Hollywood Dreams and Nightmares: The Robert Englund story gives us a captivating insight into a horror legend and takes us into the lesser known roles and earlier days of Robert’s career before taking the career defining role as Freddy Krueger in The Nightmare on Elm Street. Here’s our Robert Englund documentary review.

From A Nightmare on Elm Street to Stranger Things, horror icon Robert Englund celebrated his birthday on June 6 as the SCREAMBOX original documentary was also released on the same day ahead of its Blu-Ray release on July 25th.
A classically trained actor and director, Robert Englund has become one of the most revolutionary horror icons of our generation. Throughout his career, Englund starred in many well-known movies but shot to superstardom with his portrayal of supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.

This intimate portrait captures the man behind the glove and features interviews with Englund, his wife Nancy, and such genre favorites as Tony Todd, Kane Hodder, Lance Henriksen, Bill Moseley, Eli Roth, Lin Shaye, Heather Langenkamp, Mick Garris, Andrew Divoff, William Katt, Jeffrey Reddick, Corey Taylor, and more. Let’s dive into this Robert Englund documentary review now shall we?
Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story is one hell of a mouthful for a documentary title but this long winded title seems apt for a man who has the gift of the gab. After working personally with Robert, having the honour of being at his house, going out to dinner with the man and having a few drinks (one too many) with the man it’s safe to say that there will NEVER and I mean NEVER be a moment of silence when Robert is around.

As someone who struggles to keep conversations going in many social situations Robert is the exact person I want sitting next to me during a night out, if I’m given subject matter I can carry a conversation on until Christmas time and Robert has oodles of tales to tell all of the time and this documentary is the perfect tribute to all that this man has achieved and in true Robert fashion, it goes on some. It’s two hours of in-depth Robert Englund mastery and it’s quite the joy to behold.
After a rather annoying musical background that seems to drown out quite a large majority of Robert’s monologue audio to camera it thankfully disappears after a while and we are left with an engrossing documentary that sheds light on the life of one of the most down to earth and beloved actors in the horror genre.

Directed with care and attention to detail, this film takes viewers on an intimate journey combining animations, archive footage and behind the scenes images with in person interviews with colleagues, friends and even Robert himself makes this a raw and personal documentary as we dive into Englund’s talents beyond the role that defined his career.
For the first 45 minutes of the movie Freddy Krueger isn’t even touched upon as we learn about his roles alongside Burt Reynolds, Susan Sarandon and even how he got Mark Hamil the role of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars after being turned down for the role of Han Solo himself.

I loved how the documentary took us into the lesser known films but at the same time how these lesser known films to myself shaped some huge directors and names thereafter. A certain line in one of Robert’s earlier films Eaten Alive (directed by Tobe Hooper) was reused by Quentin Tarantino for a character in Kill Bill . It’s these fine tooth comb details that show Robert’s influence in pop culture before he even came a horror icon.
The interviews with Robert are as personal as it gets with most of his interview segments shot in his home (I recognise the diving mask immediately) and for the first couple of scenes in the opening of the documentary we see Robert’s office. If only there was a full tour of this in the documentary, Robert showing us around his iconic office really is a treat to all of those who enter it and sharing that with the world would have been a great personal touch to this documentary but alas it wasn’t meant to be. This Aladdin’s cave of iconic treasures will be a rare sight to all of those lucky enough to see it in person with their own eyes.

One of the standout qualities of this documentary is its ability to showcase the multifaceted aspects of Robert Englund’s career. From his early beginnings in theater to his breakthrough role in “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” the film paints a comprehensive picture of Englund’s evolution as an actor. It delves into his struggles, triumphs, and the dedication he put into perfecting his craft, making it evident that there is much more to him than just Freddy Krueger.
The film also delves into the lasting impact of Englund’s portrayal of Freddy Krueger. Coming to terms with accepting that this character is so big that it’ll never escape him for as long as he lives and exploring the cultural significance of the character and the profound effect it had on both the horror genre and Englund’s career. Through interviews with fans, fellow actors, and filmmakers, the documentary showcases how Englund’s portrayal of the nightmarish figure transformed him into an iconic cultural phenomenon.

Audio issues with background music aside another minor drawback of the documentary is its pacing. At times the documentary feels a little disjointed as we skip forward a few years then back again and this detracts from the more timeline documentary standard that we’re used to watching. The narrative flow could have been improved to get more clarity on this career timeline but the audience that is watching this won’t care one iota about that whatsoever.
What I did enjoy about the documentary was the backgrounds of various people discussing Robert and the roles he has undertaken. They’re all expertly different and quirky in their own way. It adds an extra layer of appreciation that even the background themselves have this dark and eerier forboding nature to them and it really pops and works wonderfully.

Hearing Kane Hodder discuss being on-screen with Robert in the TV series V as a stunt lizard (I believe it was) and hearing a story from Corey Taylor regarding his time on Fear Clinic (a movie I personally worked on) was quite a special one to me. These little stories and insider conversations that further paint Robert in as bright a light as I’ve always seen him as.
It was also great to see Corey Taylor in this as my very quick chat with him about this very documentary got him onboard as an executive producer. I remember him being absolutely over the moon and honoured to be a part of this so I’m glad that in a very small way I was a part of this documentary too.

Robert Englund is a man that invited me to meet him in London one day with his lovely wife Nancy, a man who I had the honour of going to his house (a house I’ve taken a poop in by the way, that’s my claim to fame right there!) and a man who let me see him getting into Freddy Krueger make-up for a convention and more.
It’s nice that a documentary has done such a good job of shining a light onto this wonderful man and wonderful actor to the point where now everyone can appreciate the man behind the mask even more than they should already.

It goes without saying that Hollywood Dreams and Nightmares: The Robert Englund story is a must watch for horror fans and cinema enthusiasts but it’s a must watch for those who just want to believe that Hollywood isn’t all egos. Robert Englund is the definition of humble pie, a consummate professional and a wonderful fan.
Whether you’re a die-hard fan or simply curious about the man behind the glove, this documentary is sure to leave you captivated and inspired.
Robert Englund Documentary Review by Sean Evans
Watch Hollywood Dreams and Nightmares: The Robert Englund on Screambox HERE

Our Rating

Summary
A fitting documentary that reveals a very insightful glimpse at the career and life of the iconic horror actor Robert Englund. From early beginnings to the rise of Freddy Krueger and beyond this captivating documentary is intriguing, entertaining and long which is fitting for a man notoriously known for his gift of the gab!