Freddy's Nightmares - No More Mister Nice Guy (also Nightmare On Elm Street '84 addition)

 Freddy's Nightmares is now on Tubi and Elm Street fans are pretty stoked about it. While this is a big feature on Screambox, getting the chance to watch both seasons on Tubi seems perfect. This is the streaming platform I consider just the right fit for one of those obscure late 80s horror anthology series that was built for syndication. I could just imagine catching Freddy's Nightmares early morning on some station during a case of insomnia. But from what I can remember when watching it on the now defunct Chiller Channel on DirecTV, most of the series just doesn't have that punch you might hope for with the Elm Street films.

What's cool about "No More Mister Nice Guy" is you get the court room acquittal of Fred Krueger, complete with the cop who arrested him without reading his rights, Lt Timothy Blocker (Ian Patrick Williams), in the audience having to witness the suffering parents watch as the child killer, in this peculiar booth-like cell in his green and red sweater, eventually putting on the hat. You get to see Fred retreat to his boiler room, preparing to use an ice cream van, giggly about the damage he could do. This is a way for director Tobe Hooper to emphasize just how insidious and evil Freddy really is. What happens to Blocker, responsible for pouring gasoline over Fred in the boiler room and lighting the match, would seem to be a template for the series. Blocker has issues with his teeth, opens a package that has Freddy's arm reaching out to grab his face with the finger knives, scratching the side of his face. He can't sleep, often having nightmares, imagining that Freddy's body was missing from a trunk after his fellow officer helped to weld it shut with the body inside. Blocker's daughters (well one of them) seem to be suffering nightmares as well. Blocker's wife is tired of his mental deterioration, including his insistence that they move from Springwood.

Because television is restrictive, Hooper was limited as to what he could get away with. A cop is attacked by Freddy while scoping out Blocker's house, so he had to show a cut plate and trickling of what is obvious ketchup, not blood. There is a cool burn of Fred in the boiler room. And when Fred shows up at the dentist's office, he has a gnarly glove with different drill attachments replacing his knives...we just don't get to see him bury those spinning drills into Blocker's face. Great makeup for Fred, though. This was still before the more rubbery, cartoonish mask later applied.

Hooper tries to make the most of the television format. Beaming light through windows and plankwood cracks does get style points. And Englund as a human monster before he became the Dream Monster seems to be having a good time. Hooper makes sure the camera just doesn't hit Englund directly on the face to reveal him, instead opting for a variety of lighting, shadow, and closeups (and distant shots) as creative methods to conceal total onscreen presence.

This is probably my favorite episode of the series. It does sadly go downhill from here. Because Freddy is such a figure of importance in the actual story being told. ★★★

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A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984

★★★★★ 

Morality sucks.

Glen (Depp) having to listen to "Jungle man fix Jane" as Nancy shooed away his nookie advances because they were at Tina's to be there for her since mama ditched her kid for Vegas echoed the sentiments of a lot of horny teens "missing out".

No matter how many times I see it, over and over, Tina's death never fails to impact.

In preparation for starting Freddy's Nightmares on Tubi, I decided to kick off Freddy week, starting with this again.

My wife has a habit now of walking into the living room asking me, "You're watching this again??" 😁

Also, for fun, this film is a journeyer stream to stream. Now it's Netflix. 🛌😴 So I follow the film and watch it wherever. The film will always be a horror champ.