Nightmare On Elm Street's Robert Englund Says Freddy Krueger Brings Families Together
With nine "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies (including one exciting crossover with Jason Voorhees under his belt), Freddy Krueger has cemented himself as a horror icon, terrifying generations of audiences since the 1980s. Despite not having a new movie in over a decade, the dream-stalking serial killer's longstanding presence in the horror genre has proven that no matter your age, Freddy is coming to give you nightmares.
Robert Englund, the actor who brought Freddy to life, believes "Nightmare on Elm Street" has this eternal presence in pop culture because it became a family affair. "The kids would come home with the new 'Nightmare on Elm Street' movie and watch with glee as mother and father got scared, or stepdad got scared," the actor said during his interview with Looper. "In some cases, the stepfather or dad would put silverware on his fingers and scratch the windows and scare the kids at night."
Englund reflected on stories he's heard over the years of how "Nightmare on Elm Street" became a family experience. Families would rent the movies, huddle together, get scared, break for snacks, and repeat the process. Despite skyrocketing in popularity during the video revolution and age of cable, Englund is confident "Nightmare on Elm Street" will terrify generations to come, bringing families together as it does so
Freddy Krueger's charm contributed to the franchise's everlasting success
"Nightmare on Elm Street" thrived on word of mouth and terrifying scares, allowing it to live on decades after the last installment hit theaters. As Robert Englund said in his interview with Looper, fear controlled audiences when they watched "Nightmare on Elm Street," bringing families together. While that's plenty for the franchise to thrive on, the actor's terrifying, yet sometimes comedic performance as Freddy Krueger ensured audiences would return for every sequel.
Although Freddy's funny side wasn't part of director Wes Craven's original idea, Englund admitted that's part of what sets his villain apart from other horror icons. "In [the original] 'Nightmare on Elm Street,' Freddy cracks jokes, he sticks his tongue out of a phone, he puts the girl's face on and pretends to be Tina [Gray] (Amanda Wyss)," he said, detailing how Freddy puts his "jokes" into his vile acts. "He has a wicked, cruel, clown sense of humor, which is a classic ingredient in theater and in storytelling – the cruel clown, Rumpelstiltskin – and that was always there. The fans loved it so much because it was evidence of Freddy's personality."
Despite fans' love for Freddy and "Nightmare on Elm Street," Warner Bros. hasn't delivered a new movie in over 10 years. However, even if they did, Englund is no longer looking to don the iconic costume, retiring from the role before 2010's reboot attempt. He's still more than open to a new actor bringing Freddy to life, and he even has some choices on who should replace him, but at the end of the day, the priority will be to recapture the balance of horror and comedy that makes Freddy unique.