FreddyKrueger

Growing up Freddy wasn't cheap, but the allure of his sinister voice and pizza face kept us coming back for more. Throughout the years there were some cuckoo products and marketing strategies to promote the five-fingered fiend, some of which you can check out after the jump. Until we can determine if Samuel Bayer's Nightmare on Elm Street remake is a complete disaster or not, enjoy this little stroll down Elm Street.

By William Goss

Several journalists were invited to the Chicago-based set of Platinum Dunes' remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street last June, and at this point, we're all standing in the trailer where an uncomfortable Jackie Earle Haley has been sitting for the better part of what will take more than three hours.

"We've gotten [the process] down to three hours and twenty [minutes]," said make-up artist Andrew Clement. "Every day, we shave a couple minutes off of it. It had started at six hours; we were working it all out, didn't have the coloring and all of our choices done, so it was just seeing what it was all about."

When asked if he ever wanted to just run around the neighborhood with the make-up on, the future Freddy Krueger said no. "There is a strong temptation to just rip it off my face, though."

It's well documented that I have a problem. For years, I've fought the collecting urge. GI Joe toys, Star Wars figures, horror DVD's, video games - you name it. I was never satisfied until I had it all. It's that same mania that compels me to watch any and all horror movies that I come across. I'm a completist. It's a sickness and for years I've fought it - especially with toys. Fortunately, I've mostly bucked that desire, but it took nothing short of being locked in a room with Renton while my torn-out-of-the-box 'The Thing' toy crawled along the ceiling and I vomited into a bucket. Well, the obsession peddlers at NECA aren't making it any easier.

Previously, they revealed some crispy delicious Freddy toys for the remake of'A Nightmare on Elm Street'. Dread Central has some shiny closeups of the goodies. As is to be expected, the details are uncanny. The likeness is unmistakable. It's really selling me on the new look to our favorite bastard son of 100 maniacs. The flared nostrils, the withered lips. That is what a homicidal burn victim should look like.

Now from the 2010 Toy Fair, it looks like they're not just bringing back their spectacular replica glove, but they're finally doing it - the animated marionette from Dream Warriors. For those of you who don't remember, I believe it was Phillip, one of Freddy's many victims in the 3rd installment, who carved little puppets in his spare time in the asylum. In one of the spotlight effects of the film, this little homunculus comes to life, cuts his strings, and raises hell. I can't wait to hang one above my bed.


Thank God they didn't have NECA when I was a kid. Otherwise, I would have driven my parents up the damned wall.

If you love Fred then you will want to visit The Elm Street Legacy official website to browse a dreamscape of behind-the-scene Nightmare on Elm Street goodies. Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, directed by Daniel Farrands and Andrew Kasch, will be delving deep into the world Wes Craven created in 1984. The film spawned an entire franchise about everyone's favorite bastard son of a hundred maniacs, who we'll be able to see again on April 30 in the Platiun Dunes remake.

From the website:

In this thrilling retrospective, fans will enter the world of Freddy Krueger and A Nightmare On Elm Street like never before: exploring what spurred mastermind Wes Craven to craft the first groundbreaking film; delving deep behind the scenes of the original and all of its sequels; learning how the cast and crew brought their worst nightmares to life; and finally, understanding the impact the series and its mythos have had on modern pop culture and the horror genre.

Narrated by and starring Heather Langenkamp, featuring interviews with the cast and crew spanning every film, and loaded with clips, photographs, storyboards, conceptual art, publicity materials, archival documents and behind-the-scenes footage, Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy is the definitive account of what many have called the best, most frightening and imaginative horror franchise in motion picture history.

You'll probably notice some familiar names behind this project including some of the gang at Dread Central. Heather Langenkamp is also serving as executive-producer for the doc which is expected to be released the same month as the remake. You can visit the Legacy website or follow them on Twitter to keep up with everything. While you're there, follow the Horror Squad as well. We're easy and can be lured into the house at 1428 Elm Street with candy.

Santa Claws didn't come for someone this year. The UK Border Agency seized a package containing a Freddy Krueger claw-like weapon at Coventry's international postal hub this morning. The claws look like a bad ass combination of brass knuckles and knife blades. In other news, movie geeks everywhere debate that the claws are more Wolverine than Freddy Krueger.

I think knives are nifty too but I'm not so sure about this. "Just gonna use these to slice someone to shreds. No big deal."

Although the border staff is used to discovering weapons, drugs (most recently a boat load of fake Viagra) and other restricted items on a regular basis, I'm sure these razor sharp claws won't be forgotten any time soon. The agency was created in 2008 and is responsible for the safety of UK borders and controlling migration.

I would have put this post under the 'Lunatic Made' category, but, oh, we didn't have one.

Brad Fuller wrote about the Nightmare on Elm Street reshoot on the Bloody-Disgusting Platinum Dunes blog the other day, but left fans in the dark about what exactly is being reshot. "I don't want to get specific about what we are shooting, but suffice to say we heard you. After you've seen the film we can discuss what was reshot," said Fuller. Reshoots aren't always a big deal, but overall I'm nervous about the hype on this remake. Fuller is in full defense mode, early reviews were menza mez and The Friday the 13th remake wasn't horrible, but I'm not a fan of the other stuff PD has been putting out.

So, for today I'm just going to forget all about this NOES news and remember the man behind it all--Freddy Krueger. Leave your remake worries and woes behind and let's all enjoy some songs about Fred. After the jump are a few videos by friends of Freddy who think he's the cat's pajamas and wanted to spread the love.

Stormtroopers of Death (S.O.D.) is a N.Y.C. based hardcore/thrash band who has enjoyed a career of questionable lyrics intended to piss people off. The song Freddy Krueger is from their Speak English or Die album, part of which was MTV's Headbanger's Ball theme for a while. Reuben is a UK, mustache happy alt rock group whose 2004 song Freddy Kreuger (intentional spelling) reached #53 on UK charts. I've also included a little ditty a fan boy wrote for his lady friend to scare her. Aw--love. Lyrics on YouTube if interested. Last but not least, I didn't forget about Dokken, the metal band who recorded a song for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, called (you guessed it!) Dream Warriors. Respect the hair.

Everyone who has ever owned a red and green striped sweater has at one point in their life contemplated dressing up as Freddy Krueger for Halloween. But while some think that all they need is a sweater and a make-shift claw, there's a lot more that goes into a clever Krueger Halloween costume -- and last thing you want is for your sorry ass to bumble into a costume party and have everyone go, "Soooo, you're dressed up as ... Santa's mutilated bastard child?"

For that reason (and for that reason alone), we here at Horror Squad have decided to pull together the 10 worst Freddy Krueger costumes we could find online so that this year on Halloween, none of our faithful readers will embarrass themselves (not to mention one of horror's greatest all-time villains) by wearing some half-assed Krueger get-up.

Check them out after the jump.

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:

We asked, and you delivered. After counting more than 100,000 votes, we can reveal the winners of our super-duper, stunningly creative Ultimate Fan Polls! (Cue drum roll.) May I have the envelopes, please?

Winners of The Ultimate Horror Movie Fan Poll:

1. What is the best horror movie franchise of all time? Nightmare on Elm Street.
2. Which horror movie classic deserves a reboot? Poltergeist (narrowly edging The Shining).
3. Who is the best all-time scream queen? Jamie Lee Curtis (with a decisive 51% of the vote).
4. Who is your favorite slasher of all time? Freddy Krueger.
5. Who would you like to see take a turn as a scream queen? Megan Fox (ahem).

Winners of The Ultimate Sci-Fi Fan Poll:

1. What is the best sci-fi movie franchise of all time? Star Wars (decisively).
2. What is the best sci-fi film of 2009 so far? Star Trek (with 69% of the vote; no robots for you).
3. What is your most anticipated upcoming sci-fi film? District 9 (beating out Avatar).
4. Who is the all-time best sci-fi action heroine? Ripley (Alien).
5. What is the greatest all-time sci-fi creature/alien? Alien (Alien). (Sorry, Chewbacca.)

Big thanks to everybody who voted. You can view all the nominees and the breakdown of votes at Horror Squad and Sci-Fi Squad. In addition, Reuters has a nice story on the poll results. I'm glad to see Jamie Lee Curtis recognized for her multiple roles, but a bit startled that the Star Wars franchise still holds sway. Any big surprises for you? Outrage? Joy?

From Cinematical:

As first looks go, it's remarkably ... minimal. The first image of Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger in the upcoming A Nightmare on Elm Street has been released, showing a shadowy Freddy ready for action. The full image is available at Trailer Park (with another one arriving on IGN later today we're told).

Having in mind that this is strictly a teaser pic, with more on the way, I like it. It's got Freddy's signature sweater, his signature hat, and his signature knife-claws. Freddy's face is in the shadows, but that can wait for a later reveal. To be frank, I haven't been terribly enthusiastic about this remake / re-imagining, but Haley has been very good in his recent roles, especially in Watchmen.

Add to that the positive feelings emanating from the brief report by William Goss this morning, in which Haley acknowledged the challenge of stepping into the child-killing shoes of Robert Englund, and producer Andrew Form indicated that the new Nightmare would indeed try to be "terrifying" and "unsettling." The original series of Nightmare films devolved from scary to slick to stupid, so at least they're heading in the right direction. And with Haley, there's a chance that he can bring an added dimension, beyond what Englund would have brought to the role as such a familiar icon.

A Nightmare on Elm Street heads to theaters next April.