Now Playing Podcast Presents: The Nightmare on Elm St Retrospective Series

Now Playing Podcast
Now Playing Podcast
  • 4.2 (107)
  • Film Reviews

One, two… Now Playing’s coming for you. From Wes Craven’s 1984 original to the wisecracking sequels, the meta scares of New Nightmare, and the 2010 reboot, Freddy Krueger started as a shadow in the boiler room and evolved into a pop culture icon with a glove full of catchphrases. And now we’re reviewing the entire A Nightmare on Elm Street series. The franchise swings from genuinely unsettling dream logic to full-blown MTV-era spectacle. Some entries dig into fear and trauma. Others just want a bigger kill and a better one-liner. Join our hosts as they step into the dream world to break down every nightmare, every final girl, and every reinvention of the Springwood slasher to decide which films still haunt and which are better left asleep.

  1. Apr 30

    Thomas Dekker’s Nightmare on Elm Street

    Thomas Dekker joins us to look back at 2010's A Nightmare on Elm Street on its anniversary, and he doesn’t hold back. From a lightning-fast audition process to months on set in Chicago, Dekker walks through how he landed the role of Jesse and what it was like stepping into one of horror’s most protective fanbases. He breaks down how the film changed while it was being made. A darker, riskier script about trauma and Freddy’s past slowly softened as studio nerves kicked in. Entire sequences were scrapped and reshot, including a full opening scene. Even Jackie Earle Haley’s performance shifted in post, with ADR changing the tone of Freddy's voice after filming wrapped. Dekker also gets into the physical grind of filming his death scenes, hanging upside down in a harness, screaming through week-long shoots, and why he pushed to play Jesse as terrified instead of macho. It’s a small choice that says a lot about how horror treats its characters. Beyond the film, Dekker talks about his music career, including making an album in his hotel room during Nightmare's production, working with Robert Englund later on, and what he learned from watching big studio horror operate versus indie…

  2. 10/31/2024

    Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams by Robert Englund

    This year, the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise turns 40 years old, and Now Playing host Arnie has been celebrating all month by revisiting the classic slasher series. As part of that personal retrospective, he has read and reviewed Freddy Krueger star Robert Englund's 2009 autobiography:  Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams. Does Englund dream up new tales to entertain people who have been fans for decades? Is there more to the man than just the makeup? You can find out by hearing Arnie's bonus Halloween book review now!

  3. 06/09/2010

    Nightmare on Elm Street Interviews with Robert Englund and Heather Langenkamp

    As part of our Nightmare on Elm Street retrospective, Arnie sits down with franchise icons Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englund for two candid, revealing interviews that go far beyond boiler room scares. Heather reflects on stepping back into Nancy’s world as executive producer and star of the documentary I Am Nancy, what it meant to revisit New Nightmare and play a version of herself, and how the character of Nancy Thompson evolved from final girl to feminist horror icon. She also discusses her complicated relationship with horror, the responsibility of legacy, and why the Elm Street fanbase continues to matter decades later. Then Robert Englund joins the show to talk Freddy’s cultural staying power, the tonal shift of the sequels, voice acting in projects like animated superhero series, and the strange, wonderful career that followed putting on the fedora and glove. From low-budget horror comedies to comic-con crowds, Englund is sharp, funny, and surprisingly reflective about what Freddy represents and whether the character should be reborn for a new generation. Two legends. One franchise. And a look at how a dream demon turned into a cinematic institution.

  4. 05/01/2010

    A Nightmare on Elm Street

    The film that brings back horror icon Freddy Krueger as a darker and more sinister character than ever before. While Freddy is on the prowl a group of teenagers being stalked soon learn they all have a common factor making...

  5. 04/23/2010

    Freddy vs. Jason

    Nightmare on Elm Street Series Episode 8 This is a whole new episode of Now Playing Podcast. No, really, it is! Having already spent time with the strong, silent type during last year’s Friday the 13th retrospective, Now Playing Podcast switches allegiances to the wisecracking dream demon for a fresh look at Freddy vs. Jason. This time the focus is squarely on Freddy Krueger and how this long-awaited crossover fits into the Nightmare on Elm Street legacy. With Robert Englund donning the glove for what would become his final big-screen turn as Freddy, the film pits cunning against brute force in a battle fans had debated for years. But does this clash give Freddy the send-off he deserves, or does sharing the spotlight dilute what made Elm Street special? The hosts examine whether this slasher showdown honors the dream stalker’s legacy or leaves Nightmare fans feeling like the real casualties.

  6. 04/16/2010

    Wes Craven’s New Nightmare

    As Heather Langenkamp considers making another Nightmare on Elm Street film with Wes Craven, her son, Dylan, falls under the spell of the iconic disfigured villain Freddy Krueger. Eventually, Langenkamp must confront Freddy's demonic spirit to save the soul of...

  7. 04/09/2010

    Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare

    Just when you thought it was safe to sleep, Freddy Krueger returns in this sixth installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street films, as psychologist Maggie Burroughs, tormented by recurring nightmares, meets a patient with the same horrific dreams. Their...

  8. 04/02/2010

    A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child

    Alice, having survived the previous installment of the Nightmare series, finds the deadly dreams of Freddy Krueger starting once again. This time, the taunting murderer is striking through the sleeping mind of Alice's unborn child. His intention is to be...

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4.2
out of 5
107 Ratings

About

One, two… Now Playing’s coming for you. From Wes Craven’s 1984 original to the wisecracking sequels, the meta scares of New Nightmare, and the 2010 reboot, Freddy Krueger started as a shadow in the boiler room and evolved into a pop culture icon with a glove full of catchphrases. And now we’re reviewing the entire A Nightmare on Elm Street series. The franchise swings from genuinely unsettling dream logic to full-blown MTV-era spectacle. Some entries dig into fear and trauma. Others just want a bigger kill and a better one-liner. Join our hosts as they step into the dream world to break down every nightmare, every final girl, and every reinvention of the Springwood slasher to decide which films still haunt and which are better left asleep.

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