Fans of A Nightmare on Elm Street are certainly no strangers to this franchise’s nine films, and they might have also seen the television show, but do they know about all the novels in existence? In fact, there are more books than there are movies. And similar to Halloween and Friday the 13th, the near entirety of Elm Street’s cinematic side was novelized; that practice of putting Freddy Krueger’s every big-screen appearance into words stopped before the 2010 remake. So while it’s not a perfect streak, at least the oddest chapter of the Elm Street movies—and in this franchise, that’s really saying something—received the literary treatment. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare was already singular before the novelization felt the whole meta approach could use another layer.
David Bergantino, who later authored some of the Freddy Krueger’s Tales of Terror series, did not seek out New Nightmare so much as it fell into his lap. This offer only came after his book about the Friday the 13th movies fell through (again), and someone at New Line Cinema thought of him for the seventh Elm Street novelization. And as the author explained in a 2005 interview, he wrote three samples for his submission: a straightforward novelization that appeased publisher Tor Books, a “scrapbook” and “documentary” version for New Line, and then finally, a combination of the two styles. It was that union of both concepts that got Bergantino hired, as well as made New Nightmare the most unique Elm Street novelization.
Pictured: Wes Craven in New Nightmare (1994).
Anyone who’s read these kinds of media tie-ins knows how off course they can go. That said, Bergantino stuck rather closely to the source material, as he was writing the book while the movie was being filmed. Other authors are given just the one version of the script to draw and write from, whereas Bergantino would revise his manuscript to reflect Wes Craven’s changes. In the end, the differences between the two versions aren’t especially significant, but then again, that’s never been the main draw of this particular novelization.
New Nightmare is broken up by Bergantino’s side-story—that pseudo-documentary element that attracted both the publisher and the studio in the first place. So when Wes Craven’s fourth wall-breaking idea isn’t being actively adapted on the page, Bergantino chronicles the various stages of his own writing process, albeit fictionally so. His journaling is obvious in nature and lacking in style, but it makes sense for Bergantino to be frank and to only point out the parts that are worth recording. Namely, the strangeness that doesn’t go unnoticed in his creative, not to mention ill-fated, journey.
Bergantino opens the novel with the end of his experience on New Nightmare. In the final entry dated June 29, 1994, and set in the early morning of that day, the author wrote: “Finally finished the book. I’m lucky it didn’t finish me first.” He goes on to say this journal is “about the story of the book and the story behind the book,” and it was intended to be for his eyes only. How it fell into other hands is later revealed in the novelization’s conclusion. For now, and before New Nightmare commences, Bergantino signs off with: “Whatever happens, I should be all right—if the nightmares stop.”
Pictured: Robert Englund as Freddy in New Nightmare (1994).
Bergantino began his journal on May 5, 1994, which was when he learned he had secured the job. However, that initial entry isn’t actually shown until the last page of the book. As a result, Bergantino’s understandable excitement—” Today, I start work on the official novelization of Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. I’m gonna be published! (Insert small victory dance here.)”—comes across as a sad epilogue. That feeling is definite after reading the details of the author’s investigation into why he’s begun having unsettling dreams, why he feels like he’s being watched and stalked, and why he was really chosen to write the novelization.
New Nightmare came about when New Line’s head honcho, Robert “Bob” Shaye, asked Craven to extend the franchise, even though Freddy (Robert Englund) was supposedly dunzo after the sixth installment. Craven, who had parted ways with Elm Street following his writing on Dream Warriors, then delivered the most unexpected method for bringing the Kruegster back—and without stooping to any hackneyed nonsense. This postmodern, pre-Scream horror movie was also the product of Craven’s “absurdism“ stage as he ruminated on the censorship crusade that was happening in the background of 1990s media. “If you forbid this kind of art, the actual real horror is unleashed in a sense,“ Craven said.
More or less, the novelized parts match what’s shown on screen. The author did, however, fill in some missing mental and emotional gaps whenever possible. Internal dialogue is one of this book’s strengths, seeing as Bergantino gives the sort of direct, unfiltered access to characters that’s not always feasible with movies. Specifically, Heather Langenkamp’s part is more full-clad now that her innermost, sheer thoughts are confirmed in writing. Nevertheless, Langenkamp playing a version of herself—the conflicted, anxious mother, wife, and actor trying to survive an increasingly turbulent world—is never once unclear in Craven’s flick. There, Langenkamp turned in a vulnerable, multifaceted performance that not only illustrated the filmmaker’s aim to show how art can affect its creators but also demonstrated his opinion that censorship (of horror and art) would lead to adverse consequences in reality.
Pictured: Heather Langenkamp in New Nightmare (1994).
The greatest appeal of New Nightmare’s novelization is perhaps Bergantino’s journal, which feels at home in today’s horror climate. Enthusiasts of metafictional and immersive storytelling should enjoy the author’s phony predicament. From his recurring bad dreams of Freddy to his learning there’s truth in Craven’s screenplay, Bergantino’s concocted saga is a page-turner in itself. The cherry on top of it all, though, is the surprise conspiracy revealed towards the end—the publisher et al hired Bergantino and two other writers, in the hopes that one of them would be able to complete a manuscript before Freddy intervened. And in something akin to found-footage horror, Bergantino goes missing after outlasting his peers and finishing the novelization. The police find only a “grisly scene,” along with a “manuscript and news clippings,” at his apartment. Of course, New Line denies any part in the disappearance: “We don’t need to play sick jokes to promote a film, especially an Elm Street movie.”
New Nightmare is a bit of a missed opportunity; like other tie-in reads, it could have added in anything that didn’t make Craven’s final cut. As examples, the giant, devouring earthquake originally slated for the outset, and Tracy Middendorf’s character Julie playing a more sinister role. Instead, the written companion lines up well with the finished movie—maybe too much so if exclusive or cutting-room floor material is expected from these adaptations. Still and all, Bergantino’s meta-narrative is always there to disrupt the familiarity and hitch a ride on the movie’s ambitious blur of reality and fantasy. Not every Elm Street fan will be won over, yet for those who appreciate weird novelties in their film novelizations, this one is hard to beat.
Pictured: New Nightmare by David Bergantino.
The post ‘Wes Craven’s New Nightmare’ – Slashing into the Novelization On the Movie’s Anniversary appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
