Dasvidanye, Dreamers!
Horror movie posterboy Freddy Krueger, has been played by actor Robert Englund since 1984. That all changed this month when the remake of NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET was released and the Man of Your Dreams was played by WATCHMEN's Jackie Earl Haley. And Haley did a bang up, creepy job that succeeded in escaping Englund's razor-fingered shadow and making the role his own.
Haley's success in the role Englund made famous got me thinking about other famous monsters throughout the years, and who might have been born to re-portray the iconic part for a new generation of film-goers…
1. Michael Myers
Film: HALLOWEEN series (1978-2009)
Played by: Assorted stuntmen; Taylor Mane (2007-)
Description: Terrifying because of his lack of emotion, Michael hides his evil and lust for murder behind a frighteningly blank, unmoving, pallid white mask that never reveals even the slightest trace of human feeling or empathy.
Suggested for future portrayal:
2. Pazuzu Demon
Film: THE EXORCIST (1973)
Played by: Linda Blair (body); Mercedes McCambridge (voice)
Description: Ancient demon of disease from Babylonian mythology (later sequels moved the demon from the Middle East to Africa, specifically Kenya) that roamed around robbing people of their health before making a play for power by possessing the body of an innocent in Washington.
Suggested for future portrayal:
3. Freddy Krueger
Film: NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET series (1984-present)
Played by: Robert Englund (1984-2003); Jackie Earl Haley (2010)
Description: In life, worked with children on a regular basis, using his sweet demeanor and innocent appearance to cover up his dark secret: child molestation. Now undead, he appears nightly in the dreams of children to terrify them.
Suggested for future portrayals:
4. Sam Wheat
Film: GHOST (1990)
Played by: Patrick Swayze
Description: Ghost of a well-meaning himbo.
Suggested for future portrayal: No change necessary. Indeed, Patrick Swayze is now even more qualified for the part.
5. Charles Lee Ray, The Lakeshore Strangler, Chucky the Doll
Films: CHILD'S PLAY 1-3 (1988-91), BRIDE/SEED OF CHUCKY (1998, 2004)
Played by: 10 pounds of plastic, latex & servo-motors; Brad Dourif (voice)
Description: Child's toy doll possessed by soul of maniacal serial killer. Uses small stature, cherubic looks, and fake-looking rubbery appearance to lull victims within range.
Suggested for future portrayals:
6. Pod People
Film: INVASION OF THE BODYSNATCHERS (1956, 1978 and 1993)
Played by: Numerous.
Description: Alien vegetables that emerge from the depths of space and take over human hosts when they sleep. The resulting “Pod-Person” is an exact duplicate of the original human, but is bent on global take-over and has no emotions, becoming a cold, soul-less shell of its former self.
Suggested for future portrayals:
