A 'Nightmare on Elm Street', The Documentary

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:

"The Nightmare series has long been regarded as the most high-brow and creative of the mega horror franchises, so our goal is to make a film that reflects those qualities. While His Name Was Jason was campy and off-the-wall, this documentary will offer a serious chronological account of the creative process – the hardships and triumphs behind one of Hollywood's most iconic characters. Above all else, this is not a fluff or promotional piece for the upcoming remake but rather will focus on the original series of films that began with Wes Craven's 1984 classic."

And if that's not enough of a statement of comprehensive confidence, the press release over at Dread Central confirms that the DVD of Never Sleep Again will include an extra four hours of coverage as well as Heather Langencamp's very own documentary, I Am Nancy. By my count, that'll equate to roughly 8 hours of Nightmare on Elm Street coverage come the spring of 2010.

Is there any particular bit of Elm Street historical lore you'd like to see exposed within? Personally, I wanna see a recording session for Dokken's titular theme song Dream Warriors. Because if this video doesn't get your blood pumping, you are dead to me.



For those who would like to track the Never Sleep Again progress, there is an official site, as well as pages on both MySpace and the Book of Faces.