Given its title, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare seemingly plunged the final nail into the coffin of Robert Englund’s infamous horror villain. And yet, it was ultimately Wes Craven — writer-director of the original A Nightmare on Elm Street — who gave Freddy Krueger a new lease on life.

Film professor and author Ryan L. Terry joins Franchise Detours to slash our way through 1994’s Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. We’ll discuss how the film celebrates the tenth anniversary of the original film, why it was a box office disappointment, and how it shaped the next phase of horror.

As the only installment not in continuity with the rest of the A Nightmare on Elm Street films, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare marks a true “franchise detour.” So curl up for a dark tale as we reunite with Craven, Englund, Heather Langenkamp, and John Saxon for a nightmare unlike any other.