Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story
Horror icon comes across as the antithesis of his most famous character.
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I’ve always been a fan of actor Robert Englund and his most famous character, Freddy Krueger. I came away as an even bigger backer after watching the talking head documentary “Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story” (available on the Screambox streaming service and on VOD beginning Tuesday, June 6).
Englund comes across as a funny, kind, thoughtful and warm person and these characteristics are confirmed by his friends, family and colleagues … among them Englund’s wife Nancy, directors Eli Roth and Adam Green and actors Lance Henriksen, Tony Todd, Lin Shaye, Heather Langenkamp, Dennis Christopher, Bill Moseley, Kane Hodder and William Katt … among others.
“Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares” comes to us from filmmakers Chris Griffiths and Gary Smart, who previously collaborated on “You’re So Cool, Brewster! The Story of Fright Night” and “Pennywise: The Story of It” and have “RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop” on the horizon. This isn’t the definitive Krueger doc – that’d be Daniel Farrands and Andrew Kasch’s four-hour “Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy” (currently available to stream on Tubi) – but it’s an extensive, 134-minute look at the man who embodied the horror icon.
Englund has one helluva memory and is one helluva storyteller. We hear about his childhood, his parents’ hesitance over him becoming an actor, how he helped Mark Hamill win the role of Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars,” how he and Christopher got arrested in the Philippines while filming the Vietnam War movie “Don’t Cry, It’s Only Thunder” and tons of other production tales.
Horror docs are a dime a dozen and “Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares” doesn’t break any new ground artistically, but it’s an entertaining watch if you’re a fan of Englund’s and its message of kindness is one well worth hearing. It’ll also likely prompt me to revisit or watch for the first time flicks such as Robert Aldrich’s “Hustle,” Bob Rafelson’s “Stay Hungry,” Tobe Hooper’s “Eaten Alive” and John Milius’ “Big Wednesday,” which should be cool/fun.
Englund fesses up to being pigeonholed by playing Krueger, but he seems completely at peace with this. If “Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares” is any indicator, he has every right to be.