CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Brutal is an extremely ruthless or cruel. Brutality is the quality of being brutal, cruelty, and savagery. Brutality is one of the factors that are used to increase the terror; the other terror factors are violence, sadism, and graphic blood. Brutality is the part of cruelty. Cruelty is one of the danger signals of personality sickness. A “sick” personality is one in which there is a breakdown in the personality structure which results in poor personal and social adjustment, just as in physical illness, the person does not behave as he normally does (Hurlock, 1979: 389-403). Brutality in A Nightmare on Elm Street Movie is reflected by the main characters, namely Krueger. He kills many teenagers through their dreams, it is called “A Nightmare” and this phenomenon happens on Elm Street. So, it is the reason why this film is entitled “A Nightmare on Elm Street”. A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 2010 American slasher film directed by Samuel Bayer, and written by Wesley Strick and Eric Heisserer, based on a story by Mr. Strick and characters created by Wes Craven; director of photography, Jeff Cutter; edited by Glen Scantlebury; music by Steve Jablonsky; production designer, Patrick Lumb; costumes by Mari-An Ceo; produced by Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller; released by New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers Pictures and Platinum Dunes. Running time: 1 1 2 hour 42 minutes. The film stars Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara, Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekker and Kellan Lutz. It is a remake of Wes Craven's 1984 film of the same name and the ninth Nightmare film in total, it is designed to reboot the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. It is the first in a series of films centered around teenagers being murdered by a dream- controlling monster known as Freddy Krueger. A contemporary re-imagining of the seminal horror classic, starring Academy Award® nominee Jackie Earle Haley ("Little Children," "Watchmen") as Freddy Krueger. The film is directed by award-winning music video and commercial director Samuel Bayer (Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"), marking his feature film directorial debut. A talented ensemble of young actors play the teenagers now taking on Freddy Krueger, led by Rooney Mara ("Urban Legend: Bloody Mary") as Nancy, Kyle Gallner ("The Haunting in Connecticut") as Quentin, Katie Cassidy ("Taken," TV's "Supernatural" & "Melrose Place") as Kris, Thomas Dekker ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles") as Jesse, and Kellan Lutz ("Twilight," "The Twilight Saga: New Moon") as Dean. Bayer directed "A Nightmare on Elm Street" from a screenplay by Wesley Strick and Eric Heisserer, story by Strick. That film went on to become one of the horror genre's longest-running, most successful and innovative film series. The film is produced by Platinum Dunes' Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller, whose company has enjoyed tremendous success with a host of re-imagined horror franchises, including "Friday the 13th," "The Texas 3 Chainsaw Massacre," and "The Amityville Horror." The executive producers are Mike Drake, Robert Shaye, Michael Lynne, Richard Brener, Walter Hamada and Dave Neustadter, with John Rickard serving as co-producer. The behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography Jeff Cutter ("Orphan"), production designer Patrick Lumb ("Valkyrie," "The Omen"), editor Glen Scantlebury ("Transformers," "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"), costume designer Mari-An Ceo ("Friday the 13th," "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning"), visual effects supervisor Sean Faden ("The Amityville Horror"), special makeup effects artist Andrew Clement ("Star Trek," "Cloverfield"), and special effects coordinator John Milinac ("Friday the 13th," "The Amityville Horror"). The music is by Steve Jablonsky (the "Transformers" movies, "Friday the 13th).”A Nightmare on Elm Street" is being distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. The film has been rated R by the MPAA for strong bloody horror violence, disturbing images, terror and language. A Nightmare on Elm Street was officially released on April 30, 2010 in the U.S, North America, New Zealand and May 13th in Australia and Europe in cinemas, later released in foreign markets on May 8, 2010. Regardless, A Nightmare on Elm Street broke the record for midnight openings for a horror film. The film has brought in over $63 million at the domestic box office and over $115 million worldwide. A Nightmare on Elm Street was primarily filmed in Illinois because of the positive experience the producers of Platinum Dunes had when filming other films in the same area, Friday the 13th, with the 4 writers taking what they thought were the best elements from each of the films and creating a single storyline with them. Eventually, they decided to use Craven's original storyline, and try to create a scarier film. That being, they decided to remove the one-line quipping Freddy, who had become less scary and more comical over the years, and bring him back to a darker nature; this included developing the character as a true child molester, something that Craven wanted to do originally in 1984 but changed to a child killer instead. The decision was also made to bring Freddy's physical appearance closer to that of an actual burn victim, and the use of computer-generated imagery was used in certain sections of Haley's face to further assist in that vision. On January 29, 2008, Variety reported that Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes production company would be rebooting the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise with a remake of the original 1984 film. In an interview, producer Brad Fuller initially explained that they were following the same line they did with their Friday the 13th remake, by abandoning the things that made the character less scary—the film's antagonist, Freddy Krueger, would not be "cracking jokes" as had become a staple of his character in later films— and focusing more on trying to craft a "horrifying movie". Fuller expressed how everyone at the studio loved the concept of being killed if you fell asleep. The producer stated that the film would be a remake of the 1984 film, but clarified that they would be borrowing certain character deaths and dream sequences from the entire Nightmare series. For Bayer, remaking A Nightmare on Elm Street was about bringing that feeling to a new generation, with a new 5 spin on the character and story. Instead, the 2010 film is more of a reimagining. Fuller and Form also explained that A Nightmare on Elm Street would have a different tone than the Friday the 13th remake. Form states, "I think a Friday the 13th movie like we made was really fun. You know, sex, drugs, rock and roll, and I think a Nightmare movie is not that. When asked why New Line was rebooting the Nightmare on Elm Street film series, Emmerich explained, "The Nightmare films are profoundly disturbing on a deep, human level because they're about our dreams. It's why we thought that we could reach an especially broad audience with a new film, since the feeling of having your dreams being invaded was something that would translate to any country and any culture. Overall, Bayer wanted to create a darker Nightmare on Elm Street, one he felt would fit into what he describes as "a darker world". Bayer said there is subtext within the film, which is designed to get the audience to ask, "What makes a monster?" Bayer wants the audience to think about whether a monster is something that exists purely from a physical appearance—someone with a scarred face and a clawed glove on their hand— or can a monster be something that is deeper, and within the man himself without a scarred face and bladed glove. Samuel David Bayer (born February 17, 1962) is an American commercial, music video and film director, and cinematographer. Bayer was born in Syracuse, New York. A graduate of New York City‟s School of Visual Arts in 1987 with a degree in Fine Arts, he moved to Los Angeles in 1991, and became a popular director during the alternative rock era. He has shot and 6 directed videos for The Strokes, Nirvana, Hole and Green Day. Bayer claims that the reason he was chosen to direct "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was because his test reel was so bad. Bayer won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction in 2005 and 2007. Several of Bayer's commercials have won the Clio. Clients include Coca-Cola, Toyota, Intel, Cadillac, Acura, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Pepsi Cola, Lincoln Aviator, Sony, The U.S. Army and Jeep. His Nike spot won an Association of Independent Commercial Producers Award for Best Direction in 1997. New Line Cinema and Platinum Dunes selected Bayer to helm their remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. In March 2010, he announced this will be his only NOES film. He announced his follow-up project will either be the original film Fiasco Heights or an unannounced comic book adaptation. Samuel Bayer has directed and photographed hundreds of music videos and commercials over the last 15 years, firmly establishing himself as one of the industry's most prolific and sought-after talents. A graduate of New York City's School of Visual Arts, this native of Syracuse, New York was a painter who soon discovered that film and video were the perfect medium to deliver his art to a greater audience. A self- taught cinematographer who lights and shoots all his music videos and commercials, Bayer launched his career with Nirvana's landmark video "Smells Like Teen Spirit," which is consistently rated as one of the most influential music videos of all time.