Ready for Freddy

22 Jul, 2010 By: Fred Topel

Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger

Freddy Krueger is alive, and he’ll be back to haunt even more dreams.

The remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street opened bigger than any of the previous Freddy movies — even adjusting for inflation.

Nightmare fans won’t have to wait until the next inevitable movie sequel to get more Freddy. When Warner Home Video releases the film on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, it will have plenty of scenes director Samuel Bayer took out of the final cut.

While Bayer shot new scenes in December to replace ideas he says didn’t work in the final film, other scenes were left on the cutting room floor that will appear on disc. For example, Bayer filmed a Freddy cave, which never appears on screen, as well as additional nightmares featuring Katie Cassidy and Thomas Dekker.

“There’s an alternative ending that I think is going to be on the DVD,” Bayer says. “That’s one of the things that’s going to be very interesting for people to watch. I don’t want to give too much away.”

Bayer was brief, but there’s more to the alternate ending than he’s letting on. As fans of the original Nightmare on Elm Street would expect, the remake still climaxes with a battle between Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley) and his heroic nemesis, Nancy (Rooney Mara). As in the 1984 original, Nancy figures out how to bring Freddy out of the dream and into reality, where she can fight him on her own terms.

The original version of the fight was considerably longer, and Bayer opted for a shorter, more concise climax. The film’s producer, Brad Fuller, is excited for people to see what they originally had planned.

“I know for sure that there will be an alternative ending that will blow people away,” Fuller says, “and some deleted scenes.”