In a move that should surprise no one, New Line has announced a partnership with Michael Bay‘s Platinum Dunes banner to reboot the Nightmare on Elm Street series.
In reporting the move, Variety notes that the Nightmare films were New Line’s most successful franchise until Lord of the Rings came along, which is mildly surprising until you stop to consider that the studio pumped eight sequels out of 1984’s original Elm Street picture, and none of them were exactly big-budget productions.
Platinum Dunes, for its part, is continuing a trend it started with its Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and extended with its impending Friday the 13th reboot, which Variety says starts filming in May. The studio hired Marcus Nispel to direct both pictures, and he’s presumably under consideration for the new Nightmare, but the article doesn’t mention any names.
The only thing holding New Line back? You guessed it — the writers’ strike. Kind of leaves you feeling conflicted about hoping the strike is settled quickly, no?
The original Nightmare on Elm Street has endured as a horror classic, boasting a 93 percent Tomatometer rating — but subsequent entries in the series rapidly fell victim to the laws of diminishing returns: 1985’s Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge netted 24 percent, and though 1987’s Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors rebounded at 75 percent, it was downhill from there, with 1988’s Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master topping out at 50 percent, 1989’s Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child receiving a 24 percent spanking, and 1991’s Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare notching a pitiful 13 percent.
Though 1994’s meta-slasher Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (83 percent) seemed to reclaim a little of the franchise’s fire, 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason (39 percent) wasted much of its crossover potential.
What do you say, RT faithful? Are you optimistic about a Bay-produced Nightmare reboot? Or are you convinced that New Line should just leave Freddy down in the boiler room?
Source: Variety
