Robert Englund will not be reprising the role of malevolent child-killing spirit Freddy Kreuger, he has revealed.
The horror legend, 77, doesn’t think he’s got another Nightmare on Elm Street film left in him, as the 4K restoration of the original film becomes available for franchise fans today.
Wes Craven’s supernatural slasher film was born in 1984, and Robert took up the role going on to play the creepy killer in a further seven films.
His iconic part in the films cemented him as one of the genre’s greats, and he is set to be a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the class of 2025, alongside master of horror John Carpenter.
But he’s hung up his creepy talons and bowler hat for good. When asked whether he had another film in him, he told Bloody Disgusting: ‘I don’t. I literally don’t. I mean, there might be some gimmick thing we could do with a close-up or something, but no, I can’t play him anymore. I’m too old.’
Adding that he would be up for appearing as a little cameo in a reboot of the third instalment of the franchise, Dream Warriors, but as one of the doctors and not the antagonist.
‘But no, there’s no Freddy left in me. I could possibly voice a really high-end, animated version. That would be nice to be asked to do, but I know I can’t do the fight scenes more than one take now, one angle.
‘I just can’t be snapping my head or anything like that. I’m an old dog! Give me a break.’
Elsewhere in the interview, Robert recalled how he knew Nightmare on Elm Street was something special during the original production, and he was sold by Wes’ multi-layered concept.
‘It’s very symbolic. I mean, every town has an Elm Street!’ he said, using the example of the mark left behind where John F Kennedy was shot, and recalling how the adults in the films are all flawed, and kids losing their innocence realising this.
He recalled how the impact of the film was instant, and in the same year it was released he would have Freddy fans mobbing him in Europe, but it really sky-rocketed during films three and four when he unwittingly became a pop culture icon.
On one occasion, Robert’s makeup trailer was rocked by fans and he had to drive past his home to lose them after they followed him home.
While he’s out the game now, Robert is happy fans can experience the film in 4K – released today – as he said: ‘[The old films] were grainier. They weren’t as true. They weren’t as good. This is gonna be better than the original release.’
A Nightmare on Elm Street was so haunting that it received the highest certificate in the UK – 18 – when it was released in cinemas a year after the US.
However, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has just lowered the age limit to watch the blockbuster to 15.
In their justification, the association explained that while Elm Street features ‘bloody moments’, they are ‘relatively discreet’ in comparison to what the kids are exposed to these days in video games, on social media and new horror movies.
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