Hasitha Fernando looks at the story behind Wes Craven’s iconic slasher film A Nightmare on Elm Street on its 40th anniversary…
A Nightmare on Elm Street is a horror film that requires little introduction. The movie introduced audiences to one of most iconic horror villains with Robert Englund’s malevolent, razor-clawed Freddy Kreuger and also launched a successful horror franchise that certainly scarred multiple generations of kids. As the original hits 40 we look back at the behind-the-scenes story of the iconic supernatural slasher that left a lasting legacy on genre filmmaking…
The basic idea for the premise was based on a series of real-life events
The late Wes Craven has often been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror due to his significant contribution to the genre as well as its impact on cinema and pop culture. One of his signature styles involve the amalgamation of his horror works with dark humor and biting satire which were influenced by the efforts of Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock, Luis Bunuel and Federic Fellini. Craven first came up with the idea for A Nightmare on Elm Street from a series of macabre articles that were published in the Los Angeles Times over a three-year period in the 1980s.
These write-ups focused on a group of Southeast Asian refugees who belonged to the Hmong tribe of Cambodia and fled the Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot to restart their lives in USA. Several of these individuals, who were previously healthy men, died in the throes of horrific nightmares and the inability to find a cause of death perplexed health authorities at the time. Since then this phenomenon has been come to be known as Asian Death Syndrome, a variant of Sudden Unexpected Death Syndrome which is seen usually in Asian males.
Multiple studios rejected Wes Craven’s pitch for A Nightmare on Elm Street
After concluding his work on 1982’s Swamp Thing, Craven began writing the screenplay for A Nightmare on Elm Street which he finished fairly quickly. The filmmaker then approached several studios to pitch them his idea but they all rejected it for various reasons. Quite strangely, Walt Disney Productions was the first studio to be receptive to Craven’s pitch but they demanded several changes to make it more palatable for a PG-13 centric audience and naturally, Craven declined to accommodate these alterations. Paramount Pictures, too, showed initial interest in the project but eventually passed on it due to its similarity to 1984’s Dreamscape. It was in this context that Craven, driven by desperation and the need to bankroll his effort, reached out to New Line Cinema.
New Line Cinemas relied on external financiers to bankroll the project
New Line Cinema was an up-and-coming independent studio primarily involved in distributing films when Wes Craven approached them with a proposition to produce A Nightmare on Elm Street. However, having neither the industry clout nor the financial resources needed to bankroll the effort, the studio turned to external financiers for assistance. Shortly after New Line Cinema was able to find two inventors in England who each agreed to contribute 40% and 30% of the production budget. The home video distributor Media Home Entertainment pitched in with 20% of the budget and one of the producers of indie-horror flick The Texas Chain Saw Massacre contributed 10%. Four weeks prior to the commencement of production, however, the English investor who had promised 40% backed out, but Media Home Entertainment rose to the challenge and bridged that gap by giving the additional funding. Other backers who supported Craven’s venture were Heron Communications and Smart Egg Pictures.
Wes Craven changed one crucial detail of Freddy Kreuger prior to the shoot
The creation of Freddy Kreuger was a pastiche inspired by several source from Craven’s childhood. The name belonged to a schoolmate of his who used to bully him on a regular basis. Due to the painful memories he associated with this character he utilized his name for the antagonist of A Nightmare on Elm Street. The horrendous scarring we see in Freddy Kreuger was inspired by a burn victim who Craven was terrified of as a child and the villain’s attire came from an alcoholic hobo who lived close to his home. Initially, Craven envisioned Kreuger as a child molester but changed his mind and made him a child murderer as didn’t want to be accused of exploiting a string of highly publicized child molestations incidents that transpired in California during the time of movie’s production.
During an interview Craven gave some insight on to Freddy’s nature stating, “in a sense, Freddy stands for the worst of parenthood and adulthood – the dirty old man, the nasty father and the adult who wants children to die rather than help them prosper. He’s the boogey man and the worst fear of children – the adult that’s out to get them. He’s a very primal figure, sort of like Kronos devouring his children – that evil, twisted, perverted father figure that wants to destroy and is able to get them at their most vulnerable moment, which is when they’re asleep!”.
Kane Hodder was once considered for the role of Freddy Kreuger
When we think of Freddy Kreuger now there’s no one else we’d imagine him playing other than Robert Englund. But at one point The Omen’s David Warner and soon-to-be slasher icon Kane Hodder was in contention for the role before Englund’s casting. The actor hailed from a classically trained theater background made his feature film debut with 1974’s Buster and Billie before getting his breakthrough with sci-fi mini-series V in 1983. But nothing would prepare the performer for the fame and fortune that came with A Nightmare on Elm Street, where he played sadistic, child murderer Freddy Kreuger. Following his success on that movie Englund became mostly associated with the horror film genre reprising Freddy Kreuger’s role in seven sequels as well as the anthology horror series Freddy’s Nightmares which ran from 1988 to 1990.
During the flick’s 30th anniversary celebration Craven talked about the reasons he chose Robert Englund for the now iconic role of Freddy Kreuger, “I couldn’t find an actor to play Freddy Krueger with the sense of ferocity I was seeking. Everyone was too quiet, too compassionate towards children. Then Robert Englund auditioned. [He] wasn’t as tall as I’d hoped, and he had baby fat on his face, but he impressed me with his willingness to go to the dark places in his mind. Robert understood Freddy”.
Heather Langenkamp beat 200 actresses to play Nancy Thompson
Heather Langenkamp started her career in the film industry playing an extra in Francis Ford Coppola’s coming-of-age crime drama The Outsiders. After playing bit parts in similar productions she landed her first lead role in the little seen Nickel Mountain which was a joint production between Iceland and USA. That same year Langenkamp finally landed the role that would give her some much needed recognition but the process didn’t come easy, as the young actress had to beat over 200 actresses to nab the role of Nancy Thompson at an open audition. Among those who were in contention for the role include Demi Moore, Courteney Cox, Claudia Wells, Jennifer Grey and Tracey Gold. Langenkamp reprised Nancy’s role in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and portrayed a fictionalized version of her real life in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. Craven’s decision to go for a “very non-Hollywood” actress made him pick Langenkamp for the lead role of A Nightmare on Elm Street.
A Nightmare on Elm Street was Johnny Depp’s feature film debut
Nowadays Johnny Depp requires no introduction. But back when A Nightmare on Elm Street was being made Depp was an unknown trying to make his big break into Hollywood. According to Depp, his character was described far differently in the screenplay and was envisioned more as a stereotypical blond haired, football player type which was far different from how he looked. Nevertheless, after seeing actor’s headshot from a collection of photographs Wes Craven’s daughter selected Depp’s image and convinced Craven to give the role to him. This worked in the filmmaker’s favor at the time because Charlie Sheen was rejected by the studio as he wanted too much money.
Bathtub scenes, blood geysers & melting staircases
The iconic scene where Nancy is attacked by Freddy in the bathtub was accomplished by using a specially constructed bathtub which didn’t have a bottom. The tub was then placed in a bathroom set that was built on a swimming pool. The blood-soaked sequence involving a blood spouting geyser required over 500 gallons of fake blood to be created during production. To execute the sequence the revolving room used for Tina’s death were utilized and the film crew inverted the set and attached a camera so it would create the illusion that the room was the right way up even though it was actually upside down. The melting staircase was crafted using a pancake mix and was based on one of producer Robert Shaye’s recurring nightmares.
Saving New Line Cinema & the birth of an iconic horror franchise
It’s hard to imagine that the studio that bankrolled the critically and commercially successful The Lord of the Rings series needed saving at one point, but that is exactly what happened. 40 years ago New Line Cinema was a fledgling indie-studio founded by Robert Shaye that was mainly involved in distribution of movies. Of course, the studio had co-produced small scale efforts in the past but this all changed with the release of A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Produced on a shoestring budget of $1.8 million the horror flick went on to gross $57 million at the worldwide box office, instantly transforming the fortunes of New Line Cinema. The astounding success of the first movie resulted in the production of a string of sequels and the creation of the studio’s first commercially successful franchise. Because of this New Line Cinema quickly became known as “The House that Freddy Built” within the industry.
Upon its release the film received unanimous praise by film critics for its original premise, creative visuals and Robert Englund’s scene stealing performance. Critics observed how Craven had deftly built upon the horror tropes established in the 1970s with efforts like Black Christmas, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Halloween and delivered his own brand of terrifying slasher horror. Since its release A Nightmare on Elm Street has been re-evaluated and regarded as one of the greatest and most influential horror films ever made.
The unexpected critical and commercial success of the first movie led to the inevitable creation of an entire franchise which as of writing consists of six sequels, a TV series, a crossover movie event with Friday the 13th and a remake of the same name headlined by Johnny Depp’s friend Jackie Earle Haley. The sequels somewhat diminished in quality with every outing but Wes Craven’s New Nightmare released in 1994 received acclaim for its meta narrative and inventive concept. Following the dismal reception of the 2010 remake the IP has struggled to make a comeback the past decade, but with the film rights reverting back to Wes Craven’s estate in September 2019 us fans can hope that one day something worthwhile would eventually happen.
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Hasitha Fernando is a part-time medical practitioner and full-time cinephile. Follow him on Twitter via @DoctorCinephile for regular updates on the world of entertainment.