The Midnight Club's Surprising Connection to A Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street is experiencing a cultural renaissance thanks to The Midnight Club. Netflix's latest horror/mystery smash hit pays homage to the 1984 classic in many regards, including a subtle tribute to Johnny Depp.
The TV series debuted on Netflix in early October – a wise move for the streaming giant as audiences gear up for Halloween. The Midnight Club has been met to a strong initial reception including breaking the Guinness World Record for most jumpscares in a single episode.
Previously, Netflix found fortune by taking audiences back to the eighties in Stranger Things. Now, the thrills are back in The Midnight Club which is set in the 1990s. 'Stranger Things' featured several tributes to the 80s and, for this reason, it was anticipated that The Midnight Club would take a similar approach regarding nostalgia.
While the majority of the cast of The Midnight Club are newcomers, Heather Langenkamp (who portrays Dr. Georgina Stanton) previously appeared in A Nightmare on Elm Street. In the 1984 Wes Craven film that transformed into a cult favorite, Langenkamp played Nancy, a teenager that is tormented in her dreams by the ghost of Freddy Kruger. The character manages to avoid Freddy Kruger and his wrath only to get brutally tormented in the third film.
Langenkamp, who is the founder of Brightcliffe Hospice in the new Netflix series, is well known as one of the original 'scream queens'. Therefore, it wasn't a shock that The Midnight Club would take a stab at A Nightmare on Elm Street since many of the actors were specifically cast due to their connections to 90s favorites. Furthermore, set designers wanted to design Rhett's bedroom to pay homage to Johnny Depp 's character in A Nightmare on Elm Street. These subtle details are what helped launch 'Stranger Things' into unprecedented success and served as the formula for horror treats moving forward.
The Midnight Club is based on a series of novels by Christopher Pike that revolve around a creepy home in the woods. Inside, the world is even more sinister as the eight patients of the hospice gather together each day at the Dead of the Night to share stories from the past. Every patient at the medical facility is a teenager that is terminally ill. Dr. Stanton (Langenkamp) supervises the patients.
For this reason, the connection to tormented teenagers is obvious for Langenkamp. She is one of the prime reasons A Nightmare on Elm Street transcended into one of the best horror movies of all-time. Therefore, Langenkamp understands what it takes to make a mystery thriller, including one that is connected to the 90s.