One scene in late for a Nightmare on Elm Street reboot, between the resurgent popularity of slasher movies and the comeback of series star Robert Englund. Englund recently impressed critics as Victor Creel, a ing star in Stranger Things season 4.
However, despite owing a creative debt to the Nightmare On Elm Street movies, Stranger Things season 4 just made it far harder for the franchise to remake the original 1984 movie. There was already a 2010 remake of Nightmare On Elm Street that flopped with critics and fans alike but, with the franchise being dormant for over a decade, there was always a possibility that the producers could attempt to remake the original movie again. However, the villainous Vecna’s modus operandi in Stranger Things season 4 could make this tricky.
It’s still very much possible (especially after Englund’s season 4 role as Victor Creel) that a Nightmare On Elm Street reboot could happen in the future, and that Stranger Things season 4 could even help popularise the franchise with a new generation of viewers. However, the way that Vecna kills his first victim, Chrissy, is so similar to Tina’s death in the original Nightmare On Elm Street movie that another direct remake could end up seeming like a knock-off of Stranger Things season 4. Vecna pulls his first victim, Chrissy, into the air before snapping her limbs in front of her horrified friend Eddie, a direct reference to how Freddy Krueger pulls Tina’s body into the air and slashes her to death before her helpless boyfriend, Rod.
In both instances, Rod and Eddie are powerless to stop the villain and in both instances, they are soon blamed for the girl’s murder. As such, the Stranger Things season 4 villain could sap one of Freddy’s most famous kills of its effectiveness in a remake. What makes this particularly likely is that, while there is no denying that Tina’s death is scary, the image of Chrissy’s eyes being crushed by an invisible force is nastier than any of the kills featured in the original Nightmare On Elm Street. This could result in a Nightmare On Elm Street remake feeling less impactful even though, ironically, the original movie inspired Vecna’s kill.
This is not the first time that Stranger Things has managed to outdo its inspiration in the eyes of the public. While a lot of factors were involved in 2022’s Firestarter remake flopping with audiences, the fact that the Stephen King adaptation was a massive influence on Stranger Things could have made the remake feel old hat for new viewers. Firestarter has a little girl who can control fire with her mind pursued by government agents, but the Firestarter-inspired Stranger Things has a similar heroine with more impressive powers, a group of lovable friends, and a whole slew of creepy supernatural monsters to fight. Although the original 80’s movie (like A Nightmare On Elm Street) inspired Stranger Things in the first place, the Netflix series ironically made its premise feel less inventive.