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The Story of How Robert Englund Almost Didn’t Play Freddy Krueger!

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Robert Englund

Robert Englund is of course best known for playing Freddy Krueger in all seven original Nightmare on Elm Street films, as well as reprising the role in Freddy vs. Jason. Needless to say, it’s highly likely that Freddy would’ve never become the iconic pop culture figure that he did if it weren’t for Englund, and for that reason and that reason alone, we should all be kissing the man’s feet.

While it’s almost impossible to imagine anyone in the role other than Robert Englund – let’s pretend that remake doesn’t even exist, shall we? – an interesting bit of trivia connected to the Elm Street franchise is that Englund actually wasn’t Wes Craven’s first choice to play the nightmarish dream demon. That honor instead belongs to English actor David Warner, who donned the Christmas sweater in the early going. Yes, Freddy was almost an Englishman.

The origin story of the Freddy Krueger character is tied to a memorable event in Craven’s childhood, where he heard strange noises outside of his house one night, and upon looking out the window, saw a creepy old man walking past in a fedora. As if sensing a young Craven’s fear, the man looked up into the window and spooked him something fierce, leaving an indelible mark on the director’s life. Craven was particularly struck by the way the old man seemed to get enjoyment out of scaring him, which became the general basis of Freddy Krueger.

Conceived and written as being an old man, Craven naturally auditioned older actors for the role and it was David Warner who stuck out to him. Warner, who had previously played Jennings in The Omen, was originally cast to play Krueger, going so far as to sit for makeup tests (above). Proving that it just wasn’t meant to be, Warner soon thereafter dropped off the project, due to scheduling conflicts.

It was then, and only then, that Craven met Robert Englund, whose audition so impressed him that he had a complete change of heart about the character, deciding that a younger actor could pull it off just as well, if not better, than an older one could – after all, once the makeup is on, you can’t tell the age of the actor underneath anyway. And so, with Warner no longer attached, Englund was hired to take his place, and Freddy Krueger – as we know and love him – was born.

(Interesting to note that over a decade later, David Warner appeared in Scream 2 as drama teacher Gus Gold, at long last working with Wes Craven.)

All due respect to Warner, but I am incredibly happy that things worked out the way they did, as again I truly believe that Freddy just wouldn’t have been Freddy, without Englund underneath the makeup. As we saw in that awful remake, just because you’re a great actor doesn’t mean you can handle the role, and though I’m sure Warner would’ve done a fine job, I’m willing to bet that Freddy would’ve never become as iconic as he did if he didn’t leave the project, and pave the way for Englund to come in.

 

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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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.

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