| Book Review | Jennifer Hairfield |
Nightmare on Elm Street:
Suffer the Children
by: David Bishop
One, Two, Freddy's coming for you
Three, Four, Better lock your door
Five, Six, Grab your crucifix
Seven, Eight, Gonna stay up late
Nine, Ten, Never sleep again…
The world of Freddy Kruger and Elm Street has become a
horror must for any fan along with Friday the 13th and
Halloween. But ‘NOES' is the only one of these that hasn't
been harped on too bad by critics and more or less praised
for its rare sense of imagination, something lacking in most
80's slasher franchises.
The novelization of Nightmare on Elm Street:
Suffer the Children keeps with the world that was
created by Wes Craven to the letter. This book takes parts
of the 1st and 3rd movies and combines the concepts, more or
less. For those who have never seen the movies, (which I
have to admit I was one of them until a few weeks ago when I
sat and had a marathon), the book will introduce you to
Freddy and his history plus it combines the idea from the
3rd movie of fighting back in dreamland and bringing him
into reality. As well as the drug Hypnocil that helps
repress the dream stage of sleep.
The story starts off with the introduction of a girl named
Alex. This idea of having a female be the one to stand up to
Freddy is a recurring theme in the ‘NOES' series of movies,
which has been transferred over into the written page. Alex
is a known cutter and has been in therapy and mental
hospitals since her father left the family. Alex and her
mother have moved to 1428 Elm Street to start over with a
new life. But what they don't know is that this home
originally was Freddy Kruger's and he is able to "come out
to play" through Alex's dreams.
As the story progresses we meet the five other characters
that help pull off this story. We meet Peter O'Mahoney,
resident punching bag for the bullies and nerd to the
school, Chris Harris, resident jock, Tammy Sutherland, part
of the popular crowd and prom queen material, Kat Walker,
Goth and badass, and Lloyd, drug supplier extraordinaire. We
have all either been or known these people at one time or
another in our lives. Even though all these kids are not in
the same cliques they all end up in detention together where
they decide to ditch school the next day to go and be guinea
pigs for a new drug that deals with sleep problems in
exchange for money.
As they are all under the effects of the drugs Freddy Kruger
comes to each of them in their dreams and introduces
himself. At the beginning here of the story it's hard to
keep the kids apart but as the story progresses it gets
easier to know who is who. But as they dream Freddy Kruger
wakes up a part of themselves that follows them out into the
real world. Chris ends up being a pyrotechnic, Tammy is
empathic, Peter is telekinetic, Kat is precognitive, and
Alex knows the truth about what is truly going on, while
Lloyd is in a coma after he tried to peel his own face off
in his nightmare.
Typically the kids start to figure out how to use their new
powers and they fight against Freddy for they don't want to
be his puppets. But the reader finds out through bits and
pieces of information, dropped by the adults in the story,
about Freddy's past and what happened to him. Like in the
movies, Freddy is getting revenge on the kids of those who
burnt him alive while Alex, since she lives in his home, is
the link he was waiting for in order to reach the others,
(very much like Alice in part 4).
One by one Freddy Kruger kills the kids but not after they
put up a good fight against him. But no matter if they take
the Hypnocil, to keep them from dreaming, Freddy still gets
to them through Lloyd. If one dreams they're all in trouble.
Freddy gives the kids a choice; either kill for him or die
and be his toys forever. The reader doesn't find out what
choice is made until the end of the book when Kruger is the
strongest and comes out of dreamland into reality in a new
body.
The book ends on a somber note though, with Alex being
pregnant and in the local nut house where she writes in
blood Freddy's rhyme. But the question remains, whose child
is it? Did they defeat Freddy? Does Alex's mom stay or leave
her there in the psych ward? These questions always pop up
when reading or watching ‘NOES'. This is a wonderful
addition to the series and I highly recommend picking it up
and saying hello to Freddy Kruger. But if things get too
rough just remember:
One, Two Freddy's coming for you
Three, Four better lock your door
Five, Six grab your crucifix
Seven, Eight gonna stay up late
Nine, Ten never sleep again….