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“The Prequel We Should’ve Made into a Movie”: Robert Englund Reflects on Tobe Hooper’s “Freddy’s Nightmares” Episode
To date, the closest thing we’ve gotten to a proper A Nightmare on Elm Street prequel was, oddly enough, the debut episode of the anthology series “Freddy’s Nightmares.” Though the series primarily had nothing to do with the Elm Street franchise, aside from Freddy hosting the individual stories each week, the premiere episode was a different story altogether.
Directed by late master of horror Tobe Hooper – yes, THAT Tobe Hooper – “No More Mr. Nice Guy” told the origin story of Freddy Krueger, with Robert Englund starring. The episode, which premiered on October 9th, 1988, begins with Fred Krueger on trial for the murder of several children in Springwood, Ohio. Of course, he ultimately ends up getting off scot-free.
Subsequently, as we had heard in the films, the Elm Street parents take the law into their own hands, burning Krueger alive and inadvertently turning him into a Dream Demon.
Speaking with Bloody Disgusting’s Boo Crew Podcast this week, Englund reflected on the “Freddy’s Nightmares” episode that he calls “The prequel we should’ve made into a movie.” He also dug into the various different iterations of a Nightmare on Elm Street prequel that had been tossed about over the years, none of which ever made their way onto the screen.
“I contributed a script for Part 3 – elements of that showed up in other movies. But, ya know, I wasn’t about to sue New Line, because they were treating me great. But we’ve always been talking about a prequel,” Englund told the Boo Crew. “And some time shortly after Freddy vs. Jason, I was at an Oscar party and one of New Line’s executives was there. And we’d been drinking, and he told me that there was a terrific script going around, and that they were thinking of bringing in [Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer director John McNaughton].”
Englund continued, “So there was some discussion about this script that was floating around, and I’ve heard various titles. One of them was Krueger: The First Kills. And you followed Freddy, sans makeup, on his serial child killing spree. And then the two cops that would solve the crime and find him. And then, this is where it gets really good, Freddy goes to court. Just like the pilot of Freddy’s Nightmares. And the great parts in this film are the attorneys that get Freddy off. They’re like these ambulance-chasing, brilliant guys. And they get Freddy off. And of course Freddy gloats on the courtroom stairs after he gets away with it. And then, obviously, the conclusion of the movie is Freddy being burned alive. You get to see it, ya know, the transformation.”
“I liked that. And they never made that movie. And as close as we may ever come to that, unless somebody revives that or rewrites it, is that pilot episode of Freddy’s Nightmares.”
You can listen to The Boo Crew’s full interview with Robert Englund below.
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A hospital stay grows more nerve-frazzling when memory loss distorts reality in our exclusive clip from This Tempting Madness, inspired by a true story.
The mind-bending psychological thriller will be released in select theaters and on demand on June 12 via Vertical.
Simone Ashley (“Bridgerton”) stars as Mia, who awakens from a coma, grievously injured, her memory fractured. As she puts the pieces of her past together, she starts to question her own actions and her perception of reality.
In This Tempting Madness, “Mia awakens from a coma grievously injured, her memory fractured. As she puts the pieces of her past together, she starts to question her own actions, and her perception of reality.”
Jennifer E. Montgomery makes her feature directorial debut from a script she co-wrote with director of photography Andrew Davis, inspired by Montgomery’s first-hand experience with tragedy involving her best friend.
“Months before the incident, there were signals that her world was unraveling,” says Montgomery. “I could feel the pressure building, though I didn’t know what form it would take. I never could have known what violence would come, and I certainly never imagined making a film about it.”
Austin Stowell (“NCIS: Origins”), Suraj Sharma (Happy Death Day 2U), Mojean Aria (Reminiscence), Amol Shah (“For All Mankind”), and Zenobia Shroff (“Ms. Marvel”) round out the cast.
Smoke Jumper Films and Mango Monster Productions produce in association with Catchlight Studios (Heretic, The Blackening).
This Tempting Madness is rated R for “language, violence/bloody images, and brief sexuality.”