Case File 007: Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street)

October 09, 2019 / Christopher Schrader

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Slasher movies were certainly de rigueur in the early 80s, but when writer/director Wes Craven created A Nightmare on Elm Street, he had more on his mind than simply churning out another Halloween ripoff. This wasn't just a paradigm shift in the established formula for this sub-genre, it also birthed one of the most iconic horror villains of all-time.

On this episode, we're focusing exclusively on the first entry in the franchise and investigating how Craven, Robert Englund, and the rest of the cast & crew helped create an indelible modern myth with the character of Freddy Krueger.

Topics include: the real life incidents that inspired Craven's screenplay, the original actor they hired to play Freddy, how Englund's casting fundamentally changed certain aspects of the character, how tension between Craven and the head of the studio effected the finished film, our favorite behind-the-scenes stories, another round of Ultimate Match Up, our plans for covering the rest of this series, and much more!

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