By Sharai Bohannon

Wes Craven was my first favorite director and is probably at least partially to blame for why I think horror is that girl. As a Craven kid, I was watching Petty Freddy on the TV back when I was still in daycare. Which is why I believe we should leave Elm Street alone, and I want Hollywood to stop circling this IP. We’ve seen a lot of bad things happen to this franchise, and Uncle Wes isn’t here to reset it again as he did with New Nightmare. For years, I forced closed apps when I saw people claiming we need to resurrect this beloved series because I am painfully aware of other franchises that overstayed their welcome. They all become a sad shell of a good thing that has been beaten to death. The light in the eyes disappears, and it becomes difficult to remember a time when people put care into it.

Sadly, I live in this society. So, while I was disappointed, I was not surprised to hear Elm Street will be returning to the big screen. I took a few days of silence to feel my feelings and now have finally arrived at the acceptance stage of the grief process. I know we’re never going to recapture the magic that was Wes and Robert Englund. I also know that whoever dons the glove will potentially be the face of the franchise, and that’s a whole hurdle that the creative team will have to deal with. FredHeads like to say they want more Freddy, but don’t understand that means a world without Englund as the Krueger. Which is why I’m not poking that bear. 

However, I am going to make a plea to the powers that be to at least get us a director who gets it. It has to be someone who understands the humor, can handle Freddy’s actual crimes without skirting and sugarcoating them (if the writer is about business) without leaping into triggering waters. Preferably, it will be someone who understands the Craven of it all. He is the reason the first film and New Nightmare are the best of the franchise. Wes knew how to scare the girls because he knew what they wanted. We need that rubber reality, earned confidence/trust, and unsettling energy back. We need a director who can create a whole nightmarish dream state. One who understands and respects what came before but knows what modern horror audiences crave these days. I’ve come up with a list of people who could potentially have what we need for this new Elm Street chapter to work.

10. Caye Casas

Watch The Coffee Table (La mesita del comedor) and tell me Casas doesn’t understand what a living nightmare is. The film is possibly the bleakest comedy I have ever seen, and I would love to hear what his thoughts are on Freddy Krueger ASAP. It would potentially be the most stressful and wicked Elm Street entry we’ve ever had but would undoubtedly be cinema.

9. Yûta Shimotsu

Shimotsu won me over with Best Wishes to All and New Group. Talk about a world builder who lives at the intersection of weird and WTF. The filmmaker is no stranger to putting teen characters in danger and mindfucking the audience. The wicked energy emanating from my keyboard just typing his name on the list scares and excites me. Why not do something completely different and bring J-Horror vibes to Elm Street?

8. Julia Ducournau

Hear me out. Ducournau’s Raw was a moment, but Titane was an entire trippy WTF vibe. Ducournau can also do weirdly dreamy and heavy things, as seen in Alpha. The French body horror queen would undoubtedly leave us rattled, and we would be welcome. Elm Street needs someone unafraid of taking big swings, and that’s all she does. Just thinking about Freddy on fire under her direction makes me a little queasy. 

7. Michelle Garza Cervera

Huesera: The Bone Woman put Cervera on my radar, and it’s time to let her get back to making nightmare fuel. If she can tap into this unholy energy for Freddy, then this entry is going to be a wicked little moment. The tension, things left unspoken, and the suffocating nightmare of the overbearingly (and unwanted) mundane existence on display in Huesera are all the ingredients for a perfect nightmare.

6. Karyn Kusama

Momma Kusama is the correct answer for everything. However, the tension she baked into The Invitation and the dark humor she skillfully navigated with Jennifer’s Body is what we need. Let’s not even get into how she helmed my favorite episodes of Yellowjackets, so still has what it takes to rip our hearts out and stomp on them. I’m always a big fan of letting her cook, and I don’t think we’re ready for her Freddy, but I would be sat.

5. Remi Weekes

Weekes dropped one of my favorite horror movies of 2020 and then seemingly disappeared. However, I want the director behind the haunting His House to at least be asked to pitch his take on Elm Street. That movie rips and is nineteen nightmares in a trench coat. Weekes’ handling of trauma and mastery of scares would lead to a delicious take on this new movie. Please wake this filmmaker up because we’ve been waiting for a new movie forever.

4. Issa López

Between Tigers Are Not Afraid and True Detective: Night Country, López has proved she’s up to the task. Both of the projects I mentioned allowed her to demonstrate care for important issues tearing society apart while layering on this beautifully majestic veneer. Her Elm Street would probably be brilliant, sad, and the kind of scary that seeps into your bones. She’s also another director who is a bit fearless, and that’s important if we’re serious about this reboot situation.

3. Nia DaCosta

DaCosta deserves to do something original again. However, the way she waltzes in and saves IP while making incels cry is aspirational. If she could do it one more time for Petty Freddy, I would be grateful. The Marvels and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple were bright spots in their respective universes because she understands the power of cinema. She is overqualified and refuses to dim her shine as a director, which is why I have been a fan since Candyman (2021) replenished my electrolytes. We need to stop interrupting Black women and let DaCosta do whatever she wants. That includes asking her if she wants to do it on Elm Street for my own selfish reasons.

2. Josh Ruben

Ruben helmed three very distinct horror movies that shouldn’t work on paper, but are each weird and fantastic. I could talk about Scare Me, Werewolves Within, or Heart Eyes as perfect examples of how he gets the horror genre better than most of us. However, I’m going to point out that each one is a bit bolder, bloodier, and more chaotic than the last. I have no idea what kind of dangerous, dark nightmare shit he’d pull out of his bag for this. Although if that Darkman pitch he posted a few years ago is any indication, it’s my kind of party. I sincerely think the funniest person on this list would give us the sickest reboot imaginable.

1. Ernest Dickerson

I almost left this space blank because why wouldn’t Thee Ernest Dickerson be on the call about a possible Elm Street reboot? Have you not seen Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight? Do you not understand the giallo influences in Bones? His eye as a director and infamous cinematographer would benefit this new Elm Street business. His understanding of humor, horror, and his status as the king of Black cult classic cinema are all reasons I want to see what he’d cook up. I’m shimmying as I write this because a Dickerson take on Petty Freddy might heal the world. I feel like we should all send him a thank-you note just because we tried to envision what he would do with this.

Disclaimer: I didn’t include Jordan Peele because every time he makes a bop, the internet embarrasses those of us who deserve nice things. I’m not manifesting this for Kenny to ask if it’s horror while listing all of the horror elements. I’m tired of y’all.

Now that I have reminded myself there are directors who could land this plane out there, I feel better. Clearly, I’m a nobody on the internet, and I don’t get a say in anything. However, I’m hoping whoever steps up to the plate understands the rights and wrongs of this franchise. They have to get why this is a different kind of beast and why it means so much to many of us. While no one can replace Wes Craven, the least we can do is make sure his baby is in good hands.