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Did you know there’s a scene in anA Nightmare on Elm Streetmovie where Robert Englund does not play Freddy Krueger? Not Jackie Earle Haley in the misguided remake, nor Chason Schirmer and Tobe Sexton as young versions of him inFreddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, nor Michael Bailey Smith as Super Freddy and Noble Craig as merged-with-Alice Freddy inA Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. No, the scene in question takes place inA Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge.
It’s one of thefranchise’s most divisive installments, but if things had gone according to the initial plan, fans would have had a real reason to complain. As was revealed in 2010’s entertaining and informativeNever Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, when the sequel began production,Robert Englund had been replaced by an unnamed extra in a Freddy mask. The reason behind this was a salary dispute between Englund’s agent and New Line Cinema studio head Robert Shaye. So, Shaye brought in the extra and, after a few weeks, came to recognize his mistake. Freddy is no Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers, where stunt performers can inhabit the role. At this point in time, Englund was the only one who could play the role.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
Freddy Krueger Is No Ordinary Slasher Villain
The specific gait and personality Englund brought to the role was really missed, replaced with someone who walked like a “dimestore monster.” Fortunately,there were still plenty of Freddy scenes to shoot, so the extra was replaced with Englund, whose importance New Line came to recognize. If one wants to understand just how stiff theextra in the maskwas, just watch the shower scene where Marshall Bell’s Coach Schneider meets his end. As soon as Freddy takes over Jesse Walsh’s body, he emerges from a heavy wall of steam, and you’ll agree the criticism of him walking like “Frankenstein’s monster” was warranted.
Along with Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky, Englund is one of the only slasher villain icons who cannot be replaced. Did the terrific Jackie Earle Haley give it his all in the rightly panned remake? Absolutely. Did Mark Hamill craft his own take on Chucky in 2019’s underrated but fairly forgettableChild’s Playremake? Another yes.
Robert Englund Thinks A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge Needs a Remake
Robert Englund wants to see A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge remade with the subtext played up.
But it just isn’t thesame without Englundor Dourif. TheybecomeFreddy and Chucky (one could say theyareFreddy and Chucky, but the two performers are widely known to be quite kind in real life). Mark Patton and Kim Myers are also excellent in the lead roles of Jesse Walsh and Lisa Webber, respectively. But, since we’re on the topic of casting,Never Sleep Againalso reveals that Walsh could have also been played by none other than Brad Pitt.
In the end,Freddy’s Revengeis more of a curiosity than a truly effective film like the two installments that bookend it. It very much plays like an attempt to flesh out the world but without a clear idea of how to do so. But it’s the stuffcult classics are made of. And, with $30 million against a price tag of $3 million, it was a success — not as much of a success as the original film ($57 million against a $1.8 million budget), but profitable nonetheless. It was certainly profitable enough to continue the franchise, with Robert Englund attached.
Robert Englund Was Crucial to the Nightmare on Elm Street Franchise
One cannot overstate Englund’s importancetoA Nightmare on Elm Street. And, with the box office returns for the phenomenalA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors($44.8 million against $4.6 million) and the MTV-likeA Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master($49.4 million against $6.5 million), it became clear that the IP wasn’t a standard slasher franchise the same way Freddy wasn’t a standard slasher villain.
Things would peter out fairly quickly withA Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, both in terms of critical reception and box office returns. But, like with every other installment, Englund’s performance was praised. On the financial side of things,Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmaresaw a nice uptick, but it was still clear the franchise had reached its earning potential peak with the fourth film. Not even Wes Craven’s return forNew Nightmarecould give it a financial boost, though its positive critical reception was a nice consolation prize considering that it was and remains the lowest-grossing entry to date.
Englund retired from the role after 2003’sFreddy vs. Jason, but he’s found ways every now and then to keep it alive. For instance, he played the character in an episode ofThe Goldbergs. Given the success of David Gordon Green’sHalloweenback in 2018 (and its two sequels to a lesser extent), it seems now is the time to inject new life intodormant slasher IPswith original stars attached. Heather Langenkamp has made it clear she’s up forreprising the role of Nancy Thompson, so never say never.A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revengeis streaming onMax.
