By Jeanne Jakle
c. San Antonio Express-News
"A Nightmare on Elm Street" may give you nightmares again.
The reboot of the Wes Craven horror classic of the '80s, opening today, stars Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger, the iconic serial killer with the burned face, who wears that glove -- the one with blades embedded in the fingers -- and kills people in their dreams.
Haley, creepy in a different way as Rorschach in "Watchmen" and enigmatic as Guerrero in TV's "Human Target," describes the movie as a mix of the old and new. In a phone interview, director Sam Bayer agreed, saying it is not "a remake but a reinvention" of "Nightmare" with a darker feel.
"We redid classic moments from the original specifically to please fans -- the hand coming up in the bathtub, one character propelled against the ceiling," he said.
Haley elaborated on his "Nightmare" experience during a recent interview.
Q: Have you seen the original? How would you compare this one with that?
A: Sam definitely pays homage to the first film. Some of the iconic imagery from the first films is there, and that's a lot of fun, but there's a lot of new stuff, too, which makes it even more fun. Wes was wonderfully clever with the first film. It was a great idea with an incredibly low budget. And at the time, I think that was part of the fun. That Wes made this cool movie for 67 cents. Sam's version has a bigger, more updated look, and the film is a bit darker. Freddy is a bit more serious.
Q: How much of a back story does he have here?
A: In the first "Nightmare on Elm Street," so much of Freddy's back story comes from a speech given by Nancy's mother at the fireplace. In this film, we get to see some of his back story in flashbacks. It's pretty cool, you know, in a sick, campfire story kind of way.
Q: Did any bad dreams of your own result from making the movie?
A: I remember one night, after shooting for a week straight in the makeup, I was lying in bed and I was suddenly awash with the feeling that the makeup was still on my face. It wasn't, but it felt like it was. I had to keep touching my face to prove to myself that the prosthetics and glue weren't there.
Q: Why do you think these movies continue to haunt viewers, while other slasher and serial killer movies don't?
A: Freddy, especially from that mid-'80s group of horror films, was by far the most interesting -- not only in character development but in story as well. And the setup: You get killed in your dreams, you die in real life. That's kind of like sickeningly cool.
Q: What about the Freddy story is so special?
A: In the other films you have to do something stupid, show up at the wrong place, walk into the dark shed by yourself, etc. But everyone sleeps. Everyone lies there, head on a pillow . . . the slumber starts to kick in . . . and we're slowly whisked away into the world of dreams. And it's there that we see him: Freddy.
Then, in a wicked turn reminiscent of his character, Haley added: "He'll probably pay you a visit after you see the movie. But don't worry. You'll probably wake up before he gets to you. I think. Maybe."