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30 Years of ‘Dream Warriors’: The Freddy that Almost Was

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Nightmare on Elm Street 3 - Primetime, Bitch!

30 years ago today, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors was released into multiplexes across the nation. New Line was running to the bank with one of the highest grossing films of 1987, and Freddy Krueger secured his place in the pop culture pantheon. “Welcome to primetime, bitch,” indeed. Directed by Chuck Russell (The Blob) in his prime, Dream Warriors is widely considered the best sequel of the franchise. The film also represents a huge turning point, sending Krueger down the path of wisecracking super-villain. The script is credited to both Russell and Frank Darabont as well as Bruce Wagner and Wes Craven.

After the mediocre reception to Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, New Line smartly decided to bring Craven back into the picture to help mold the newest installment. In a first draft screenplay, dated 6/16/86 (seriously, “666”?), Craven and Wagner presented a pretty solid structure that didn’t change too drastically in the finished film. The basic premise is all there. Nancy winds up helping a group of troubled teens in a mental institution who’ve become victim to the dream demon.

Seeing as to this was a first draft, it’s far from perfect as to be expected. There are several odd choices throughout. Suspension of disbelief is put the test with major narrative jumps that manage to defy the already loopy internal logic built into the series. In the amazingly exhaustive doc that chronicles the entire franchise, Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, Rachel Talalay (series producer/director, Freddy’s Dead) put it best:

There were no rules. Everybody could do everything. So, it was just the kitchen sink thrown in.

It wasn’t long before both Russell and Darabont were brought in to take a crack at the screenplay. Their take, of course, was more to the studio’s liking as their rewrite turned into the film we have today.

Nightmare on Elm Street 3 - Marionette

So, what would the original iteration of the film have looked like? A lot has been said that Craven’s original draft was much darker than what made it to screens. Freddy’s perverse tendencies are on full display with profane one-liners standing in for the comedic zingers we were given instead. Lines such as “Give Freddy a little head, hm?” during a variation on the “Freddy snake” scene present Krueger as more of a sexual deviant than ever before. The character of Philip is written as a “frail, thirteen year-old”. His death here is similar, except he’s not strung up like a marionette. Here, Freddy physically leads the boy by placing the child’s feet atop his own, marching him unwillingly towards his demise. Phillip asks, “Why me?” to which Freddy responds, like the true dirty old man he is, “Because, I like you.” Pedophilia was only ever assumed in Craven’s original, and this draft provides plenty of moments to back it up.

Despite the ickier bits, there’s also a saccharine sweetness on display, especially in the script’s third act. When the Dream Warriors finally rally together to take the fight to Krueger, there are Spielbergian levels of schmaltz. The scene actually calls to mind the final scenes of Craven’s own The People Under the Stairs where the entire community shows up to support Fool. There’s even more focus on the romance at the film’s heart between Nancy and Neil. A quick love scene is super cringey. Just peep that dialogue below. Sheesh.

Speaking of Nancy, our returning heroine from part one, she is front and center in this first draft. The film opens to the birth of Freddy by a nameless woman, alone in a secluded ranch home. No mention of Amanda Krueger or 100 maniacs here.  Nancy, driving cross country on the hunt for her missing father (which leads to a great exchange between her and Neil, seen below), blows a tire and stumbles upon Freddy’s ol’ abode. When Nancy enters the house she’s thrown into a “waking dream”. Yep, as told to us by exposition dump, John (Nancy’s father), Freddy’s home is a literal gateway to the dream-world. No “zzzs” necessary. After escaping the clutches of Freddy’s home, Nancy is rescued by the good samaritan/doctor, Neil, who takes Nancy under his wing. He also ends up taking her on as his assistant where she seems to have free reign of the institution despite having no medical qualifications at all!

Nightmare 3 - Script Page

It’s also revealed that John wound up locked inside the loony bin too. He got busted trying to burn down the Krueger home after shaving off his eyelids! Relieved to have located her father, Nancy discovers that he’s been on the hunt for Freddy all this time. John believes that Freddy’s home is the source of his power. Burning it down will put the dream demon to rest for good. Somehow everyone involved, the kids, Nancy, her father, have all been unknowingly drawn to this town because they’re “special”; they’re the warriors capable of stopping Freddy. Yep, we’re not in Springwood anymore. The idea that “every town has an Elm Street” is presented for the first time in this script only never to make it to screen until Freddy’s Dead, 5 years later.

One of the script’s strong suits are the visuals. One finale scene involves a bonus character named Laredo (who ultimately became the wheelchair bound, Will, in the finished film) realizing he has the power to morph into anything he can imagine once up against Freddy. Laredo morphs into a giant gargoyle, Freddy a giant bird. Laredo turns into a net to catch Freddy, only for Krueger to morph into goo in order to slip away. It’s absurd and surely would have played more for laughs, whether intentional or not. Kincaid doesn’t survive this initial draft, and again, the visuals of his death are part ridiculous and part horrific. Kristen, able to pull the warrior from one dream scenario to the next, teleports the warriors from Freddy’s home back to the “reality” of the hospital. Kincaid winds up trapped halfway through a wall. His upper body is screaming for help in the real world while his lower half is fair game to Freddy in the dream world. The punchline involves Freddy’s glove ripping through Kincaid only to pop through the boy’s mouth. The creme de la creme, however, is the final moment of Kristen literally witnessing Freddy’s birth only to battle the evil newborn, bashing it to death against a wall.

Nightmare 3 - Script Page

It’s some of these insane ideas that probably wouldn’t have worked on screen, but they’re certainly exciting to think about “what if”. Overall, this draft lacks serious character development with Kristen getting the short shrift making way for more screentime for Nancy. There are no group sessions until the end when all the kids prepare for battle. It certainly lacks the emotional heft of the film we know and love. Of course, this was just a first draft, so it’s possible Craven/Wagner could have ironed out these issue before production. What’s more interesting to ponder, would A Nightmare on Elm Street have been the horror juggernaut it was had this script been filmed? Would kids have had Freddy lunchboxes and action figures to play with? Probably not.

The brutal nature of Krueger as written here would certainly please the hardcore set. Freddy disembowels Kristen’s mother and munches on her intestines. Joey actually dies by “seductress Freddy” when their French kiss leads to Freddy’s tongue twisting up into his skull and popping out both of his eyeballs from inside. This script isn’t short on the bloody stuff, that’s for sure. The idea that Freddy isn’t tied to Springfield would have certainly opened up the later sequels to head in different directions. As well, we may have ultimately been given an entirely different backstory for Krueger’s birth.

Nightmare on Elm Street 3 - Joey Death

Nonetheless, this is the reality that we live in. Frank Darabont and Russell were brought in to clean up the original draft and add their own spin to it, and aren’t we happy they did? Nightmare 3 is one of the most imaginative and fun horror films of the 80’s. Yes, this direction did represent the beginning of the series’ downward spiral, but we’ll always have Dream Warriors. Here’s hoping that if a Nightmare reboot ever gets off the ground, they’ll look to this film for the proper balance of fun and horror. So, happy 30th anniversary, Dream Warriors!

For those interested in a complete breakdown of the Craven/Wagner script, check out this 2012 article from Evan Dickson. Is Nightmare 3 your favorite sequel of the series? Would you have preferred this more brutal take on the film?

Editorials

‘Phantasm’ – Why the Horror Classic’s Exploration of Death Still Resonates 45 Years Later

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As Benjamin Franklin famously wrote, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

The horror genre offers a controlled environment in which viewers can reflect on their own morality, whether it be via catharsis or escapism, but a personal loss can complicate one’s relationship with horror. Even the most hardened of fans may struggle to find comfort in the genre after experiencing the death of a loved one.

45 years ago today, Phantasm helped viewers confront death head-on while subtly exploring the grief that accompanies it. In the film, 13-year-old Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) convinces his older brother-turned-guardian Jody (Bill Thornbury) and their affable neighborhood ice cream man, Reggie (Reggie Bannister), to investigate a mysterious mortician dubbed The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm).

Phantasm was the third feature from writer-director Don Coscarelli (The Beastmaster, Bubba Ho-Tep). The seed was planted upon witnessing the audience react to a small jump scare at a preview screening for his previous effort, the 1976 coming-of-age tale Kenny and Company. Chasing that jolt of adrenaline, he challenged himself to make a movie that delivers scares regularly throughout.

The independent production was shot in 1977 on weekends over the course of nearly a year in and around southern California’s San Fernando Valley. The 23-year-old Coscarelli shrewdly rented the film gear on Fridays and returned it Monday morning, getting three days of work out of a single day’s rental fee. When all was said and done, the film cost an estimated $300,000.

Unable to afford a full crew, Coscarelli also took on director of photography and editing duties. His father, Dac Coscarelli, receives a producer credit for providing a large chunk of the film’s funding. Additional financing was invested by doctors and lawyers, accruing a total estimated budget of $300,000. His mother, Kate Coscarelli, served as production designer, wardrobe stylist, and makeup artist under different pseudonyms, and she later wrote the novelization.

Hot off the success of John Carpenter’s Halloween, AVCO Embassy Pictures purchased Phantasm for distribution. It was released on March 28, 1979 in California and Texas before expanding to other territories and becoming a box office success. It spawned four sequels, with Coscarelli and the core cast on board throughout, along with a cult following that counts Quentin Tarantino, Rob Zombie, Snoop Dogg, and JJ Abrams (who named Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ Captain Phasma in its honor) among its ranks.

PHANTASM Remastered

The film embraces nightmare logic – in part by design, as Coscarelli drew influence from Suspiria; partly the result of extensively editing down an overlong first cut to a tight 89 minutes. The it-was-all-a-dream ending is a rare one that doesn’t undermine the entire movie that preceded it. Not every plot point is spelled out for the viewer, and some dots may not completely connect, but the narrative is conveyed in such an engrossing manner that it hardly matters.

A particularly striking pair of back-to-back sequences occur at the conclusion of the first act. Following a late-night graveyard excursion, the camera pulls out on a shot of a sleeping Mike to reveal his bed in the cemetery with The Tall Man poised over him while ghouls attack from their graves. The next day, Mike witnesses The Tall Man affected by the chill of Reggie’s ice cream truck via a spine-tingling slow-motion zoom.

The special effects also shine, from flying metallic spheres that suck the blood out of victims’ heads to lifelike severed fingers that bleed viscous yellow gore. The visuals are supplemented by progressive music composed by Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave, to whom Coscarelli recommended electronica maestro Vangelis and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Despite its repetition throughout the film, the power of their haunting musical theme is never diluted.

The cast was populated by amateurs, but occasionally hammy performances are far outweighed by naturalistic character moments, best exemplified by the scene in which Jody and Reggie jam on their guitars together. In addition to serving the plot by introducing the tuning fork that plays an integral role in the finale, it allows the viewer to better connect with the characters, thereby making their peril all the more frightening.

It’s character building like this that makes Phantasm‘s exploration of death so effective. The film is ultimately about Mike coming to terms with the passing of Jody, portrayed as the cool older sibling every adolescent wishes they had. Mike confronts his fear by dreaming up a final adventure with his dearly departed brother in which they manage to defeat death itself, represented by The Tall Man. Upon doing so, he’s awakened to the harsh reality that Jody died in a car accident, allowing Mike to reach the final stage of grief: acceptance.

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