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The True Story Behind A Nightmare On Elm Street!

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What inspired A Nightmare on Elm Street

The Real Story Behind A Nightmare On Elm Street

As the 30th anniversary of the original theatrical release of Wes Craven’s 1984 masterpiece A Nightmare On Elm Street approaches, the time is right to take a look back at the humble beginnings of this now-iconic franchise. After making his name in the horror genre with Last House On The Left and The Hills Have Eyes in the early 1980s, Craven found the inspiration for his most enduring classic with a true story straight out of the newspapers. Although it is a pretty common and convincing practice employed by many genre filmmakers to claim that their film is based on true events (we are looking at you, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Mr. Craven drew his inspiration from a variety of sources and then-current news articles.

Image via Esquire

As told in the excellent recent documentary Never Sleep Again, Craven was clearly inspired by true events. That is not to say that the original script is based on a real-life boogeyman that stalks you in your sleep; that all come into play later. Rather, the story evolved from a series of articles that Craven read in the L.A. Times concerning young men that were dying in the middle of nightmares. One particular case concerned a young man who suffered from severe nightmares and became convinced he was going to die if he went back to sleep. The victim’s father was a physician and gave his son a prescription for sleeping pills, which he refused to take, hiding them beneath his sheets. After three nights awake the young man finally fell asleep only to be found by his parents in the middle of the night, screaming and thrashing in his bed. Before they could even get to him, he was dead. In the aftermath, his parents found the stashed sleeping pills, along with a Mr.Coffee machine in his closet with a hidden extension cord.

Article helped inspire A Nightmare on Elm Street

This strange story was the beginning of the series of films that have haunted our dreams for nearly three decades, and the other pieces of the puzzle came together for Mr. Craven as he shaped his own reasons for this strange series of unexplained deaths. 30 years later we all know the story of Fred Krueger, the “Springwood Slasher”; he is as ingrained in horror culture now as deep as Frankenstein’s monster and Count Orlok.

But what really happened to that young man, who was so rightly terrified to fall asleep?

Well, it turns out that it was actually a rare disease known as Bangungot, also charmingly known as “sudden unexpected nocturnal death syndrome”. In the early 1980s, it became something of an epidemic in the Southeast Asian and Filipino population, with young men inexplicably becoming haunted by severe nightmares. Convinced that their dreams were being invaded by demons, the frightened men became addicted to black coffee and other stimulants in a desperate effort to stay awake. Following this rash of deaths, fear within the Southeast Asian neighborhoods grew and whispers of Bangungot began to circulate.

Nearly every country and culture in the world recognizes this affliction in one version or another. The people of Turkey call it “the dark presser.” In Africa, it is known as the “devil riding on your back.” The Hmong know it as “the crushing demon.” But Turkish, African, and American men very rarely die from this sleep disorder. However, Asian people seem to be strangely susceptible to a fatal version of the disease.
Recent studies theorize that the occurrence stems from severe swelling of the pancreas, a gland that produces digestive enzymes, particularly insulin, to metabolize the carbohydrates that we take in. In victims suffering from this condition, the swelling becomes so severe that the pancreas literally digests itself. Complications from this swelling are thought to cause the nightmares as shock begins to deprive the major organs of blood and oxygen, bringing hallucinations and eventually death as the body poisons itself.

At least that is what they want us to believe…

 

So, once again, science explains the demon. Well, sort of.
There is really no rhyme or reason to the (thankfully very rare) deaths that occur due to Bangungot, nor is there an explanation as to why Asians and Filipinos are more likely to die from it. Doctors recommend patients suffering from the disease cut out carbs and alcohol, but they say that for everything.
So, maybe the simplest answer is the best one.
Maybe there is a demon out there haunting the dream world, and he cannot be stopped.
Sleep tight…

Marge Thompson: What the hell are dreams, anyway?

Dr. King: Mysteries, incredible body hocus-pocus.
Truth is, we still don’t know what they are
or where they come from.

~A Nightmare On Elm Street, 1984

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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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