Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story Review

Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story review.

An in depth look at a genre legend…The Robert Englund Story gives us exactly what it promises. He may consider his place in horror history borderline accidental…but the mark he’s left is anything but.

New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.

Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story streams exclusively on Screambox June 6, 2023.

Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story

Directed by Chris Griffiths and Gary Smart

Written by Neil Morris and Gary Smart

Starring Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Eli Roth, Tony Todd, Lance Henriksen and Lin Shaye

Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story Review

Everyone knows Freddy Krueger.  He’s an S-tier horror icon.  Children of the 30s had the Universal Monsters.  Children of the 80s have Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and, of course, Freddy Krueger.  If you’ve found your way to this review of Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story you’re bound to be familiar with the child murdering burn victim.  Freddy has left an indelible mark on pop culture.  This documentary isn’t about Freddy Krueger.  Sure…it contains plenty of anecdotes and memories of the role…but it won’t be new ground for a fan of the franchise.  This is the story of the man behind the make-up.  And it’s a worthy one.

I started this review by talking about Robert Englund’s most famous role because that’s exactly how Hollywood Dreams and Nightmares begins.  It knows what drew you to the documentary…just like I know what drew you to this review.  The love of a character.  After a tip of the cap to Freddy the movie begins in earnest.  This isn’t the story of a character…it’s the story of a character actor.  A character actor who has seen it all and delivered something unforgettable.  It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

The stories in Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares are plentiful and eventually form an unmistakable theme.  The theme of a kind, intelligent, passionate actor who becomes synonymous with a genre full of darkness.  Englund is a masterful storyteller.  That becomes clear early in the proceedings.  Stories of his pre-A Nightmare on Elm Street work were my favorite of the entire piece. 

They aren’t all stories of success.  Many of them are stories of close calls…brushes with greatness.  Auditions for movies like Carrie and Apocalypse Now.  Consideration for a little role you may have heard of named Han Solo.  Working for a day on the set of Halloween…to throw dead leaves on the ground.  Working with legends like Henry Fonda and Burt Reynolds…and emerging stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jeff Bridges.  Tobe Hooper casting him in Eaten Alive (his first film after The Texas Chain Saw Massacre).  Englund was a working actor who found himself around greatness…but struggled to break through.  That, of course, would all change in 1984.

Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares lines up a great cast of talking heads to pay homage to Englund’s career.  Costars from the Nightmare movies are on hand, of course.  Heather Langenkamp, Miko Hughes, Lin Shaye, Amanda Wyss, Tuesday Knight and Monica Keena walk us through the different eras of his work on the franchise.  Lance Henriksen, Tony Todd and Kane Hodder pop up to discuss his place in genre history.  Eli Roth, Adam Green and others comment on his continuing influence on horror. 

A pattern begins to emerge when taking in the different perspectives…covering five decades of work.  Everyone makes sure to note what a joy Englund is to be around.  How much he cares about the project he’s working on.  The thought he puts into everything and how collaborative and helpful he is on set.  Englund does a lot of the storytelling himself…and the passion and kindness shines through his commentary.

Englund seems to consider his iconic status as Freddy Krueger as a bit of a happy accident.  As another talking head noted…other horror icons of the era could be recast…Freddy couldn’t.  Jason and Michael Myers were played by a rotating door of stuntmen.  Robert Englund is Freddy Krueger. 

Following his time as the man of your nightmares…Englund continues to appear in horror works both big and small.  Any fear that he views the typecasting with regret is quickly assuaged by Englund himself.  He considers his career a gift.  A gift that keeps on giving.  He looks at the roles he can get now as the elder statesman of the genre as better than he would have imagined starting out 50 years ago.  The respect from the horror industry is well earned through his work and reputation.

Whether it be his consistent positivity on set or at horror conventions…Robert Englund has forged a legacy on the genre that can’t be matched by many.  He may not have set out to be the Karloff of modern times…but he is.  And he deserves every bit of the recognition.

Scare Value

Englund is a masterful storyteller. That’s one of the main takeaways from Hollywood Dream & Nightmares. That, and how grateful (and deserving) he is. Discussion of his time in the industry before he became a horror icon is a highlight. Here’s a man who’s seen everything…and remains as humble as he is thankful. Who knew that the man behind one of the industries greatest monsters would be so easy to root for?

4/5

Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story Links

Streaming on Screambox June 6, 2023

Available on VOD from Amazon

Preorder on Blu-Ray from Amazon

Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story Trailer

If you enjoyed this review of Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares, check out another Screambox original documentary: RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop.