Monday, October 18, 2021

Elm Street Dreams

or, Re-enacting a Slumber Party Massacre

Two and a half years ago, I spontaneously had the idea to remake my popular Slumber Party image from 2010. That original image inspired two sequels, the first one being an elaborate collection of images documenting a Slumber Party Massacre, inspired by my fandom of the horror genre (and tribute to the slasher film of the same name), in which four girls are stalked by a sexual predator and attacked on the night of their slumber party. When I did the Slumber Party remake in 2019, I had no plans to revisit the sequels in my original Slumber Party trilogy, but just as that remake arose spontaneously, so did I end up turning this year's Halloween shoot in my Freddy Krueger costume into a spiritual remake of the Slumber Party Massacre, complete with establishing shots of the four girls haunted by Freddy, and culminating in one final group image.


The beauty queen brushes her long, blonde hair in the bathroom, wearing a brand new mermaid pajama shirt, while Freddy is visible to us in the reflection of the mirror, creeping around the corner from his hiding spot in the tub.


The athlete enters the kitchen in her comfy pajama shorts and crop top to get a glass of water from the sink, while Freddy advances on her from his unexpected perch on top of the refrigerator.


The gamer plays on her phone in bed in her pink pajamas and knee socks, while Freddy quietly slides out from under her bed where he's been watching her.


The party girl takes a break while doing laundry in her bra and panties, while Freddy crouches behind the dryer waiting for the right moment to strike. (I think this was actually a scene from the original Halloween, but a girl going out half-dressed to do laundry in a separate building is one of those situations that always stuck in my mind).


Finally, the four girls gather for their slumber party and pop in a slasher film, while, unbeknownst to them, Freddy emerges from the kitchen with plans to scare them senseless.

No aftermath shot this time (you can use your imagination), but there are some outtakes as well as an alternate version of the final image which once again takes place in a parallel world where nudism is mainstream.

Now that I'm two titles in to remaking this trilogy, I feel invested enough to say that, this time, I do plan on finishing the trilogy and creating a remake of the final sequel, Slumber Party Campout. It won't be right away, but maybe next year. I've already got an idea for it, but I'm going to keep it under wraps for now. So stay tuned, and I hope you've enjoyed this re-enactment of the Slumber Party Massacre featuring the one and only Freddy Krueger!