Editorials
Beyond Elm Street: 8 Great Robert Englund Roles That Aren’t Freddy Krueger
Happiest of birthdays to Robert Englund, and Happy #RobertEnglundDay!
Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story is now on SCREAMBOX, coinciding with the horror mainstay’s 76th birthday. The documentary was shot over the course of two years, highlighting the life and career of the classically trained actor and director.
Featuring interviews with Robert Englund and his wife Nancy, as well as fellow genre icons Lin Shaye, Eli Roth, Kane Hodder, Tony Todd, Adam Green, Bill Moseley, Heather Langenkamp & more, the documentary follows Englund’s career from his early days in Buster and Billie and Stay Hungry (starring with Arnold Schwarzenegger) to his big break in the 1980s as Freddy Krueger to his directorial debut with the 1988 horror film 976-EVIL to his iconic acting status in current roles such as Netflix’s hit series “Stranger Things.”
To celebrate, here are eight of the prolific actor’s best roles in the genre… beyond Elm Street and Freddy Krueger.
V – Willie
The 1984 miniseries “V” introduced a reptilian alien race masquerading as humans that use a request for aid to invade Earth. The miniseries, followed by a TV series and a prequel miniseries, saw a faction of humans create the Resistance to expose the Visitors and reclaim the planet. Robert Englund’s breakthrough role as Willie, a Visitor, deflects to join the humans in their battle. Englund’s Willie is an empathetic Visitor with a solid moral compass that leaves him caught between two worlds, and it marks the actor’s first breakthrough role ahead of his more iconic turn as Freddy Krueger.
Nightmare Café – Blackie
This short-lived anthology series created by Wes Craven centers around a mysterious café that grants second chances after death. The magical café and its employees help avenge wrongs or offer redemption. Robert Englund starred as the Nightmare Café’s enigmatic proprietor, who also narrated the series. Though there are mischievous aspects to both Blackie and Freddy Krueger, “Nightmare Café” gave Englund a chance to play the antithesis of his most iconic role, but the series was unfortunately cut far too short.
The Phantom of the Opera – Erik Destler
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers director Dwight H. Little aimed for a more horror-centric adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s classic novel. That included enlisting Englund, no stranger to playing haunting characters, as the eponymous character. This character iteration isn’t nearly as romantic; he’s far more maniacal and deranged. Despite a disfigured appearance similar to Freddy Krueger, they’re worlds apart. Englund shows range by introducing another horror villain with a distinctly different persona.
Strangeland – Jackson Roth
Dee Snider’s 1998 horror movie about an online predator who mutilates his victims sees Englund play Jackson Roth, a community activist who takes matters into his own hands when the killer, Carlton Hendricks (Snider), escapes conviction for his crimes. Roth leads the charge in vigilante justice, only to spiral dangerously out of control. Englund’s role harkens back to the concerned parents in A Nightmare on Elm Street and the vengeance they unleashed in murdering Freddy Krueger.
The Mangler – Bill Gartley
Tobe Hooper’s adaptation of Stephen King’s short story takes on a haunted laundry press. Or rather, a possessed piece of heavy machinery develops a taste for human blood. Robert Englund always gives good villain, and his scene-chewing turn as the greedy laundry press owner opposite Ted Levin’s Officer John Hunton makes for a fun time.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon – Doc Halloran
Behind the Mask is a hysterical deconstruction of the slasher formula set around an aspiring slasher icon, Leslie Vernon. Leslie gives a documentary crew exclusive and intimate access to his life, walking them through his training and detailed plans to slay a group of teens and enter the slasher pantheon. Enter Englund’s Doc Hallorann, the take-charge psychiatrist determined to thwart Vernon. Englund channels Donald Pleasence’s Dr. Loomis as he refreshingly plays against type here.
Masters of Horror: “Dance of the Dead” – The MC
Robert Englund reteams with Tobe Hooper in this season one episode of “Masters of Horror.” The actor plays the boisterous, commanding MC of the Doom Room, a seedy bar that draws crowds over its zombie dance performances. The MC is a savvy, ruthless businessman above all else, and Englund steals every scene.
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer – Professor Crowley
Professor Crowley (Robert Englund) enlists plumber Jack Brooks (Trevor Matthews) to help unclog a pipe. Instead, it unearths a malevolent presence, which winds up possessing Crowley and transforms him into a monster. The irreverent, infectiously amusing creature feature lets Englund run wild as a stuffy professor turned insatiable creature, giving fans a new monster to love.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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