10 Behind-The-Scenes-Facts About The Making Of A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)

The remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street went through a lot of problems just to get made. Was it worth it?

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Despite its commercial success at the domestic and international box-office, Platinum Dunes’ remake of the venerated horror classic A Nightmare On Elm Street was ripped and slashed to death by critics and general filmgoers alike. Directed by longtime music-video director Samuel Bayer in his feature film debut, much of the ire came from the overserious tone of the film and the overreliance on recreating key scenes from Wes Craven’s original horror classic.

The film follows a sleepy town full of teenagers who are terrorized in their dreams by Freddy Kruger (Jackie Earle Haley), a pedophilic burn victim out to avenge the parents who lit him ablaze years prior. As the film just turned 10 years old, here are 10 Behind-The-Scenes facts About the Making of A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010).

10 Wes Craven Did Not Approve Of The Remake

Without Wes Craven, there would be no A Nightmare on Elm Street to remake. And yet, when Platinum Dunes put the project in production, the master of horror was not even approached for his opinion or slightest involvement.

In addition to the original 1984 classic, Craven directed the meta-horror riff A New Nightmare in 1994. He also produced every single Elm Street iteration in existence, including the “Freddy’s Nightmares” TV series from 1988-90. Once the remake was announced without his blessing or involvement, Craven publicly spoke out against the project.

9 The Script Went Through 15 Drafts

One of the major gripes about the movie is its incoherent plot-line. This is likely a result of the estimated 15 or so drafts of the screenplay that was churned out prior to principal photography. In fact, the final shooting script was an amalgamation of four of those drafts.

As a result of the patchwork screenplay, co-writer Eric Heisserer publicly stated that his contributions to the script were unrecognizable after watching the final cut of the film.

8 Jackie Earl Haley Got The Role Thanks To Watchmen

Although he would have been 63 at the time of the film’s release, the decision to cast anyone other than the iconic Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger surely hurt the overall credibility of the project.

Billy Bob Thornton and Steve Buscemi were considered to inherit the mantle of Freddy Krueger, but Samuel Bayer opted to cast Jackie Earle Haley after seeing his performance as Rorschach in Watchmen. The 49-year-old Haley was reluctant to replace Englund at first, but Englund graciously gave his blessing.

7 The Original Actors Declined To Make A Cameo

Speaking of actors from the original film, at least two key players in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) were approached to make cameo appearances in the redo.

Heather Langenkamp, who played the lead character of Nancy Thompson in the original, was approached to play a waitress in the opening diner sequence in the remake. However, she outright refused to do so. Also, the recently departed John Saxon was asked to make a cameo in the film but declined due to a scheduling conflict. Wes Craven disowning the remake probably had something to do with this as well.

6 Kyle Gallner Was Injured By Freddy’s Glove

Kyle Gallner was so impressive during his audition for the role of Quentin Smith that he was cast the very same day. Unfortunately, he suffered an on-set mishap involving Freddy’s razor-glove.

During a scene in which Quentin confronts Freddy, he has his stomach slashed by one of Krueger’s knives. Kyle Gallner suffered a real cut to his abdomen when one of the blades from the knife-glove Haley wore failed to bend back into place. Haley was unaware of the wound until the scene was completed.

5 Freddy’s Voice Was Digitally Altered

Another rampant complaint about the film was the unintelligible voice of Freddy Krueger, who in previous films made a habit of taunting his victims with a campy sense of humor. Not only was the humor nixed entirely in the remake, but Freddy’s voice was also digitally altered in postproduction.

The pitch, tone, and volume of Freddy’s voice were tweaked in the editing process to make him sound more supernatural. Haley also improvised many of his lines on set to elicit natural responses from his costars.

4 Jackie Earle Haley Went Through An Intense Makeup Process

For his appearance as the flesh-charred Freddy Krueger, Jackie Earle Haley spent upward of six hours per day in the makeup chair. As production advanced, the makeup team whittled the process down to roughly three hours.

Haley’s facial makeup was also partially comprised of green substance that could be used to manipulate Freddy’s facial expressions via CGI in postproduction. The same FX crew that did the CGI on Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Dark Knight were recruited to handle Freddy’s facial CGI.

3 Jackie Earle Haley’s Contact Lenses Caused Injuries

In addition to the grueling makeup process, Haley was required to wear contact lenses for the role of Freddy Krueger. One eye was designed to appear bloody and one eye milky, with the latter making it extremely difficult for him to see on the set.

Moreover, Haley’s corneas were scratched by the contact lenses while filming, forcing the production to shut down for a brief time. As a result, Haley’s eyes appeared bloodshot for two weeks.

2 The Remake Almost Got A Bad 3D Conversion

3D movies were all the rage in 2010. As such, Warner Bros. pushed the production team to convert A Nightmare on Elm Street to the 3D in the weeks leading up to its theatrical release.

The producers of the film failed to comply, though, citing that the movie was not shot using 3D cameras and would not look convincing if hastily converted to 3D in postproduction. After much debate, Warner Bros. relented and decided not to render a 3D version of the film.

1 Multiple Sequels Were Planned

Even prior to the successful release of the film, multiple Elm Street sequels were planned by Platinum Dunes. Jackie Earle Haley signed a contract to appear in at least three movies, and Rooney Mara agreed to star in at least two. However, this franchise’s start was so poorly received among fans, critics, and casual filmgoers alike that the plan to make more was dropped.

This is almost unheard of for a movie as financially successful as A Nightmare on Elm Street was, which grossed over $63 million domestically and $115 internationally. In fact, Platinum Dunes swore to never make another horror remake again. As of 2020, they have kept true to their word.

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