Movies
Robert Englund Reveals His ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ Sequel Idea
One of the great things about Robert Englund is that he NEVER seems to get sick of talking about Freddy Krueger or the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Ever since he first brought the iconic dream demon to the screen back in 1984, we’re pretty sure that Englund hasn’t done a single interview where he wasn’t asked about the series, and yet, he’s still as genuinely excited about all things Elm Street all these years later. A true horror icon, if there ever was one.
Speaking with Florida Today prior to this past weekend’s Spooky Empire (which was cancelled due to the impending threat of Hurricane Matthew), Englund dug back through his Elm Street memories to talk about set experiences and his favorite one-liners, but what really caught our eye was his pitch for a new installment in the series. The interviewer asked Englund what he would’ve changed about the franchise had he been in charge, and he excitedly revealed his concept.
“If I was in control of my own Nightmare on Elm Street movie I have an idea I would have liked to see,” said Englund. “I thought it would be great if the children of previous victims, or just kids who grew up hearing stories about Freddy Krueger, were each haunted by their own version of Freddy Krueger. Kids who grew up hearing stories about this Freddy Krueger guy and the awful things he did envisioned him in their own way, and that is the version that begins to haunt them.”
“Some people may picture him as stout, another might envision him as tall and thin, another with a different hat, or a different sweater,” he continued. “He could have different gloves, or even a glove with small razor blades as referred to in the first movie. It would be neat to see very different interpretations of Freddy Krueger based on the child’s vision of who or what Freddy was to them. After all, each person’s subconscious would picture him in a totally different way.”
An interesting idea, to say the least, and one that would actually be perfect for a Nightmare on Elm Street reboot. The biggest problem the franchise faces, going forward, is that it’s pretty much impossible for any actor on the planet to fill Robert Englund’s massive shoes, so the idea of different actors playing very different interpretations of Freddy Krueger is nothing if not intriguing. Without Englund in the role, there’s no sense even trying to bring Freddy back, so why not go in a completely new direction and do something wildly different?
What do you think? Is Englund onto something here?
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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