Wednesday, March 31

New Weekly Poll...of terror: The Obvious Question...

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Even though this has been one of the hottest questions spanning all of horrordom for months, I'm curious what BoGD's meager readership think of Jackie Earle Haley taking the reins as Freddy Krueger. By the picture to your left, my stance is obvious. Robert Englund is Fred Krueger and will forever be the '80s horror icon. It seems Englund is okay with a new actor slipping into his knifed leather glove, but that doesn't make the situation any less of a fresh load of bullshit. It just doesn't make any sense to this uneducated horror blogger. Horror fans want Englund and average moviegoers probably haven't seen any of the original series with their only exposure being Freddy vs. Jason. Yes, Freddy was his usual one liners shot from the hip-self in that ultimately so-so wet dream mash-up, but said movie-goer isn't going to equate Englund with a "jokester" rendition of the character. They probably have the perception of the old films or at least Freddy in general being a frightening guy much like Jason or Leatherface irrespective of the man behind the mask.

Saying this, one could then say it doesn't matter who plays Freddy, but why not go with the man who can play the character in his sleep? Sure, Englund is getting up there in age, but Haley isn't a spring chicken. Krueger isn't known for big top acrobatics as he's slicing up Elm Street's hapless next youth generation anyway. Englund is an actor with underappreciated range, much like Haley, but you can't tell me you wouldn't relish the chance to see the man who is synonymous with Freddy re-interpret the core of the character--new make-up or not. I'm sure Englund would have gave it his all, like a damn swan song, and created a stir with longtime fans and critics alike. Yet no, we won't have that experience. I also vaguely remember a big horror news site making the editorial argument that every generation "re-imagines" endearing horror mainstays, like the ever-reoccurring golden age monsters of Universal Studios. Freddy Krueger is a bit different, being ingrained with such a high percentage of what Englund has crafted from his trademark voice to mannerisms, it's damn near impossible to make such an argument. Not to mention Englund still being very much alive and active as an actor. So why fucking not? Right?

Perhaps Haley will rain down the undead serial child rapist/killer who looks like a turtle domination on us all? Though given the fleeting, Bay trampstamped nature of these recent big horror franchise updates (what happened in the last Friday the 13th again?), it's not hard to figure Haley probably doing a couple Nightmares to diminishing returns while fading off into other genres for "real" fame and fortune. Yet, Englund has stayed with the genre and its slavish fans that made him what he is today. Fat chance of seeing Haley running the horror convention circuit for the sake of the franchise's fans in fifteen years...
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7 comments:

forestofthedead said...

Man this a tough one. While I respect your opinion, I am a huge Englund fan, I'm OK with someone else being Freddy. But excellent statement of your views sir.

AK said...

Likewise for me.The only NOES film that I found scary was the first--as soon as Freddy became a standup comedian, it was kind of over for me. I mean, seriously, dude was a CHILD KILLER-it should have been scary!You make great points, tho-and kudos to Mr. Englund for knowing just how important Krueger has been to his career and being gracious about it. If some of the rumors I've heard about the remake are true (that Freddy wasn't a child molester after all and that he's getting revenge on the teens who lied about that as children) that could be an interesting turnabout. It just seems more logical to me. But I get where you're coming from--we're all getting so sick of remakes (horror and non)that shit all over the originals...

Aylmer said...

I'm not a fan of these glossy platinum dunes remakes, so even though I love NOES, I just don't have anything invested in this. My expectations couldn't be lower so any positives will be a bonus. I loved Haley in Watchmen and he was good in Little Children too, so perhaps he'll surprise us. My biggest problem so far is the new makeup. It doesn't look as expressive as Englund's.

Unknown said...

unfrigginbelievable that they aren't keeping Englund. I am with you 100%. This new one is going to suck monkey balls.

Unknown said...

I, for one, am in favor of a jester Freddy. Dreams themselves are outlandish and no holds bar, so why take them seriously? Freddy doesn't and he slices and dices up teens with a joke or two. The first NOES was all about trying to be frightening, much like Rami's Evil Dead, and once the sequels expanded into a dark comedy/dream slasher, NOES was turned into something that was afar from Halloween and Friday the 13th.

Haley is a great actor and I can not wait to see his portrayal of Krueger, but Bay and company are taking the serious route much like Craven did with the first film. I'm so use to funny Freddy, that I don't know if I can my brain can handle a serious one. Englund should have helmed this one as for as you said he is still alive and active. The makeup wouldn't be any less worse, but I guess produces feel his age is a tremendous factor and with the reboot of a franchise comes changes and they opted to fresh face (and probably a cheaper one too perhaps). I guess we shall wait and see...

Buscemi said...

Actually Jay, Englund wanted out of the series. I guess he didn't want people to think of him as just Freddy anymore.

Anonymous said...

If I had to choose, I would say stick with Englund, but Haley is one of my favorite actors and I'm glad that they chose him.

...do you dare tread upon the staircase?

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