Connect with us

News

Retro Rewind: That Time Tobe Hooper Made a Nightmare on Elm Street Prequel

Published

on

Written by Patti Pauley

The last three editions of Retro Rewind, I focused, and maybe bore you to death, with all three glorious years of that deliciously cheesy Horror Hall of Fame that was hosted year after year by Robert Englund. So it seems, I can’t seem to shake wanting to discuss the man, the myth, the Springwood Slasher when it comes to these little throwbacks, and this week is no damn exception. Because we’re going to talk about that 45-minute fantastic kick off to the Freddy’s Nightmares Prime Time series that was directed by the father of Leatherface no less; and essentially a proper Nightmare on Elm Street prequel my friends.

 

Love the series or hate it, the 1988 series pilot for Nightmare spin-off show Freddy’s Nightmares was undoubtedly, the diamond in the rough of the entire run of this show. So yeah, once you see that first episode, it kinda goes all down hill from there. I should know. I own the whole goddamn series. AND YES, I’ve gone through every, single, one of these gems.

patti pauley freddy's nightmares

Grant it, the anthology Tales From the Crypt-like series that Freddy hosted throughout its run is a fun watch for rainy days, don’t expect a complete Nightmare on Elm Street vibe from anything other than the first episode- for those who have never seen these little treasures. Could be why these little slices of The Nightmare on Elm Street franchise money pie only lasted for two seasons.

That first episode entitled “No More Mr. Nice Guy” directed by Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Tobe Hooper and penned by the late Wes Craven, dives into the backstory of Springwood’s Slasher and what had led to his current state of a Nightmare demon, which in retrospective, we never really heard much about up until later’s Freddy’s Dead movie of course. The opening liner from Freddy himself as he introduces the very first tale of Freddy’s Nightmares is really just that, “Don’t be afraid, This time, it isn’t one of your nightmares. This one… was mine.”

In the original Nightmare on Elm Street film, Nancy’s mother breaks from her denial, of what is happening with her daughter and explains the truth behind this man Nancy now knows as Fred Krueger- ole Freddy likes to label his belongings- due to the infamous fedora she yanked off Fred’s head in a REM dream state at the sleep study center. Marge (Nancy’s mother) explains, although not in great detail, just Freddy was: “A filthy child murderer who killed at least 20 kids in the neighborhood… kids we all knew.”  Marge then goes on about Krueger’s arrest, a mistrial, and the private justice the parents of Elm Street dished out on the monster of Springwood.

“No Mr. Nice Guy” expands on Marge’s story beginning with a local news anchor doing the whole blah, blah, blah, schpiel. Then, the video is interrupted by a screen of green and red stripes with host Freddy Krueger close behind introducing his story to the masses which begins at the Springwood Municipal  Building and the trial of one Fred Krueger.

Of course, the bumbling arresting police officers fuck up with the arresting process and Krueger is set free- typical American justice. Freddy, more pissed off than ever, goes to seek revenge on Lt. Timothy Blocker the cop who almost put an end to Freddy’s fun, by going after the officer’s twin girls. Fun little fact, the cop is played by Ian Patrick Williams of Dolls and Re-Animator notoriety.

Well, while Krueger is plotting his revenge, the parents of Elm Street form a lynch mob and corner him in his boiler room.Conveniently, Lt. Blocker arrives just as a shotgun is pointed at Krueger’s noggin’ and begins to talk peaceful resolution. That is until the good officer’s daughters are being threatened by a smirking Freddy who gives zero fucks about any of the threats being thrown at him by a very angry hoard of baby boomers. All bets are off, and Lt. Blocker is the one who lights the match, launching Krueger’s immortal nightmare legacy.

Personally speaking, I’ve seen this episode in particular more than any other in the series, because quite simply as previously stated, it is the best episode the set of tales has to offer. And funny enough, though the series doesn’t look as visually appealing as maybe it did back in 1988, this one 45 minute spectacle, and the only one actually revolving around Freddy, still holds up by today’s standards as far as storytelling. Speaking of which, I really wish this series would get a Scream Factory release as this show really could use some tender loving as far as a high-resolution Blu-Ray set. Or any set for that matter. Kind of crazy to me NO ONE has jumped at this yet.

Anyway, I’ve managed to locate the entire episode of “No More Mr. Nice Guy” over at Dailymotion, along with a few other Freddy’s Nightmares shows. In the meantime, can we just get this released as a legit DVD/ Blu-Ray set already?

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

Published

on

In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

News

Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

Published

on

Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading