequels in a long time, so I am a bit fuzzy with the details. I LOVE the original A Nightmare on Elm Street.

BTW, have you seen the reboot? I really didn't care for it, I saw it back when it came out.

Never saw the reboot. When the original is an iconic and successful as this one, there's no need whatsoever for a new version since you can't improve upon it.

Stephen King said that once you have sequels where you are actually "rooting" for the monsters, that's when he gets uncomfortable, and I agree. At that point you kind of sacrifice a little bit of your humanity, though to be fair some of it is due to the flat and unimaginative characters they line up for the monsters to kill. When you have interesting, smart and likeable characters as in the original and the others I listed, I think even the more morbid among us would have a hard time pulling for the monster.

Just my two cents.

JamesG · 02-24-2012, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

Stephen King said that once you have sequels where you are actually "rooting" for the monsters, that's when he gets uncomfortable, and I agree. At that point you kind of sacrifice a little bit of your humanity, though to be fair some of it is due to the flat and unimaginative characters they line up for the monsters to kill. When you have interesting, smart and likeable characters as in the original and the others I listed, I think even the more morbid among us would have a hard time pulling for the monster.

Just my two cents.

Yeah, I think that when the villains become the most exciting character on-screen compared to the flat and undeveloped victims, then people will be rooting for them.

However, this is all for entertainment, and I don't think that most people who root for on-screen baddies support real-life violence. I don't but I also don't speak for everybody. People also root for wrestling heels (the bad guys) all the time, it's just part of the fun.

A really good movie that addresses this concept is Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects.

The Firefly family are rapists, torturers, murderers... and the movie makes you feel sympathy for them and makes you question why you feel that way despite knowing what they do.

The film has a twisted concept on family always sticking together. Rob Zombie is a brilliant film-maker.

02-23-2012, 04:35 PM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,140	Robert Englund Says That He Really Didn't Care for the "Elm Street" Reboot Robert Englund: An Exclusive Interview February 22, 2012 by Aaron Williams *Did you like the Nightmare On Elm Street* reboot? What did you think of Jackie Earle Haley's take on Freddy? I thought the movie was a little cold. We weren't really given time to see the kids when they were normal, before they were frantic and haunted by Freddy. That made it harder to connect with them, harder to care what happened to them. Haley made Freddy his own. I think the change to a more "realist" burn make-up with melted features took a lot of the strength away from the character. The strong nose and chin in the make-up I wore gives Freddy presence and power. And I played Freddy as if he liked being evil, he liked his work. Jackie went a different way. Krueger changed drastically over the course of the sequels - from dark villain to wise cracking anti hero. What are your feelings on the gradual change?** The change in the way Freddy was written was a response to fans' appreciation of Freddy's evil humor. I think we sort of jumped the shark in number six, but returned to the form for New Nightmare. *Do you have a favorite Elm Street* chapter? Least favorite?** New Nightmare is my favorite for a couple of reasons. I think it stands the test of time, a fun reunion with original cast members like Heather and John Saxon. Wes's script is clever and original, the self-referencial horror story. The first sequel had flaws. Nightmare 2 broke the rules by bringing Freddy out of the dream and into the real world. Freddy vs. Jason? That was conceived as a graphic novel so my acting accentuates that. And yes, throwing down with that big dog Ken Kirzinger was harder than fight scenes with little Heather. Full Interview Here - http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news...sive-interview Attached Images

02-23-2012, 08:52 PM	#2
Retro4Life Accept No Substitutes Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 04, 2009 Location: IL Posts: 6,708	This may be the last truly iconic actor/monster pairing, ala Lon Chaney/Wolfman, Bela Lugosi/Dracula and Boris Karloff/The Frankenstein Monster. Several of the NOES films were 'meh', but even in those, Englund brought real class and energy and menace to the roles. He hammed it up, for sure, but he loved playing the role and wow, did he seem irredeemably evil in them! I disagree with the 'anti-hero' thing. He was always evil, the only problem was that at times the kids he was after were so bland you weren't invested enough to care if he killed them. That wasn't an issue in the original, part 3, or New Nightmare (and possibly the Jason mashup).
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