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New Line Nearly Pulled the Plug After the ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ Sequel (Exclusive)

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One of the most misunderstood sequels of all time is Jack Sholder‘s A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, which followed up Wes Craven‘s masterpiece with a gritty take on the character that has always been condemned by fans. While I personally am a fan (it has some of the coolest effects in all of the franchise), it’s always been looked at as a failure. So much so that New Line Cinema almost washed their hands of Freddy after its release.

Still, New Line eventually moved forward with A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, which was originally penned by Craven before being re-written and directed by Chuck Russell. On the film’s 30th anniversary, it’s widely praised as the best Elm Street, having given birth a more “comical” Freddy and the legendary group of Dream Warriors who fought back to destroy him.

Russell is scheduled to appear at Bloody Disgusting and Wizard World’s Horror Fest Philadelphia this coming weekend in which he and star Heather Langenkamp will be doing a live commentary of Dream Warriors, all before Dokken performs the film’s theme song live (get tickets here)! With a full story forthcoming, we spoke with Russell who revealed that New Line nearly shut the door on the Elm Street franchise after the disappointment of the original’s sequel.

“The studio rightfully felt that Nightmare 2 was a bit of a misfire and wanted to get the franchise back on course,” Russell told Bloody Disgusting in an exclusive chat. “In fact, at that point they were uncertain it would continue. I thought in Nightmare 2 Freddy became almost less personable… more of a typical slasher than a dream demon. I convinced New Line we could do bigger, wilder dream sequences and make Freddy more of a devilish ring master…make it both more frightening and more fun. They took a chance on my vision.”

As we all know, Dream Warriors reinvigorated both the franchise and Freddy, giving us over 30 years of nightmares. Watch this spot for the full piece this afternoon and come say “hi” if you’re joining us in Philly this weekend!

Wizard World Bloody Horror Fest

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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‘Late Night With the Devil’ – Exclusive Clip Begins the Supernatural Horror on Halloween 1977

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The upcoming Late Night With the Devil is one of the most buzzed about horror movies of the year, currently 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and earning rave reviews from both Stephen King and Kevin Smith. King raves that the film is “absolutely brilliant,” adding that he couldn’t take his eyes off it. Smith comments, “I love it. It’s Rosemary’s Baby meets Network.”

David Dastmalchian (Dune, The Suicide Squad) stars as the host of a late-night talk show that descends into a nightmare in the Ghostwatch and WNUF Halloween Special-inspired film.

IFC Films & Shudder will release the hotly anticipated Late Night with the Devil theatrically on March 22 before it heads to Shudder exclusively on April 19, 2024.

Begin the horror with a brand new EXCLUSIVE clip below…

David Dastmalchian stars as Jack Delroy, the charismatic host of “Night Owls,” and the film traces the ill-fated taping of a live Halloween special in 1977 plagued by a demonic presence.

The energetic and innovative feature hails from Australian writing-directing team Colin and Cameron Cairnes (100 Bloody Acres, Scare Campaign). 

The film premiered last year at SXSW. Meagan wrote in her review out of the fest, “Late Night with the Devil captures the chaotic energy of a late night show, embracing the irreverent comedy and stress of live television with a pastiche style. It’s a clever trojan horse for a surprising horror movie that goes full throttle on unhinged demonic mayhem.

“The ingenuity, the painstaking period recreation, a riveting performance by Dastmalchian, and a showstopper of a finale make for one Halloween event you won’t want to miss.”

Spooky Pictures founders Roy Lee (It, The Grudge, The Ring) and Steven Schneider (Pet Sematary, Paranormal Activity, Insidious), Derek Dauchy (“Al Kameen”) and Future Pictures’ Mat Govoni (“Lone Wolf”) and Adam White (“Lone Wolf”) and John Molloy are all producing.

Joel Anderson (Lake Mungo), Rami Yasin, and David Dastmalchian executive produce.

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