Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story

An informative documentary about Robert Englund, but also a love letter to the person and his craft. I really enjoyed every bit of this doc and it kept me interested 'til the end.

I must confess that - besides all the movies and tv shows as Krueger - i'm not a huge fan of most of the movies Mr. Englund have appeared in. I always enjoy his acting and presence on screes tho. But after watching this documentary, i have more understanding of why he decided to involve himself in projects that probably wasn't destined to be huge hits. The reason? He's actually a rare genuine actor. He wants to act and he loves to act. He see's the opportunity to learn, teach and enjoy every aspect of what he's doing, no matter if he's working with big time or first time directors and actors. Also, if you have this passion and love for acting, you must also be a social loveable person who enjoy the interaction with others, which he clearly does and which is clearly noticed by the people he work with or just interact with at conventions.

I'm one of those kids Mr. Englund is talking about in this doc. I used to hide and peek unnoticed behind the couch when my mother and her sister were watching horror movies - or being noticed and told to stop peeking. I was just 6 years old and now i'm closing in on 50.

I've always been a huge fan and devourer of horror movies and i've always loved Robert Englund as an actor, but now i love him even more as a person.

This is an interesting documentary that I watched while working. It is detailing the life of Robert Englund and how the role of Freddy Krueger changed his life. Now I grew up on A Nightmare on Elm Street as well as the series. I fall into that camp where he terrified me as a child and the older that I got, the more that I respected Englund as an actor. He's one that I've sought out different things and learned more about him as a person so this doc ticked boxes for me.

What I'll say then that this is well-made. I love that it is interviewing Englund who is recapping his life. In that vein, this feels like an autobiography since he is telling us about his life. What is great though is that we are also hearing from actors around him. This features the likes of Lin Shaye, Heather Langenkamp, Miko Hughes, Eli Roth, Lance Henriksen, Moncia Keena, Tony Todd, Amanda Wyss, Kane Hodder, Bill Moseley and Jill Schoelen. These people will come in at different times when they're recapping Englund's career. I love hearing about him hoping to make it, A Nightmare on Elm Street happens and how it affects him from there. It is fun to think that there is a time where he was struggling and hoping to make it. I grew up in a world where he was already a star.

Now this documentary isn't horror, but a bulk of Englund's career falls into that. It is funny that he didn't set out to be a star in this genre. It just happened. I love hearing younger actors and filmmakers just saying how great of a personality he is. That he has always been out to help those around him even from the beginning. He is one of the celebrities that I want to meet as I've never heard a bad thing about an interaction with him.

To then close out my thoughts, the filmmaking behind this is great. I love editing in of footage of different works. It gives a better understanding and look at his performances. It still is wild to think of this guy who haunted me as a young child has more range than other slasher killers of the era. His character was given the most personality and Englund was perfect for this. If you're a fan of A Nightmare on Elm Street, horror from the 80s on or just of Englund, I'd highly recommend giving this a watch for sure.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.