Ep. 5 - A Nightmare on Elm Street
Nate and Adam strap on their spooky names for a very special Halloween viewing of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Wes Craven’s surreal, funny, and maybe even beautiful slasher. Join us as we take our first dip into that near-bottomless well of Simpsons parodies, “Treehouse of Horror,” with a segment from the sixth entry in the series, “Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace” (S7E6).
Also in this episode:
Freddy Krueger’s quippy, MTV-friendly place in the pantheon of iconic slashers
Discovering the seeds of Googolplex boys favorite Scream (1996) in Nightmare’s balance of teen drama and humor
What Fred Astaire, Wes Craven, and Christopher Nolan have in common
A sidebar on the Simpsons early experiment with 3D animation, and it’s Canadian predecessors Short Circuitz (1994-96) and ReBoot (1994-2001)
Next week, Adam and Nate get their fill of glavins with The Nutty Professor (1963).
Every Reference to A Nightmare on Elm Street on The Simpsons
By our count in The Simpsons Movie Reference Database, A Nightmare on Elm Street has been directly referenced in 4 episodes of the first 13 seasons of The Simpsons, including 1 plot parody and 3 smaller references, while 3 other movies in the series have also been parodied. The first reference appears in “Cape Feare” (S5E2) in 1993, 9 years after the release of the movie.
Scene & Plot References
Treehouse of Horror VI (S7E6): “Nice to rake your acquaintance.“ Groundskeeper Willie aptly takes on the role of Freddy Krueger, complete with his trademark hat and striped shirt (although in a different color palette). Instead of a bladed glove, though, Willie has a very sharp-looking rake.
Just like Nancy in Nightmare, Bart wakes up from his dream, with real scratches across his pajamas.
When Bart and Nancy go to school, they both discover that the other kids also had similar nightmares of a surreal serial killer.
Eventually the parents in both Nightmares have a heart to heart with the kids and reveal a terrible secret that may explain why the kids are being hunted in their dreams…
“You’ll pay for this with your children’s blood!” “Oh, right. How you going to get them? ‘Skeleton power’?” While the parents in A Nightmare on Elm Street took vengeance on Freddy Krueger for killing local kids by burning down his shack with him inside, Willie just died as a result of how cheap and self-involved the Springfield parents are.
“When I’m done with you, they’ll have to do a compost-mortem!” In the climax of the Simpsons segment, Willie turns into a riding lawnmower, mimicking the final shot of the movie, when the kids car transforms into a Krueger car and drives away.
The movie ends with a gauzy, pastel colored segment that seems too good to be true—which is interrupted by the final Freddy car twist (see above). Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace ends with a similar segment, but in this case, Willie just took the bus to their house and says, “boo.”
Small References
Cape Feare (S5E2): When Sideshow Bob has Bart feeling paranoid, he meets Ned Flanders on the sidewalk with a Kruegeresque razor glove. But Flanders just wants to trim his topiary. Is this also a nod to Edward Scissorhands? (Unconfirmed)
Treehouse of Horror V (S6E6): When food distracts Homer from his murderous rampage in “The Shinning” (not The Shining, you want to get sued?), Moe rallies a gang of Freddy, Jason, Pinhead, and theUniversal Classic Monsters to get him back on track.
Treehouse of Horror IX (S10E4): During the couch gag, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees wait impatiently for the Simpson family to arrive, not knowing that Bart, Lisa, Homer, and maybe Marge and Maggie all died on the way home already.
Bonus: Other References to the Nightmare on Elm Street Series on The Simpsons
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
Treehouse of Horror VI (S7E6): The shot where the camera pulls back from Bart sitting on the couch to reveal Springfield Elementary in the background is identical to a shot in Dream Warriors where Kirsten stands up in bed to reveal 1428 Elm Street behind her.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
Treehouse of Horror VI (S7E6): Much like Sheila’s death in Dream Master, Willie kills Martin Prince (wondrous wizard of Latin) during a test at school. (Unconfirmed)
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)
Treehouse of Horror VI (S7E6): In Martin’s lethal nightmare, Groundskeeper Willie extends his tongue to wrap around Martin, just as Freddy does to Heather Langenkamp (as herself; it’s a meta thing).
Extra Credit
Looking for more like this or an interesting double feature? Here are our recommendations.
From Adam: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) & Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)
From Nate: Stranger Things (2016–)
Further Reading & Viewing
Video: “A Word Of Warning,” Frankenstein, 1931. The first few “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween specials on The Simpsons include a warning modeled on this one from Frankenstein. The creators and writers genuinely worried that their spooky stories would shock their audience, and they would receive angry letters next day. Not only did the letters never come, but their Halloween shenanigans have only gotten more extreme since.
Video: Promo for “Freddy’s Nightmare - A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series,” 1988. This promotional booklet offered up our summary of the movie for the podcast.
Video: “The Freddy Krueger Hour,” MTV, 1988. The fact that this slasher villain wound up hosting a compilation series on MTV says a lot about both his popularity and his surprisingly magnetic personality.
Video: “The Tearing,“ ReBoot (S1E1), 1994. The Simpsons may have helped popularized the idea of 3D animation with Treehouse of Horror VI, but before there was “Homer³,” there was ReBoot. Adam and Nate both fondly remember this kids show airing on Canadian public television growing up.
Article: Stephen Twining, “Tales From The Crypt Inspired The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horrors,“ Screen Rant, July 26, 2020. This article provides some (light) background on the connection between Treehouse of Horror and EC Comics. As we mention on the episode, it’s surprisingly hard to find much more than this level of detail out there.
Video: ”A Nightmare on Elm Street: Alternate Endings,” YouTube, 2021. Craven famously shot multiple endings to Nightmare on set, since he wanted the ending to be more conclusive, while the studio wanted to keep it open for sequels. Would one of these have worked better for you?
