Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

Four hours of A Nightmare on Elm Street lovin' does this documentary have. And it kind of rules. Wondering if I was going to get through all four hours of this in one sitting, I cleared my calendar nonetheless, and when I put the DVD in, I couldn't move until I had finished the whole thing.

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy was very in-depth, although (and I don't know this for sure) it might be a bit repetitive for big Nightmare fans who already know all the stories. I didn't, and so I was surprised and entertained at almost every turn. They have a ton of great interviews with lots of cast and crew members - but still obviously missing the big ones like Johnny Depp and Patricia Arquette. Depp I was fairly certain wouldn't show and I had hopes for Arquette but sadly they don't grace us with their presence. They do talk about them a lot and show a Charlie Rose interview that Depp did where he talks about Nightmare. At least he doesn't ignore the fact that he was ever in a horror movie like some snobby actors we know (coughcoughJENNIFERANISTONcoughcough).

I love you, man.

They go one by one through each Nightmare film, talking about the casting, the directors, the production, funny shit that happened while filming, and the reception of each film at the box office and by critics. Heather Langenkamp narrates occasionally, but it's mostly just interviews. That doesn't detract at all from the viewing experience and it never gets boring. Those four hours just flew by.

The supposed unknown homosexual overtones of Nightmare 2 were SO apparent to me when I first saw it, and it was absolutely hi-larious to hear the filmmakers talk about that aspect of the film. The naked coach getting towel-whipped on the ass? Come on, dudes, you had to have seen it. That was probably the best part of the documentary for me. Also at the end over the credits, they had all the people they interviewed say their famous lines from the movies. That was a good way to end it - loooooved it.

Sidenote: It was sad to see that Brad Renfro was originally supposed to play Will in Freddy vs. Jason. He was such an amazing actor, doing all this hardcore dramatic stuff when he was still so young. The Client, Apt Pupil, and Sleepers, especially, have the best performances of this young actor who died way too soon. He still wasn't getting very big roles, but hopefully people won't forget this gifted, if troubled, man.

There's second disc to the documentary on the Collector's Edition with tons of more Nightmare entertainment, and I guess I'll have to buy it now to see all of them. I only got the actual docu through Netflix, but disc 2 has a preview of Heather Langenkamp's documentary I Am Nancy, extended interviews, a look at the poster artwork, and some other stuff. I'm looking forward to watching all of this shit. NOW. I want to watch it NOW!

I once thought that His Name Was Jason was the best horror docu I'd seen about a series, but this one certainly gives it a run for its money. The same makers who did HNWJ also did Never Sleep Again, and all the love and hard work they put into both DVDs definitely shows through. They both show such an adoration for each series from the filmmakers and the fans. HNWJ had this amazing extra on it where the guy from Bloody Disgusting, Adam Green and Joe Lynch give a description of each Friday movie in four minutes and it is SO FUNNY. Seriously, go watch it now. You'll bust a gut.

This is definitely a must-see if not a must-own for anybody who is even a casual fan of the Nightmare on Elm Street series. Incredibly informative and funny and a fantastic way to celebrate this beloved and iconic series of horror movie magic.

No mention of the remake, however. Maybe in the extended interviews or are they ignoring its existence like I do? :)

Remakes of classic horror films

This is going to be my weigh-in on the onslaught of remakes of classic horror films. A Nightmare on Elm Street just came out not too long ago, and it sucked. It sucked really hard. I Spit on Your Grave is coming out soon, and it's probably going to suck. Friday the 13th was probably the biggest suck of all remakes. No, wait, that award goes to One Missed Call... which was actually a remake of an Asian horror movie, which is a category all it's own. Let's stick to remakes of classic American films.

I have seen the remakes and the originals and I have a top three of the best remakes (thus far... 'cause Gosh knows there are going to be more). The best remake is not necessarily my favorite, but we'll get to that later.

The number one best horror remake is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In terms of sticking to the original storyline but making improvements where need be; characters; actors; and directing, TCM 2003 was a huge success. As much as you may love that classic original first film by Poltergeist-man himself, Tobe Hooper, you have to admit that the film is seriously flawed. It's a low-budget movie from the 70s with actors that are still unknown to this day. Yes, it has some creepy and gross-out moments (Grandpa sucking the blood off of Marilyn Burns finger?????? So wrong.) and the whole concept of this whacked-out cannibal family and a giant 'tard with a chainsaw is incredibly disturbing, but it doesn't really hold up well over time.

The remake improved the TCM legacy in so many ways. First of all, the characters. The most annoying film character I can think of right now is Franklin (the guy in the wheelchair) from the original. So they totally cut him out. Yea! Now add in Jessica Biel, a hippy chick, and three modestly good-looking guys and you've got a pretty good cast. There's no overly blatant stereotypes among the kids, no bitch or slut, or douchebag dude that the girls seem to love even if he is a douchebag... just some normal people in their 20s. They got good actors who took the film and their characters seriously and really turned it out.

The best and most memorable characters, though, are of course the members of the Hewitt family. In the original they were all kind of skanky, dirty, back woods dudes. They gave these new characters some real thought and got great actors, again, to play these roles. R Lee Ermy as the sheriff is the most memorable. An awesome character actor who really gets into his roles (maybe a little too much) and makes them special. Uncle Monty, no legs man in the wheelchair, is perhaps not as well developed, we just see him as a pervert because he keeps grabbing Jessica Biel's ass while she's helping him into his wheelchair. I don't know who the actress is who played the mother but she was absolutely fantastic. An old crone, the HBIC, just as disgusting and depraved as the men in her family. She can hold her own. Leatherface's character didn't really change much, but he didn't need to. Big guy, mind of a child, but knows how to work his power tools. You feel sorry for him, maybe, but not really when he's chasing you around the house with a chainsaw.

The action and chase sequences were awesome (although we didn't get a reboot of the famous dinner table scene until Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning), with great set design and locations. The Hewitt house, its basement, the slaughterhouse, the crazy neighbors' trailer... they all give you a great sense of time and place in the context of the film. Set design was especially helpful in getting the real feel of the film. The whole movie is just DIRTY. Dirty characters, dirty deeds, dirty houses. The people in the movie are sweaty and dirty like they haven't showered in a few weeks. The house and other sets are dirty, cluttered, dripping with water, covered in dried blood - ook! I just wanted to jump into the movie and hose down everybody and everything I could touch.

They totally upped the gore and violence and I loooooove that. The movie can't be called Texas Chainsaw Massacre and not have someone getting their leg cut off or getting split down the crotch with a chainsaw. So thank you, filmmakers, for that. You know what we want.

All in all, great improvement on character, great actions, great gore and violence. Awesome horror film, that is just as good as, if not better than, the original.

The number 2 remake is coming next blog.