I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Paige Troxell, the creator, director, editor, and producer of FredHeads: The Documentary. Following several hardcore A Nightmare on Elm Street fans and featuring stories from hundreds of others of all ages from across the globe, FredHeads explores just how much fans love the franchise and how it has changed their lives by inspiring them to conquer their fears (a.k.a. their “Freddys”), find themselves, and follow a new path in life. Cast, crew, and others involved in the franchise also offer insight into the legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street. You can watch my interview with Paige below. Enjoy!
The Friday the 13th Collection (Blu-ray) is 50% off on Amazon until October 7. This is the deepest discount I’ve ever seen on this highly rated box set, so make sure to buy yours before it disappears. Below are more details.
One, two, Freddy’s Nightmares are coming for you! Today, it was announced that the horror streaming service, Screambox, is the exclusive home for Freddy’s Nightmares. Considering this show has never been officially released on DVD or Blu-ray, you might want to take advantage of the 30-day free trial to enjoy some old-school Freddy Krueger that isn’t available anywhere else. I know I am! Read on for the full announcement, including all of the details.
In need of an audiobook to listen to? Fire up Doug Bradley’s Spinechillers Volume 8! Like Volume 6, this entry features guest narrators. Robert Englund, best known as Freddy Krueger, is back, and Jeffrey Combs, from Re-Animator, lends his unmistakable voice to this collection.
Halloween is 11 days from now and you might be finding yourself in need of a horror fix. I’ve got you covered! Doug Bradley’s Spinechillers Volume 6 may be the best entry yet in this series of audiobooks celebrating classic horror literature.
Scream Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Streetis the best documentary I’ve seen this year and in a very long time. This film sets the record straight about the controversial sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street, which both launched and ended Mark Patton’s acting career. This film is about him attempting to make peace with his past and embrace his legacy as cinema’s first male scream queen. Scream Queen! also finds Mark confronting the Freddy’s Revenge cast and crew for the first time, including co-stars Robert Rusler, Kim Myers and Clu Gulager, as well as Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund.
It’s crazy to think that this time next week it will be November 1. October is flying by and Halloween is almost upon us. If you’re looking for Halloween to last all year long, Shudder has you covered. Below are highlights of the exclusives, originals, and new content that’s being released all month long in November. The addition that excites me the most is Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, which is my favorite movie of all time. The premise, acting, and score are excellent. This film was ahead of its time, and it still holds up to this day. Make sure to add it to your to-watch list, along with all of the other great content coming to Shudder in November.
Shudder, a premium streaming video service from AMC focused on horror, thrillers and the supernatural, has some exciting new content this month. As I write this, I have a live Shudder movie marathon playing in the background of the first six films in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, which were just added to the streaming service. For more details regarding Shudder’s Freddy Krueger offering and other great additions this month, keep reading.
With Halloween upon us, I want to share with you my favorite horror movies. There are many horror films I love, but these are the cream of the crop. Happy Halloween!
This past weekend I went to Monster-Mania 27, a horror convention in Cherry Hill, NJ. This was my second Monster-Mania and I had a good time. My main reason for going was to meet Robert Englund, a terrific actor best known for playing Freddy Krueger in seven Nightmare on Elm Street films and Freddy vs. Jason. While it took six hours for me to meet Englund, I was able to check out the rest of the convention during this time because of a virtual queue the organizers put in place. They did this to prevent people from having to waiting in line all day. As long as you had your ticket – they limited it to 400 people – you were set. I found this to be an efficient way to deal with the demand to meet this horror icon.
During my time waiting to meet Robert Englund I looked at all of the merchandise available – everything from masks to t-shirts, to paintings, to movie posters. Then I walked through the autograph room where the majority of the stars were stationed, including Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters and Tony Todd from Candyman, as well as various cast members of The Walking Dead. I abstained from spending money on anything other than Robert Englund and food because I’m heading to WrestleMania XXX in a few weeks, so I’d rather spend my money there.
Spending time with a Freddy look-a-like before meeting the real deal.
When it was my turn to go upstairs to meet Robert Englund, I headed up the stairs to the second floor of the hotel and was told to wait in a room with approximately 50 people. Then one of the convention volunteers told us that Robert Englund’s agent wouldn’t allow people to take a photo with him – we could only take photos of him, which to me was extremely disappointing because that was my whole reason for going. When I was led into the room with Robert Englund, there were about 100 people sitting in chairs and he was on the far end of the room against the wall. Row by row, people were ushered to the front where they turned in their tickets and paid $40 for an autograph. There were photos available for Robert to sign or you could have an item that you brought with you signed. I opted to have him sign the sleeve of my Nightmare on Elm Street Blu-ray collection.
Despite being told I couldn’t get a photo with Robert, I had the girl in front of me take of photo of him and I with my phone. I couldn’t go around the table for the photo because a bodyguard was there, but I made the most of it and I think the photo turned out quite nice. When we were posing for the photo, Robert said, “Tell me when to look up” as he was autographing my item. The girl taking the photo said, “Look up” and Robert jokingly said in his Freddy Krueger voice, “Take the picture, biotch!” When we left she was on cloud nine that he spoke to her in his Freddy voice and we both laughed hysterically about what a cool moment it was.
After meeting Robert Englund, I grabbed dinner and attended the Q&A session for the twins from The Shining and, of course, Robert Englund’s Q&A, which was fantastic. He had a ton of energy and took command of the stage, like any great actor, and answered questions from the fans with humor and charisma. One thing that became abundantly clear during his Q&A is that Robert’s a lover of classic Hollywood. Being a Shakespearean actor, Robert Englund has a deep appreciation for classic cinema and the stage. It was made for an enlightening experience that everyone enjoyed.
Robert Englund speaking with fans after his Q&A.
I closed out the night by watching the 1994 film The Crow, one of many movies being shown throughout the day. I hadn’t seen it since the mid-1990s, and I’m glad I stuck around for it because it’s a great movie. From the cinematography to the impressive acting, it’s clear why this film still resonates with people 20 years after it hit theaters.
If you’re a horror fan in the South Jersey area, I highly recommend you check out Monster-Mania. It’s a well-run convention that’s well worth the price of admission. You can learn more details by visiting the official Monster-Mania website.
