Stranger Things has paid tribute to Nightmare on Elm Street in an episode of season four.
Executive producer and director Shawn Levy opened up about casting Nightmare on Elm Street star Robert Englund as Victor Creel in the turning point of the new season of the Netflix series.
Englund played serial killer Freddy Krueger in the iconic horror film, and here plays Creel, a man charged with the murder of his family and subsequently locked up in a psychiatric hospital.
“He brought a real enthusiasm to his role, and honestly, it was just an honour to watch him work,” Natalia Dyer, who starred opposite Englund as Nancy, in his first scene in the series.
“The role that he plays is just really interesting… He was so lovely and kind and sweet and really gave such a great performance.”
“There’s a closeup of [Creel] scratching his fingernails on the desk in his cell,” Levy said to Entertainment Weekly of the first scene between Victor and Nancy and Robin, nodding to Nightmare on Elm Street as Freddy Krueger had metal blades attached to his fingers.
“It’s implied that he’s done it for so long that the linoleum desktop is worn away by the scrape of his fingertip.”
“The design and evil capabilities of Vecna are clearly descendants of Freddy Kruger,” Levy then confirmed of the show’s new villain.
He added of the day on set: “The day I shot with Robert was one of the very few times that the Duffers made a point of coming to set just to hang out and nerd out with Robert Englund.”
Meanwhile, NME gave Vol.1 of Stranger Things season four four stars, writing: “While there are some gripes to be had with the penultimate season of the show, it still packs in all the terrifying thrills you’d expect, deftly blending horror and sci-fi to maximum effect while still allowing for some laughs among the bleakness.”
