53. A Nightmare on Elm Street (#73)

One, two, Freddy’s coming for you…so whatever you do, don’t fall asleep! Lucky for you, there’s a new episode of The Rotten Horror Picture Show to keep you awake and attentive all night, and it JUST SO HAPPENS we’re covering one of the heaviest hitters of the 80’s slasher boom, 1984’s A Nightmare On Elm Street!

In Wes Craven’s classic slasher film, several Midwestern teenagers fall prey to Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a disfigured midnight mangler who preys on the teenagers in their dreams — which, in turn, kills them in reality. After investigating the phenomenon, Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) begins to suspect that a dark secret kept by her and her friends’ parents may be the key to unraveling the mystery, but can Nancy and her boyfriend Glen (Johnny Depp) solve the puzzle before it’s too late?

This week we’re doing a bit of a throwback, giving you the coverage of Nightmare that we did with Wes on Reel Ripe/Reel Rotten, so Join Clay and Amanda, and Wes, as slash their claw hands at boiler room sheep, mom’s secret stash of child-killing murder weapons, a protagonist who’s “into survival,” Roger Rabbit: Sleep Doctor, the Miss Nude America Pageant, and a heaping helping of the most questionable of questionable parenting!

One of the greats of the classic slasher era, A Nightmare on Elm Street introduced the world to everyone’s favorite child-murdering dream demon, as well as director Wes Craven AND Johnny Depp! That’s a pretty solid hunk of pop culture in one little, low budget horror flick! This was a fun episode to revisit, as it serves as sort of a test run for what The Rotten Horror Picture Show would become soon after we recorded it!

So put on your favorite red and green sweater, sharpen your claws, wash down your no-doze with your hidden coffee and pull a hat out of your dreams with us …if you DARE!