Late Night Classics – A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child

I wanted to do a retrospective on A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child last year, but with the remake being released, everyone and their mother was doing something related to the series. I am not a follower, so I decided to wait until the clutter cleared to discuss one of my favorite sequels in the franchise with actress Erika Anderson. 

Jason Bene: How did you get the part as Greta Gibson?

Erika Anderson: I got the part of Greta after auditioning several times. Stephen Hopkins later told me one of the reasons they chose me for Greta was because I wasn’t afraid to get really REALLY ugly. (And because I scream really loud).

Jason Bene: This was an early movie for director Stephen Hopkins, who would go on to do Lost in Space and Predator 2. He has a distinct visual flair, and that pops on screen throughout The Dream Child. How did he handle the cast and crew on what appeared to be a fast shoot?

Erika Anderson: You’re right, Stephen is a really visually motivated director, and this was a very fast shoot. He had a very clear idea of how the scenes should look and be played. He had a tendency to give little direction unless something wasn’t going quite right. There wasn’t a great deal of communication once we rehearsed everything through and were ready to shoot. That said, there was still a little bit of playing room for the cast, but not a lot.

Jason Bene: The late 80′s were the peak of popularity for Freddy Krueger. Can you describe how amazing it was to be part of horror history?

Erika Anderson: Being a part of the Nightmare franchise is amazing in itself, but being part of a movie that came at the height of Freddy’s popularity was a total blast. To this day, people still ask about that experience. Horror films have a way of grabbing hold of their audience and letting them go only in time. Great horror movies stay with you your whole life, whether you’re a fan of the genre or not. That is what separates that genre from others. Everyone has a moment in the dark when they’re alone – and their mind starts to wander, and those scenes from a horror film come to mind.

Jason Bene: Your character portrays a young woman who is pressured by her mother to be thin. That is art imitating life because that is a sticking point in Hollywood for girls to be skinny as a rail. What are your thoughts about the problem?

Erika Anderson: Movies have a tendency to mirror society’s issues and anorexia, bulimia, body image issues and eating disorders are all extremely relevant. I was a successful model for many years and I saw it a lot. Hopefully movies are used in a positive way to draw attention to a relevant issue. Even addressing the issue is helpful I think, although there are certainly other movies that deal with those things in a larger capacity than we did. As far as pressure to be a certain weight in Hollywood goes, that is the reality of that business. So is youth. But there are great actors for which those things don’t matter. An actor can be rejected for all kinds of reasons and if you are going to be in that business you better develop a thick skin. But if you are talented and determined, you will win out in the end.

Jason Bene: Freddy tells you “Bon appetit, bitch! – and then proceeds to force feed you your own guts. That scene was trimmed by the MPAA. How long where you in make-up, and what was the process like for you?

Erika Anderson: The makeup process was begun with a series of casts tat were done by Todd Masters. They did casts of my face and torso, and then they began the fitting process. We worked together on facial expressions to see exactly what would work with the makeup and what I needed to avoid. The face makeup had 3 stages – ranging from mildly bloated to full blown disgusting! The process on set took about 3 hours or more to apply, and about 45 minutes to take off. It prevented me from eating on the shoot days, everything had to go through a straw. By the end I was sick of not being able to have lunch so I risked it by eating spaghetti that day – let’s just say I should have listened to them. It was gross.

Jason Bene: Last year was huge with the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street and the documentary (Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy). How was it being part of the ultimate retrospective, as well as seeing old friends at the huge gathering at Dark Delicacies in Burbank, California?

Erika Anderson: When I was approached to do the Nightmare documentary, not only was I happy to be a part of it but really excited to get to see everyone again. We got along really well, all of us, and I had lost touch with many of them. Doing that documentary and doing horror conventions and meeting the fans are the most amazing experience. I am so grateful and consider myself so lucky to have been a part of it. We have a blast!

Jason Bene: Have you watched the Troll 2 documentary yet – Best Worst Movie? They show you signing at a convention.

Erika Anderson: I have not seen the Troll 2 documentary yet, but thanks for the heads up! I’ll have to check it out – that movie is hilarious and the cast is very friendly!

Jason Bene: Does it stun you that all these years later fans still crave old fingerknives?

Erika Anderson: I am not stunned that the fans still want the fingerknife gloves at all. Nightmare Gloves makes really AWESOME ones, if anyone is interested! It’s a great image – Freddy in a doorway silhouetted by light and then the glove comes up and scratches the walls? Are you kidding me? THAT’S SCARY!!!!

Jason Bene

I'm just an average man/ With an average life/ I work from nine to five/ Hey, hell, I pay the price/ All I want is to be left alone/ In my average home/ But why do I always feel/ Like I'm in the twilight zone

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