Freddy fans throng to Elgin theater's 'black carpet' event

When Ruben Villanueva wears his red-and-green striped sweater out in public, he usually sticks out like a sore thumb and induces snickers from passers-by.

But the sweater paired with a black fedora elicited calls for photographs and interviews Friday night at the Marcus Theaters in Elgin. Villanueva was one of hundreds of horror film fans who turned out to see the remake of Wes Craven's 1984 horror classic "A Nightmare on Elm Street."

"I wear it just to wear it," said Villanueva, of Elgin, who purchased the sweater on amazon.com in January. "I am a fan of the movie, but I am a horror buff. I love them all."

Ruben Villanueva's wife, Magdalena, said her husband dons the well-worn sweater for work and to take their 11-month-old child swimming.

"It's embarrassing, and now it is reinforced," Magdalena Villanueva said, as her husband posed for photos with fans. "If he walks ahead of me and our daughter and people don't know we are together, they'll talk about him."

A group of extras for the film, which was filmed in and around Chicago, gathered to create a creepy ambience as moviegoers entered the theater. The group chanted the film's famed nursery rhyme, and recreated a scene from the movie. Elvira arrived in a hearse and freaked out moviegoers.

A year ago, nearly 100 extras gathered at the Bluff City Cemetery in Elgin to help film a scene for the Samuel Bayer film. The cemetery was chosen for it mausoleums, hills and mature trees, official from New Line Cinemas have said. Other scenes were shot at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights and Elk Grove High School.

Christina Casas, 17, of South Elgin, was an extra in the new "Nightmare."

She said she was about 8 when she watched the original movie with Johnny Depp, and has loved the franchise since.

"The old 80s horror movies were still horror, but had a bit of humor, too." Casas said. "There was a good balance."

Casas's scene was a flashback to a funeral.

"I know I saw my little black blob in the trailer," Casas said. "That's good enough for me."