Nightmare On Elm Street

I haven't seen more perfect casting than this in a long time: Jackie Earle Haley will replace Robert Englund in the role of Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street remake. Haley has played some mighty creepy roles in recent years, like the pedophile in the 2006 drama Little Children and eerie masked avenger Rorschach in Watchmen. Director Samuel Bayer even mentions Haley's work as Rorschach as specific reasoning for this casting:

"Looking at his performance in Watchmen, here’s a guy playing a character under a mask yet you feel tremendous empathy for him," said Bayer of the actor. "And in Nightmare, he is going to be under prosthetic makeup. You have to feel something for the character. The greatest villains are multi-dimensional and I think he will bring that to the character."

Bayer, who called this take of Krueger "Nosferatu meets Ed Gaines," is not afraid that Hayley is in any danger of being typecast the way Englund was. “It’s what you bring to the material. He’s a well-rounded actor who will not be stereotyped by this. If anything, he’ll be celebrated for it.”

Well, if they have to keep remaking movies, at least some of the casting is spot-on. I'm happy for Haley, as I think he could potentially play any number of creepy characters and I think he'll do justice to this classic role. What do you think of this news? Could Jackie Earle Haley be the stuff of nightmares?

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Most of you were irritated to learn that Michael Bay is planning on remaking Wes Craven’s 1984 film A Nightmare on Elm Street and another '80s horror classic, Friday the 13th. Bay's production company also has plans to remake Near Dark and The Birds and has already produced mostly forgettable remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, and The Hitcher.

Now there is news that Bay's production company is trying to work out a deal to develop the Ira Levin novel Rosemary's Baby into a new film. Of course, that was already done in 1968 by director Roman Polanski and is considered a classic. The fairly disturbing film wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but the way Polanski tackled unnerving subject matter earned him an Oscar nod. Somehow I doubt Bay's production will yield similar critical acclaim.

Bay certainly seems to have cornered the scary-remake market, but tell me: Do you actually care? Do you have faith in any of these remakes, or do you just wish Bay would give the whole thing a rest?

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The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards and Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddie Krueger. I'm sure this one's been done somewhere before but the resemblance is getting frightening. Maybe snorting your dad with cocaine doesn't do much for your looks?

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