‘Camp Miasma’ Director Wants to Take a Stab at ‘Elm Street’
Who wants Freddy Krueger?
Apparently, everybody.
The latest filmmaker to put their name in the ring is Jane Schoenbrun, whose Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is currently rolling out in theaters.
Speaking with ScreenRant at the film’s Los Angeles premiere, Schoenbrun revealed that they aren’t just casually interested in A Nightmare on Elm Street. They’re actively trying to get in the room.
“I’m trying to get a meeting on this Nightmare on Elm Street thing,” Schoenbrun told the site. “I would love to do that.”
And anyone willing to take on Freddy Krueger has some serious confidence.
Of all the major horror franchises currently being resurrected, Elm Street might be the hardest one to crack. Robert Englund is Freddy Krueger. We already watched Hollywood attempt to simply replace him in 2010, and doing the same thing again is always going to invite immediate comparisons. Trying something radically different comes with its own problems.
But Schoenbrun is certainly an interesting choice.
They’re also a lifelong Elm Street fan. Schoenbrun has recalled renting every Nightmare on Elm Street movie with their best friend in fifth grade, while A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors was among the movies that influenced Camp Miasma.
And Schoenbrun is hardly the only filmmaker dreaming about Freddy.
Just a few weeks ago, Dread Central’s Matt Konopka asked The Devil’s Mouth and Imaginary director Jeff Wadlow if he’d want to take a crack at the franchise.
“Oh, my god. I love Freddy. Who wouldn’t want to do that? Yes!”
Wadlow also explained why the franchise remains such an exciting playground for a filmmaker, pointing specifically to the idea that anything can happen inside a dream while the consequences remain very real.
Obsession filmmaker Curry Barker has also publicly thrown his hat in the ring, telling Polygon that the concept offers “endless potential” for increasingly weird and frightening nightmares and that he would “love to take a crack at that.”
Then there’s Host, The Boogeyman, and Other Mommy filmmaker Rob Savage, who told ComicBook that Elm Street is among his favorite franchises and that its surreal dream logic would be an incredible sandbox to play in.
Mike Flanagan has been trying to get his hands on Freddy for years, too. The Doctor Sleep and The Exorcist filmmaker previously told The Boo Crew Podcast that he had a “killer idea” for Elm Street and was dying to pitch it, later revealing that he had developed an entire take but couldn’t figure out who to actually bring it to because of the franchise’s complicated rights situation.
And then there’s Lee Cronin.
This one is particularly interesting.
Back in April, while promoting The Mummy, the Evil Dead Rise filmmaker was asked by Variety about his dream projects.
“I would find it very hard not to have a swing at ol’ Freddy Krueger, because he haunted my nightmares throughout my entire childhood and still pops up about four times a year.”
Well, apparently somebody was listening.
As Dread Central reported last month, Warner Bros. is now reportedly developing its own A Nightmare on Elm Street project with Cronin in talks to write and direct. That’s separate from the new Paramount project being developed with the Craven estate.
Yes, there are potentially two different Freddy movies being developed right now.
And Dread Central can add one more fascinating name to the list.
We can exclusively report that Smile and Smile 2 filmmaker Parker Finn was, at one point, circling A Nightmare on Elm Street, with discussions taking place about him potentially directing.
Man, that would’ve been something.
Finn remains one of my absolute top choices for this franchise. What he did with Smile and especially Smile 2 proved that he knows how to make shit scary while playing with perception, reality, and imagery. That skill set feels almost tailor-made for Freddy’s dream world.
Finn is currently busy with his remake of Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, so that doesn’t appear to be happening.
But just look at this list: Jane Schoenbrun. Jeff Wadlow. Curry Barker. Rob Savage. Mike Flanagan. Lee Cronin. Parker Finn.
Nobody seems afraid of Freddy.
The question is which one of them actually gets to dream him back to life.
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