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The Rewatchables ·

A Nightmare on Elm Street

year 1984decade 80sdirector Wes Cravengenre Horror
host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Van Lathan
All 40 categories

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award · 1:25:12

Craven directs teenage hangouts as well as horror

As an appetizer, Wes Craven is as good at directing teenage hangouts as he is at horror, the secret to his success: after 15 minutes with the four kids in the first act, you care about them.

Craven is likened to Young Jeezy, a master of his genre who transcends it and can stand next to other filmmakers, apart from trying Music of the Heart.

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson · 1:59:20

Listen to your kids

Not pounding vodka at home every night is offered before listen to your kids, because your kids are trying to tell you something.

The film

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Directed by Wes Craven · Horror

91 minutes

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Heather Langenkamp Nancy Thompson
Robert Englund Fred "Freddy" Krueger
Johnny Depp Glen Lantz
Ronee Blakley Marge Thompson
John Saxon Lt. Donald "Don" Thompson
Amanda Wyss Christina "Tina" Gray
Nick Corri Rod Lane
Joseph Whipp Sgt. Parker
Lin Shaye Teacher
Leslie Hoffman Hall Guard
Mimi Craven Nurse
Jack Shea Minister
Ed Call Mr. Lantz
Sandy Lipton Mrs. Lantz
David Andrews Foreman
Jeff Levine Coroner
Donna Woodrum Mrs. Gray
Paul Grenier Mrs. Gray's boyfriend
Ash Adams Surfers
Don Hannah Surfers
Kathi Gibbs Kids (uncredited)
John Richard Peterson Kids (uncredited)
Chris Tashima Kids (uncredited)
Antonia Yannouli Kids (uncredited)

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

33:09

The Edie Falco in Cop Land Award for the Character Made Hotter by Smoking

Marge Thompson

Marge Thompson

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:33:09Read transcript
  • The award goes to the drunk mom right away: she lights that dart up while holding the giant bottle of vodka.
  • She drinks straight from a bottle of Smirnoff she carries everywhere in the house, like an old Jack Sparrow pirate bottle, not mixing it or hiding it; that bottle would cost about $110 now.
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43:42

Most Rewatchable Scene

Tina's death

Tina's death

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:42Read transcript
  • Tina's opening nightmare: she leaves the house and runs into Freddy, starting with rocks at the window, one stuck in the window, and ending with the bloody ceiling dance; anytime somebody is on a ceiling in a movie, they are not making it.
  • The set took about six weeks to build and spun around inverted; everybody was getting sick, and Amanda Wiss found it legitimately terrifying.
  • The making-of documentary shows the bathtub built over a pool and tactile effects such as getting him through the bars and the blood coming out of the bed, compared with what Chris Nolan does now and with effects generated on the computer.
  • Where other slashers avoid the X rating or lack money for makeup, this opening kill is made the bloodiest, scariest thing, so viewers are terrified it will happen to another kid; Tina talking about the dream and the guy with knife hands is a harbinger.
  • A participant who had never seen the movie was impressed and happy for the low-budget team while being scared, likened to still marveling that Jaws built a shark.
  • Glenn's room was built upside down with the bed of blood, and they almost electrocuted a cast member when the fake blood got into the floor.
  • The classroom scene, another homage to Halloween with the body bag, the no-running hallway and Freddy's green blood and worms, is the first classic Elm Street nod where a character seems awake but is in the dream, as the teacher writes 'I'm going to kill you, bitch'.
  • The bathtub scene, called CR's favorite, has Freddy's hand coming up through her legs after she locks the door to take a bath having not slept in three days.
  • The marshmallow stairs, which Bob Shea wanted and Craven did not, Freddy jumping through the mirror, Rod hanging himself, and the mom's Fred Kruger story with the glove she saved in the basement follow.
  • Glenn's bed turns into the Shining elevator, and the final Home Alone showdown is just a dream before the second ending.
  • The pick is by far Tina's death, called one of the great accomplishments in horror movies; the popcorn setup of kids pranking with their radio and lying to their mom is also liked.
  • Freddy calling out to Tina after Rod is likened to Scream's opening scene or Janet Leigh in Psycho, and Skeet Ulrich in Scream is called a karaoke, poor man's Johnny Depp homage.
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43:57

“OK, Motherfucker” Award for When the Movie Goes Up a Notch

Tina's opening nightmare

Tina's opening nightmare

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:57Read transcript
  • Tina's opening nightmare gets the award for the exact moment the movie went up a notch, about 12 minutes in.
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52:59

The most 1984 thing

Young Johnny Depp

Young Johnny Depp

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:59Read transcript
  • Two picks: the gigantic boombox with the tape player playing sound effects, which had a four-year run, and throwing pebbles up to someone's window or going in the window of somebody across the street. — Van Lathan
  • Today that would get the police called from a ring camera, or texting would replace it; a trellis a kid could climb is ruled out, especially with a 15-year-old daughter and Johnny Depp across the street.
  • Glenn's crop top football jersey and his white polo under the Nike vest, and Rod Lane's jean jacket with no shirt underneath.
  • The latchkey kid stuff, all the back talk the kids do to the parents, and parents going out on dates or to Vegas.
  • The crop top's number 10 prompts a tangent about Drake May (as transcribed) and the Patriots.
  • The winner is young Johnny Depp; also cited are all the kids' clothes, Glenn's early 80s U2 poster, Nancy's poster of the Police, rotary phones and crucifixes above the bed.
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55:44

Floyd Gondolli Enjoyment Award

Alcoholic 80s movie parents; Nancy's booby traps; Glenn falling asleep with a giant television in his lap

Alcoholic 80s movie parents; Nancy's booby traps; Glenn falling asleep with a giant television in his lap

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:44Read transcript
  • Alcoholic 80s movie parents: the mom pounds a $90 bottle with no ice, glass or chaser and keeps a backup bottle of the same size in the linen closet.
  • Nancy rigging a whole room with booby traps after reading one book, using household items like Denzel in the Equalizer, would take hours to set up.
  • Glenn falling asleep with a giant television in his lap and big headphones on.
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58:21

What’s Aged the Best?

Glenn's giant television; the parents-away gimmick; Freddy himself; Charles Bernstein's piano score; the REM sleep me...

Glenn's giant television; the parents-away gimmick; Freddy himself; Charles Bernstein's piano score; the REM sleep mention; 'One, two, Freddy's coming for you'; the two-minute fire stunt; Marge

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:21Read transcript
  • Glenn's 25-pound television on his lap: they don't make those big square TVs anymore, and he seems ready to be a great podcaster.
  • The gimmick of parents being away or oblivious got 15 years; John Saxon plays the dad with a toupee, a rug that looks exactly the same in Dream Warriors.
  • Freddy himself has aged impeccably as the beginning of an icon, with deep lore, the face, the claw, the sweater and Halloween costumes.
  • Technology would do away with most Rushmore killers, while for Freddy it is left uncertain; falling asleep on a livestream so somebody can help, or a Whoop or other sleep tracker alerting someone, as at the institute, could make the movie work today.
  • Charles Bernstein's piano score, Freddy's theme, is subtle but always there, and the sleep disorder place mentions REM sleep.
  • 'One, two, Freddy's coming for you' is indelible, and the guy on fire for about two minutes in a continuous shot through the basement and up the stairs is amazing; a chemical on the clothes keeps burns superficial, while Myers' version at the end of Halloween feels fake.
  • Having had the movie in their life since eighth or ninth grade, the participant was attracted to Nancy and Tina then and has now moved into the Marge range.
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1:02:57

Hans Gruber Scale Villain Ranking

Off the chart

Off the chart

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:57Read transcript
  • Freddy breaks the chart: undead, burned alive, a child murderer with finger knives.
  • Choosing child murderer over molester is called what has aged best; if he were explicitly a molester, nobody would dress up as Freddy for Halloween, and too many real world stories kept them from going there.
  • The dream world Freddy creates, an extension of the boiler room, and its scratching noises are singled out.
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1:04:01

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Freddy's knife fingers coming out of the bathtub water

Freddy's knife fingers coming out of the bathtub water

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:01Read transcript
  • The pick is the knife fingers coming out of the water for the bathtub, affirmed as the answer.
  • Tina in front of the boiler is offered as an additional gorgeous, perfectly framed shot: barefoot in a nightgown, so vulnerable, setting the stakes.
  • The blood coming out of the mattress, Glenn going into the mattress and a bird's eye shot looking down at the tub are also raised before the choice is restated as the bathtub shot, with a joke that 9th grade Bill watched the bathtub scene closely and used the freeze frame.
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1:05:04

The Big Kahuna Burger Award for Best Use of Food and Drink

Nancy's secret coffee maker; Marge's vodka in the linen closet

Nancy's secret coffee maker; Marge's vodka in the linen closet

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:04Read transcript
  • Rather than Marge's drinking, the pick is the brief moment when Marge takes Nancy's coffee maker and Nancy pulls out another one; using the coffee to stay alive is the answer.
  • Another participant still likes the vodka in the linen closet.
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1:06:06

Chest Rockwell / Brock Landers Award for Best Character Name

Glenn; Rod Lane; Fred Krueger

Glenn; Rod Lane; Fred Krueger

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:06Read transcript
  • The two boys are named Glenn and Rod, with Rod Lane and Fred Kruger also raised; with Tina and Nancy, the names are out of the 1950s.
  • A tangent lists recent Rods, Rod Strickland, Rod Tidwell and Rod Benson, notes the move to Rodney, and jokes there are no dicks anymore, citing Joe House's father, Dick House.
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1:06:22

The Slow Ride / Kid Cudi – Pursuit of Happiness Award for Best Needle Drop

'One, two, Freddy's coming for you'

'One, two, Freddy's coming for you'

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:22Read transcript
  • There are no songs in the movie, probably because they couldn't afford them, so 'One, two, Freddy's coming for you' is the winner.
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1:06:22

Is There a Better Title for This Movie?

Dreamweaver; Never Go to Sleep; kept the original title

Dreamweaver; Never Go to Sleep; kept the original title

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:22Read transcript
  • Dreamweaver and Never Go to Sleep are floated as alternative titles, with no final choice between them.
  • The original title, A Nightmare on Elm Street, is praised as a banger; they really named the hell out of these movies.
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1:06:22

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

"Mother, what's with the bars?"

"Mother, what's with the bars?"

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:22Read transcript
  • Any number of Nancy and Marge interactions qualify, with real acting between Langenkamp and Ronnie Blakely (as transcribed), but the pick is the line when she comes home to find security bars put up.
  • The bars went up on a two-story house in one school day while the mom drank a bottle of Citron, which would take a couple of days and is not a union job.
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1:08:02

Van Lathan Award for Did This Movie Need More Black People?

Rod as a black character

Rod as a black character

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:02Read transcript
  • There is a poster of black people in Glenn's room, perhaps the Commodores or the Whispers.
  • The movie goes up a notch if Rod is black: he sneaks over because no one can see him with Tina, given illicit racial undertones.
  • The town not believing him, framed for the death of the white girl, and Nancy's dad deciding he is guilty would play differently.
  • Canonically there was a black family in Springwood, because Kincaid in Dream Warriors is one of the Elm Street children, prompting jokes that Kincaid is Rod's kid or little brother.
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1:10:19

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

Rod; Nancy's mom

Rod; Nancy's mom

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:19Read transcript
  • Rod is the pick because he's terrible in this, bad from the first time he is seen, when it is unclear whether he is heckling her or is her boyfriend.
  • The actor said in 2014 he was snorting heroin in the bathroom between takes and was high during the jail cell scene; credited as Nick Cory (as transcribed), his name is Sue Garcia (as transcribed).
  • Rod seems like the greaser to the others, as in the Outsiders, yet they obviously all hang out together.
  • The other pick is Nancy's mom: an ironic, fun character in retrospect, but they left something on the table by not casting a more dialed actor instead of soap opera acting.
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1:12:28

What’s Aged the Worst?

Freddy's arm stretch; crucifixes over beds; not being able to Google Fred Krueger; 15-year-old characters; the fight ...

Freddy's arm stretch; crucifixes over beds; not being able to Google Fred Krueger; 15-year-old characters; the fight over the ending; Glenn's room; 20 murdered kids with no reaction; the police's lack of alarm; kids sassing their parents; briefs

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:28Read transcript
  • Freddy's arm stretch is the one special effect that could have been done better, though it is defended as dream logic with Tina running but not fast; it took two guys with fishing poles.
  • Sleeping with crucifixes over the bed, not being able to Google Fred Kruger in 1984, and looking up old news stories on microfiche at a college library.
  • Tina was 15 in the script, which does not make sense for Dream Warriors, where Nancy is a graduate student six years later.
  • The four endings and the animosity between Robert Shea, the head of New Line, and Craven: Shea saw dollar signs, and Craven let him direct the stair scene as a peace offering.
  • The movie learned the lessons of earlier slashers and kills immediately, and because the financing gave away royalties and merch, the way to make money was to get another one out as soon as possible.
  • Glenn's room has bugged one participant since 1984: no girls on the walls, no swimsuit issue, Cheryl Teague's (as transcribed), Heather Thomas or Heather Locklear poster, just one music poster for U2.
  • Freddy killing 20 kids in the same neighborhood would make him the most famous murderer ever, and nobody would raise a child there; federal intervention and Reagan are invoked.
  • Asked for the right number of kids for everybody in town to know, five is probably the number, given the 70s and 80s heyday of the serial killer.
  • A scene of Glenn's body coming out of the bed is on the DVD cut but not the movie, and the police department shows a lack of alarm over multiple killings.
  • Kids sassing their parents is compared with Mr. Belvedere and the Disney show Jesse, which one family stopped letting their kids watch, while one participant recalls being told to sit on the ground after smacking their mouth.
  • Briefs in the 80s prompt a question about when one participant switched to boxers, recalling Banana Hammocks, Bugle Boy and sperm count.
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1:24:29

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Rod

Rod

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:29Read transcript
  • Rod is going to win this one going away.
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1:24:29

Ted Levine Award for a Performance So Good and Distinct That It May Have Ruined the Actor’s Career

Robert England (as transcribed) as Freddy

Robert England (as transcribed) as Freddy

Flex pick · Van Lathan

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:29Read transcript
  • Freddy did not ruin Robert England's career, since he has played him for so long, but he is Freddy, as much as Mark Hamill is Luke Skywalker and Christopher Reeve is Superman.
  • Before this he played different sorts of roles, including V, a huge show; after it, his work had to be horror and Freddy, and even his notable performances are commentaries on being Freddy Krueger.
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1:25:12

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Craven directs teenage hangouts as well as horror; Freddy is a miss; the kids get what they deserve; the movie has th...

Craven directs teenage hangouts as well as horror; Freddy is a miss; the kids get what they deserve; the movie has the structure of an 80s porn

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:12Read transcript
  • As an appetizer, Wes Craven is as good at directing teenage hangouts as he is at horror, the secret to his success: after 15 minutes with the four kids in the first act, you care about them.
  • Craven is likened to Young Jeezy, a master of his genre who transcends it and can stand next to other filmmakers, apart from trying Music of the Heart.
  • Another take is that Freddy is a miss, looking like a dime store magician with the gloves, the embroidered fedora, the long arms and the red and green, but that is why the movie stands the test of time: it softens the movie.
  • Another participant is Team Freddy: the kids are getting what they deserve, because after a clerical error on a search warrant their parents took the law into their own hands, which amounts to Freddy being lynched.
  • The mom kept a trophy, and Fred kills the kids rather than the parents because that is worse to a parent.
  • The hottest take, aimed at Van, is that of all the movies made in the 1980s this one most resembles the structure of an 80s porn, with bad acting and set-up scenes for Freddy showing up.
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1:25:12

Sasha Jenkins Award for Actor Who You Can’t Believe Didn’t Become a Bigger Star

Heather Langenkamp

Heather Langenkamp

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:12Read transcript
  • Heather Langenkamp gets the award: watching her, why isn't she in John Hughes movies after this; maybe she didn't have the chops, but the way Wes directs her, she should have been among those 80s stars.
  • She was on Just the 10 of Us, and one participant, scared of Freddy in the 80s, was afraid of that show because Freddy might bust into the living room.
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1:33:19

Is There a Porn Parody of This Movie?

A Wet Dream on Elm Street

A Wet Dream on Elm Street

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:33:19Read transcript
  • A participant looked up whether the movie had a porn parody: it does, called A Wet Dream on Elm Street.
  • Wes Craven made some porns, and his porn director name was Abe Snake.
  • They move to name the award for whether a movie had a porn adaptation the Abe Snake Award.
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1:34:03

Casting What-Ifs

Charlie Sheen as Glenn; David Warner as Freddy; Roy Scheider as the dad; Demi Moore, Courtney Cox and Jennifer Grey; ...

Charlie Sheen as Glenn; David Warner as Freddy; Roy Scheider as the dad; Demi Moore, Courtney Cox and Jennifer Grey; Ralph Macchio as Rod; Brad Pitt

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:03Read transcript
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1:35:30

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Lin Shay (as transcribed), the teacher

Lin Shay (as transcribed), the teacher

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:35:30Read transcript
  • John Saxon and Charles Fleischer, the guy from Zodiac, are called that guys, though most people wouldn't know John Saxon anymore.
  • The that guy who trumps them all is the teacher, Lin Shay (as transcribed), Robert Shay's sister, later Magda in There's Something About Mary and a scream queen in Insidious; one participant had her for the Dion Waiters award.
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1:36:29

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Glenn's dad

Glenn's dad

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:36:29Read transcript
  • It is a tough one with only main characters: Depp is in it too much, Rod gets no award, and the cop who won't get her dad is the runner-up.
  • The winner is Glenn's dad, the short squatty guy ripping a beer, pissed off and not wanting that crazy girl talking to his son.
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1:36:54

Recasting Couch

Macchio, Kiefer Sutherland, Matt Dylan (as transcribed) or SI Morales (as transcribed) as Rod; New Orleans as the city

Macchio, Kiefer Sutherland, Matt Dylan (as transcribed) or SI Morales (as transcribed) as Rod; New Orleans as the city

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:36:54Read transcript
  • For Rod: Macchio, Kiefer Sutherland from Stand by Me, Matt Dylan (as transcribed) as an Outsiders name, and SI Morales (as transcribed) of the Bad boys era, also remembered for La Bamba, who ended up on NYPD Blue.
  • For a city, never Boston; New Orleans could have been fun as a gothic southern city with voodoo and spirits hanging around.
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1:37:57

The Estelle Reiner “I’ll Have What She’s Having” Award for Best Contribution with Two or Fewer Lines

Tina's mom's lover

Tina's mom's lover

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:37:57Read transcript
  • The pick is Tina's mom's lover at the beginning of the movie, who comes in with 'you coming back to the sack or what' and is called scarier than Freddy.
  • In these movies the parents are always getting back at 1 a.m., always with the worst guys if they're divorced.
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1:38:37

Half-Assed Internet Research

Nancy's house is at 1428 North Genesee Avenue; Craven considered a sickle before the glove; the 2010 remake made Fred...

Nancy's house is at 1428 North Genesee Avenue; Craven considered a sickle before the glove; the 2010 remake made Freddy a child molester; the ending is a dream within a dream; the car is a 1958 Cadillac Series 62 convertible; the falling top scared the actors for real; the radio station is KRGR; a Freddy-like figure is in the establishing shot

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:37Read transcript
  • The fictional street address of Nancy's house is 1428 North Genesee Avenue, about eight blocks from the Sycamore studio, and it looks the same.
  • One of the first things one participant did on arriving was visit the Elm Street house with a friend, Jeff Burke, and stand in front of it feeling scared.
  • Side streets off Beverly in West Hollywood feel like the suburbs; the Halloween house off Sunset by Orange Grove and the Happy Days house are within a half mile.
  • Craven thought about a sickle before the glove, and the 2010 remake with Jackie Earl Haley made Freddy a child molester.
  • The disputed ending is a dream within a dream within a dream; in Dream Warriors, all of Nancy's friends are dead, she has taken a drug not to dream for five years, and her mother later dies in her sleep.
  • The car they drove away in was a 1958 Cadillac Series 62 convertible; one ending had Freddy driving them off, and the top fell harder than it was supposed to, so the scared reaction is legitimate.
  • The radio station is KRGR, the acronym for Kruger, and the establishing shot of the kids in the house shows a hat on a rack and a figure that looks like Freddy looming over them.
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1:42:18

Apex Mountain

Heather Langenkamp; the Katya Institute for the Study of Sleep Disorders; Balinese dream skills; 80s booby-trap movies

Heather Langenkamp; the Katya Institute for the Study of Sleep Disorders; Balinese dream skills; 80s booby-trap movies

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:42:18Read transcript
  • Heather Langenkamp is a yes, followed by a riff on how to pronounce her name and Amanda Wiss Weiss's.
  • Johnny Depp is a no; Wes Craven is a no because his apex is Scream; Renee Blakely's is probably Nashville.
  • The Katya Institute for the Study of Sleep Disorders is a yes.
  • 80s horror movies are left unresolved: against Halloween, Chainsaw, Friday the 13th and the Freddy sequels as a cultural force with 1-900 numbers and Will Smith records, one view holds this is still the best one.
  • That view is challenged: Apex Mountain is where something is at its peak with its most juice, not the best, so the concept falls apart for 80s horror movies; The Shining, from summer 1980, is raised as a challenge, and no answer is settled.
  • Balinese dream skills are a yes; 80s MILF moms were probably done better; 80s booby-trap movies are a yes, since Kev came along in the 90s.
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1:45:21

Cruise or Hanks?

Hanks or Cruise as Glenn

Hanks or Cruise as Glenn

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:45:21Read transcript
  • Young Hanks as Glenn is offered for the goofy side Depp plays, while Risky Business Cruise as Glenn is also liked; both work.
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1:45:36

Did This Movie Need a Random Sports Scene?

A football practice scene

A football practice scene

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:45:36Read transcript
  • Glenn is established as a jock in a football jersey, number 10, suggesting quarterback, and Rod tackles him.
  • A practice football scene with Nancy tired in the bleachers and Freddy under the bleachers would be the easiest two minutes, with Freddy playing defensive end and drawing penalties in a later-sequel version.
  • Even Karate Kid has a little soccer with Macchio; they could have borrowed the crew from Lucas.
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1:47:09

When I Would Have Died

Would not have died; would have quit and left; would die as Rod in Tina's room

Would not have died; would have quit and left; would die as Rod in Tina's room

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:47:09Read transcript
  • Hearing the first story about Fred Kruger killing 20 children would cause a pass-out, but not death.
  • If coworkers all had the same dream about one guy, one participant would quit and leave; the characters stayed around until they found out.
  • Another would die as Rod in Tina's room, though Rod is called a survivor who made a run for it.
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1:48:10

Picking Nits

The sleep doctor knows nothing about dreams; Nancy's jail visitation privileges; Freddy attacking Nancy while awake; ...

The sleep doctor knows nothing about dreams; Nancy's jail visitation privileges; Freddy attacking Nancy while awake; disbelief removing a real-world Freddy; Glenn's preppy clothes; Nancy at school the next day; Rod's bloody hands; no funeral for Tina; Freddy freed over a search warrant; Glenn's named headphones; Glenn not staying up until midnight; nobody investigating Freddy's death

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:48:10Read transcript
  • The sleep doctor, who runs a sleep clinic, answers what dreams are with hocus pocus, compared to Mike McDaniel with the Chargers.
  • Nancy has independent jail visitation privileges to see a murder suspect.
  • The last 20 minutes break the logic when Freddy attacks Nancy while she is not asleep, as with the tongue coming out of the phone; a YouTube theory calls it hypogenic hallucination (as transcribed), a halfway dream-like state.
  • If Freddy is brought into the real world, not believing in him should not make him go away; he could do a talk show tour such as Morton Downey Jr.
  • Glenn dresses like he is playing golf in Greenwich, Connecticut, very preppy, in the blue Nike vest.
  • After her best friend dies, Nancy goes to school the next day; there should be no school, grief counselors and a neighborhood vigil; she accuses her dad of using her as bait.
  • Rod has hands covered in blood the next day and still carries his switchblade, and there is a funeral for Rod but not Tina, whose mom was still in Vegas.
  • Freddy got off 20 child murders because of a search warrant; they could bring the case again, probably after a mistrial, and the cops don't care when she screams.
  • Glenn's headphones have his name on the side, maybe because he is on the football team, and the ending hinges on a 16-year-old boy who can't stay up until midnight.
  • Did anybody investigate Freddy's death after the town burned him alive; a show with Rachel Lindsay could exonerate a man wrongly accused, and she dresses up as Freddy every Halloween to scare one participant.
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1:53:51

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Mostly done already, including the Freddy's Nightmares TV show

Mostly done already, including the Freddy's Nightmares TV show

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:53:51Read transcript
  • They have done almost all of these, including a TV show, Freddy's Nightmares, like a Twilight Zone thing.
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1:55:31

Is This Movie Better With…?

Stephen A. Smith; Byron Mayo (as transcribed); Yaxo Lendeborg (as transcribed)

Stephen A. Smith; Byron Mayo (as transcribed); Yaxo Lendeborg (as transcribed)

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:55:31Read transcript
  • Stephen A. Smith would make it more entertaining, claiming he interviewed Freddy Krueger near Elm Street and saw him at 40-40, represented by Rock Nation.
  • Another version has Stephen A, the day after Rod is found dead in the jail cell, admitting Rod did not commit a murder.
  • Byron Mayo would be the officer with the drunk MILF mom, and if Yaxo Lendeborg lived on Elm Street, he would say Freddy ain't scary and call him a bitch.
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1:57:35

Just One Oscar

The fire stuntman; Wes Craven

The fire stuntman; Wes Craven

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:57:35Read transcript
  • It has to be the stuntman at the end, for best stunt, on fire for two minutes; another had Wes Raymond (as transcribed).
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1:57:50

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Did John Hughes get the idea for Home Alone from this? Why does everybody have a romantic neighbor they can see from ...

Did John Hughes get the idea for Home Alone from this? Why does everybody have a romantic neighbor they can see from their bedroom window?

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:57:50Read transcript
  • Did John Hughes see this and get the idea for Home Alone, turning the house into a trap.
  • Why horror movies and rom-coms give everybody a neighbor they are romantically involved with and can see from their bedroom window, as in 13 Going on 30, Love and Basketball and It Follows; it is easy to shoot, but nobody knows anyone it is true for.
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1:58:50

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

The glove; the hat; Glenn's TV

The glove; the hat; Glenn's TV

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:58:50Read transcript
  • It has to be the glove or the hat, and Glenn's 25-pound television is wanted for the bed at home.
  • In the research, Heather Langenkamp took home the special phone made for the tongue coming out of the phone.
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1:59:20

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

Listen to your kids

Listen to your kids

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:59:20Read transcript
  • Not pounding vodka at home every night is offered before listen to your kids, because your kids are trying to tell you something.
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1:59:36

Best Double Feature

Dream Warriors; New Nightmare; Freddy's Dead

Dream Warriors; New Nightmare; Freddy's Dead

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:59:36Read transcript
  • Dream Warriors as basically the direct sequel, New Nightmare, and Freddy's Dead because you get Freddy's kid in it.
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1:59:50

Who Won the Movie?

Wes Craven

Wes Craven

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:59:50Read transcript
  • Wes Craven is named for who won the movie, without a doubt.
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Wes Craven
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More from the conversation

A participant prefers the title with the A as classier and calls the film the most realistic, batshit crazy movie ever made; dream logic means you can't tell somebody not to go to sleep, unlike Halloween or the early Jason films, so it is the one terror that can't be solved.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:40Read transcript
Scariest dreams: one participant's hell dream in a Baton Rouge swamp nightclub, where the end of Tales from the Hood plays on the walls and the friends realize they are in hell, later written down in a dream journal.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:29Read transcript
Other dreams: a pickup basketball game in Oklahoma City with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, getting knocked off a tall building while Batman and Joker fought, two identical moms where the hard-sell mom's eyebrows and nails grow, and being trapped in a giant beer bottle as ants crawl in.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:56Read transcript
David Chase used dreams too freely in the Sopranos; the danger of dream violence crossing into the physical world and dreams as a generational curse make Freddy the best gimmick in a horror movie, a supernatural slasher here who later becomes a comic book villain; the One, two rhyme appears twice and he goes by Fred.
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:24Read transcript
The big four are Freddy, Jason, Myers and Leatherface; being in multiple places is the most unstoppable gimmick, since you don't have to go to summer camp or pick up a hitchhiker, and of all the franchises this one might have been just one movie.
Approx. transcript time · 00:12:07Read transcript
The ending was controversial: four versions were shot because New Line's Bob Shea wanted a hook for a sequel, so the foggy happy ending becomes getting trapped in the car; only Nancy lives.
Approx. transcript time · 00:14:13Read transcript
Freddy's look, with the hat, red and green sweater, burn face and razor hands, and not a giant like Michael Myers; by three and four he is a stand-up comedian with one-liners, as in Dream Warriors' 'Welcome to prime time, bitch', but here he is focused, straightforward and terrifying.
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:58Read transcript
A Ringer piece ranked the greatest death scenes; favorites include Tina's death, the Psycho shower, Scatman Crothers in The Shining and Drew Barrymore in Scream's opening, with Halloween's beer scene close, after a tangent on a 2016 fast food ranking won by Chick-fil-A waffle fries.
Approx. transcript time · 00:19:25Read transcript
Other kills: a TV scene in Death by Temptation with Kadeem Hardison, Silent Rage, When a Stranger Calls and Pam on the meat hook in Texas; after a rundown of Wes Craven's films from Last House on the Left to Scream, the blood vortex of Johnny Depp into the bed is number one, the inverse of Tina's death.
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:46Read transcript
Freddy is in the movie about seven minutes, deployed like Hannibal Lecter; Craven was not bankable in 1984, money ran out and investors pulled out; he had worked with Sean Cunningham and wanted to make art films like Bergman and Fellini before Last House on the Left.
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:29Read transcript
Craven's inspiration was an LA Times story about Laotian refugees dying in their sleep, called Asian Death Syndrome; sleep should be the safest time, the parents are indifferent and their lies get their kids killed, Dreamweaver and an old man outside his window also fed it, and he described Freddy as the worst of parenthood and adulthood.
Approx. transcript time · 00:28:54Read transcript
Cast: introducing Johnny Depp in his first IMDb credit, before 21 Jump Street; Amanda Weiss, also in Fast Times, Better Off Dead and Silverado; Renee Blakely, Oscar nominated for Nashville; and Heather Langenkamp's smart, atypical Nancy, who returns in Dream Warriors and New Nightmare, grows insolent without sleep and goes Home Alone with the rubber hammer.
Approx. transcript time · 00:31:48Read transcript
Robert England (as transcribed), a decent actor who did Shakespeare, was hired instead of a giant stuntman such as Kane Hodder; New Line became the House That Freddy Built; a participant names all nine films, with Dream Warriors, New Nightmare and Freddy's Dead the favorites and the Roach, the Puppet and Taryn's needle marks among the franchise kills.
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:35Read transcript
The budget was $1.1 million and it made $57.1 million; nobody took it seriously, apart from a Washington Post review by Paul Atanzio (as transcribed), who went nuts.
Approx. transcript time · 00:42:11Read transcript
The newer participant loved it as a favorite of horror month, a theme-park, holiday horror rather than grim horror like Hereditary; Stranger Things looks heavily influenced by it; the making-of documentary shows inventive effects on a low budget; Dream Warriors, with Patricia Arquette and Lawrence Fishburne (as transcribed), would be the next pick.
Approx. transcript time · 01:59:50Read transcript