Movies
[Exclusive] U.S. Rights to ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ Have Reverted Back to Wes Craven’s Estate
One of the biggest conversations in the horror community right now is the current state of the Friday the 13th franchise, which is trapped in a legal battle between two parties.
It all started when Friday the 13th writer Victor Miller exercised a legal right that would revert the ownership of the story back to him. Director Sean Cunningham’s Horror, Inc. however, refutes this, and that’s why we are where we are. While all of us were focusing on Friday, I checked in on the status of another iconic slasher, one who lays dormant in Springwood, OH.
What I discovered is that Wes Craven‘s Estate pulled a similar maneuver this year and regained the U.S. rights to both A Nightmare on Elm Street and its red and green sweater/fedora-wearing dream demon, Freddy Krueger. Long story short, the law is that writers can reclaim ownership of their work after 35 years, and 2019 marks 35 years since Elm Street was released. Like Victor Miller, Craven’s estate was, therefore, able to legally reclaim ownership of the original film this year, which was of course written and directed by the late Wes Craven.
The implications are unknown to me as I’m not a lawyer, but the good news is that there appears to be no third party standing in the way of Craven’s estate from making deals for the franchise or the iconic slasher. In other words, there’s no current legal battle over the rights, allowing Craven’s estate control over the franchise’s future here in the States. From what I understand, WB/New Line Cinema still controls international rights, much like Friday the 13th.
More as we learn it.
The critically acclaimed horror movie Late Night With the Devil was released into theaters nationwide last month, and after scaring up over $10 million, it’s now available at home!
How and where can you watch Late Night with the Devil at home, you ask?
The easiest – and cheapest – way to watch Late Night with the Devil at home is to stream the film on Shudder, which is currently its exclusive streaming home. That will of course require a subscription to Shudder; if you don’t already have one of those – and you should! – you can sign up today and get the first seven days for free, with plans starting at $5.99 per month.
But Shudder isn’t the only place you can watch the film, even if it’s the only streaming service it’s available on. You can also digitally purchase Late Night with the Devil on platforms such as Prime Video and Fandango at Home (formerly Vudu), where it’ll cost you $14.99.
Check it out and then come on back here and let us know what you thought!
[Related] Satan Wants You: The Real Life Inspirations Behind ‘Late Night with the Devil’
David Dastmalchian (Dune, The Suicide Squad) 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).
Meagan Navarro wrote in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “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.”
Late Night with the Devil was also praised by both Stephen King and Kevin Smith, with King tweeting: “Late Night with the Devil. It’s absolutely brilliant. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Your results may vary, as they say, but I urge you to watch it when you can.”
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