New Line Cinema killed Freddy off back in 1991, but three years later, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare was released. The seventh film in the franchise sees Wes Craven return to the director’s chair for a fresh take on the series. Part 7 is a meta-horror film, with the characters in the movie acknowledging that Freddy Krueger is a fictional character. However, Freddy soon discovers a way to cross over to the real world and goes after Heather Langenkamp.
The film received positive reviews upon its release, and even after 25 years, some things about the making of the film may surprise you. Here are 10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Wes Craven’s New Nightmare.
Heather Langenkamp Actually Had A Stalker
Early on in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, it’s explained that Heather Langenkamp was dealing with a stalker who was a crazed fan of the A Nightmare on Elm Street series. It was a creepy detail in the film, which Wes Craven based on a real-life problem for Langenkamp.
In real life, Langenkamp was struggling with a stalker, who was angry that The Ten of Us had gone off the air. Heather Langenkamp revealed in the documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy that she even moved to London for about five months to escape her stalker.
Most Of The Cast And Crew Liked Freddy’s Redesign
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare was a return to form for the series, but Freddy was also completely redesigned for the film. Freddy’s makeup looked more liked ripped skin compared to the burned look fans had been used to, and he also wore a long trench coat, a turtle neck sweater, and knee-high combat boots.
Freddy also had his blades splitting out from all five of his fingers rather than wearing a glove. In Never Sleep Again, several members of the cast and crew revealed how much they enjoyed the updated version of Freddy. Wes Craven, on the other hand, goes back and forth about whether he liked his decision to redesign his character.
Miko Hughes Got To Keep The Whole Playground
Miko Hughes played Dylan in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare and was only eight years old at the time of the film’s release. Hughes made a career as a child actor appearing in films like Pet Sematary, Kindergarten Cop, and Mercury Rising. While it was no doubt a horrifying experience to star in a Nightmare movie for the young actor, he walked away with a pretty cool prop from the film.
In the film, Dylan stands on top of a playground to reach for God, which was going to be trashed after production. However, Miko Hughes’ family had about ten acres of land, so they were able to take the playground home with them.
The Earthquake Destruction Is Real
During the production of Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, an earthquake known as the North Ridge earthquake struck Los Angeles. The quake killed 57 people and left thousands injured. While the earthquake was no doubt a tragedy, the production crew on New Nightmare was able to incorporate the city’s destruction into their film.
The scenes where Heather Langenkamp and her family experience the earthquake had been filmed before the earthquake actually happened, however; a crew was later sent out to record b-roll of the destruction.
A Nightmare On Elm Street 7: The Ascension
While Wes Craven’s New Nightmare was much darker than previous entries to the series, Wes Craven’s storyline in the film could have been even more twisted. In one of the early drafts of the script, then called A Nightmare on Elm Street 7: The Ascension, Wes Craven was going to arrive in a van driven by Pluto from The Hills Have Eyes.
Craven would have been on the run from Freddy Krueger with his only chance of escape to write the script for the new Nightmare movie. Craven even went as far as cutting off his eyelids to stay awake. In the final cut of the film, Craven still plays himself, but instead of living out of a van and going insane, Craven is living comfortably in his mansion.
Wes Craven Kept One Of The Rex Props
With Wes Craven being the creator of A Nightmare on Elm Street and the director of New Nightmare, New Line Cinema was probably pretty open to letting him take home a prop or two from the set. Wes Craven revealed in Never Sleep Again that he actually took home one of Rex stuffed animals that were used in the film.
Rex was Dylan’s trusty guardian that kept Freddy at bay while Dylan slept. Miko Hughes also said in the documentary that he took home the repaired version of the Rex stuffed animal.
Heather Langenkamp’s Hated Filming The Tongue Scene
Robert Englund hated filming the staircase scene in A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, but Heather Langenkamp’s least favorite scene she had to film came near the end of the movie. When Freddy traps Heather and Dylan in the furnace, Freddy shoots his tongue out at Nancy.
Freddy’s tongue is extremely long, so he can wrap it around her head. The slimy motorized tongue was something that Langenkamp didn’t enjoy having to act with, especially since the crew kept laughing about it while they were shooting.
Miko Hughes Emotions Were Real
Miko Hughes began his acting career as Gage Creed in Pet Sematary. When it came time for his role in New Nightmare, the cast and crew had some interesting tactics to get real emotions out of the child actor. To get the little boy to cry for one scene, his father told him that his mother had died, but quickly after the scene, he was told the truth and given a Happy Meal.
In another scene towards the end of the film, Craven wanted Englund to really scare the child. Englund being confident that he could scare anybody on the set, asked Craven, “Do you really want me to turn it up?” In the scene where Dylan runs up the stairs in Freddy’s dungeon, Englund stuck his clawed hand out and scared the young boy.
The Film Almost Introduced The Freddy Mobile
At the end of the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, Nancy leaves her house and gets in a car with Glen, Rod, and Tina. The red and green top of the convertible closes on the vehicle, which reveals that Nancy didn’t actually defeat Freddy. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare almost took this to a whole new level and introduced the Freddy Mobile.
The car would have had a giant glove in the front by the engine and shot flames from the exhaust. With Craven wanting to avoid the comedic approach that previous sequels had taken, it’s probably for the best that this idea was left out of the movie.
Englund Says That It Is His Favorite Film Of The Series
Fans often consider the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, Dream Warriors, and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare the best three films in the series, but New Nightmare is Englund’s favorite movie in the series. Englund disclosed in the Never Sleep Again documentary that this was his favorite film mainly because he always finds something different each time he watches it.
While New Nightmare brought the franchise back to its horror roots, the film didn’t do very well at the box office. The film went up against Pulp Fiction at the box office, which could be partly to blame.
Next: Wes Craven Was Ahead Of The Curve (& Modern TV Proves It)
