What's Your Damage, Freddy Krueger?

A friend once told me that we should only read books that are over 100 years old. When I asked why this was, he told me that they all had to be good if they had lasted that long.
I tried to apply this philosophy to movies, but with the advent of Netflix and the DVD in general, almost anyone can gain access to even the corniest of B-movies. In addition, books cannot be rewritten (and no, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies does not count) but, as we all know, movies can be remade. If a film begins to fade into the pits of obscurity, someone will come along sooner or later to breathe new life into it.
The latest in a long line of 1980s remakes is “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” The 1984 slasher flick has been subject of no less than six sequels, and has now come full circle when a remake of the original hit the theaters in April.
I can imagine a cluster of mulletted teens squealing with terror as Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), the original slasher villain, came shredding onto the screen in the ‘80s. Who cares about underdeveloped screenplays and two-dimensional characters when a blood-thirsty zombie is on the loose, disemboweling suburban kids?
Although it isn’t great cinema, the original “A Nightmare on Elm Street” has taken its place in the history of the horror genre. It is the quintessential slasher movie, and Krueger is the quintessential “slasher.” And, if for no other reason, filmgoers still rent it to catch a glimpse of Johnny Depp in his first film role as the laid-back jock who doesn’t seem to care that his girlfriend is being chased by a man with razors on his hands. Don’t get any ideas Johnny.
Film is a definitive element in shaping an era. When we look back on that swirl of pastel colors that was the ‘80s, we see the Cold War, Madonna, shoulder pads, Richard Simmons, and the slasher flicks. Just about every child of the ‘80s remembers the first time they saw “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” And while the rest of us complain about the corniness of it all, they look on with a wistful nostalgia in their eye.
True, there are some movies that only gain momentum over time. But—for better or for worse—at the genesis of the ‘90s, all those slasher villains stepped back to make room for Forrest Gump and Quentin Tarantino. They were not forgotten, they just didn’t make it into the 21st century.
Time will not pick out the “bad seeds” of film, as it has done with literature. We can bring Freddy Krueger back to life as many times as we want, but just like the rest of us, he ultimately starts to age. Has he lost his frightening appeal over the years, or do we just have thicker skin? I guess the question is how thick would our skin be without him?

Published in the Chillicothe Independent in Mid-April, 2010