Ya know… I am really getting sick of all these people saying that the new A Nightmare on Elm St. is gonna suck because Robert Englund is not in it. Yes, people, he is the epitome of Freddy Krueger. He is an amazing actor with a great personality and the perfect demeanor to play Freddy. That being said, he is not playing Freddy, Jackie Earle Haley is!
Jackie Earle Haley is getting so much crap about how he will never live up to Robert Englund. I really hope he doesn’t take it to heart. I am sure the late, great Heath Ledger heard the same thing about Jack Nicholson’s Joker, and look what he did. Now like I said, Robert is classic, but that Freddy is dated. In the last couple of movies Freddy became a parody of himself. I want the scary Freddy back, like in parts 1 & 2. Come on, when he busts out of Jesse’s body and tells the kids at the party “You are all my children” that is absolutely terrifying!!! But it all went downhill after that.
I am really looking forward to the “reimagining” of another classic. These are not remakes!! Friday the 13th, (of which I am a HUGE fan of the franchise) was a great take on the original and I can’t wait to see where Jason is going this time. I was pretty pumped up about Nightmare on Elm St. But the comments from producer Brad Fuller’s blog on May 18th got me really hyped:
“So last night was one that I won’t forget. We’ve been shooting in Chicago for two weeks and I’ve got some great stories to tell, but last night was the first time we filmed Freddy – the first time that we saw Jackie with all his wardrobe and make-up.”
“It was insane.”
“Jackie is playing to role with incredible intensity. His Freddy doesn’t tell jokes, he is simply terrifying. His make-up is so awesome – obviously there will be elements that you all know so well, but there have been advances in make-up and he truly looks like a burn victim.”
“It is challenging to have a normal conversation with him because he looks so scary. And if that’s not enough, he talks with his hands a lot and at one point he pointed to me with the glove and it was terrifying.”
So please everyone give Jackie Earle Haley a break! Let him give back the Freddy we all want to see.
Please scare me again!!!
By Dave Minyard
My God, it’s about time someone posted a commentary like this! THANK YOU, Mr. Minyard, for standing up to all the Englund fans who’ve turned an ordinary horror film into some kind of sick, vicious crusade against Mr. Haley. Like most rational people I find their words & actions completely inexplicable, their anger beyond strange and bordering on some form of mental illness. I can’t tell you how delighted I was to find someone else who agrees that these bizarre attacks need to END! Mr. Haley is such an incredibly superb actor, so intense & passionate in every role – he could make Fred Flintstone into a fascinating character – and he absolutely doesn’t deserve to be chewed up & spit out like this. Thank you, thank you for giving voice to what has been frustrating so many of us who admire his work!
I dont care if Jackie plays him. To tell you the truth, as long as he has the voice, it wont make a difference because of all the verdammt makeup and clay to cosmetically create the Freddy face on an actor. Besides, I suspect Robert Englund must be getting tired of playing him. As far as Wes goes, from my point of view, ( regarding directors ), he seems to be going along with bigger projects and giving the remakes to other personell, as such as he did with Hills Have Eyes, which was more brilliant than that original in my opinion.
I mean, lets look at it from another perspective. Would anyone really care if another actor played Jason? The man….Er, thing, doesn’t even say anything, besides that whistle like sound.
Thank you both for your comments! Jackie Earle Haley is a great actor and I think he is a far better choice than Billy Bob Thorton. But, Kevin, I must disagree, being a fanatical Jason and Freddy fan, I think it takes a special kind of actor to play these kind of roles. Look at some of the people who played Jason, not that they were bad, but compare them to Kane Hodder or Derek Mears and there is just something missing. I think Derek is one of, if not the best, Jason yet. But Kane invented that Jason. I think Jackie will nail it and be just as valuble to the franchise as Robert Englund.
Again thanks for your comments!!
Dave
Oh definetly, I think Jackie is a better choice, I was just being funny about Billy bob, and the Jason comment was just an example.
Thank YOU for your intelligent & supportive article!!
People really need to stop complaining.Yes the Nightmare series were classics,they will never go away. This new film is not going to hurt the franchise it’s simply an intraduction for a new generation.Robert Englund had his time its time for Jackie to take it to the next level!