Texas Fear Fest 2

Posted on: March/18/2008 1:27 AM

TEXAS FEAR FEST 2
March 7-9, 2008
Dallas, TX
Event Venue: The Westin Park Central

2008’s Texas Fear Fest featured three Nightmare on Elm Street reunions! Cast members from A Nightmare on Elm Street, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master attended the event, which had over 600 attendees.

Guests included: Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger, A Nightmare on Elm Street), Heather Langenkamp (Nancy Thompson, A Nightmare on Elm Street), John Saxon (Lt. Thompson, A Nightmare on Elm Street), Amanda Wyss (Tina Gray, A Nightmare on Elm Street), Jennifer Rubin (Taryn, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors), Rodney Eastman (Joey, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 & 4), Ken Sagoes (Kincaid, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 & 4), Lisa Wilcox (Alice Johnson, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 & 5), Andras Jones (Rick, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master), Brooke Theiss (Debbie, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master), Toy Newkirk (Sheila, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master), Miko Hughes (Dylan, New Nightmare), and more.

Among the many attendees was Elm Street fan April A. Taylor, who kindly provided a review of the event, along with many great photos, and a recording of the A Nightmare on Elm Street discussion panel:

A Nightmare in Texas (a Fear Fest 2 Review) by April A. Taylor

Fear Fest 2, held in Dallas, TX, featured the largest Nightmare on Elm Street reunion to ever be held at one convention. 18 actors were in attendance, ranging from the well-known names of the series (Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp and John Saxon) to 5 actors who were attending their first convention (Brooke Theiss, Toy Newkirk, Kelly Jo Minter, Erika Anderson & Kim Myers). As a huge Nightmare geek I knew when I saw this lineup that I had to make the trip from Michigan and I was not disappointed.

The convention started off with a 35MM screening of the original Nightmare, introduced by cast members Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon & Ronee Blakley. This was the first time I had ever seen the movie in 35MM and it also marked the first time that I had seen it with a group of people who appreciate the movie as much as I do. There were approximately 300 people at the screening and only one person had never seen the film before. The audience enjoyed laughing at some of the more fun and absurd elements of the film (every time Marge took a drink it was pointed out and she really does drink a lot!) and rooting for both Freddy and Nancy.

After the original Nightmare we were treated to a screening of Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, introduced by stars Lisa Wilcox, Andras Jones, Brooke Theiss, Toy Newkirk, Rodney Eastman and Ken Sagoes. There was an informal poll taken before this film to ask which of the two the audience preferred and although the original Nightmare won by a landslide it was obvious that the crowd still enjoys #4 very much, especially the scene where Kincaid’s dog helps bring Freddy back to life.

The next two days featured a whirlwind of activity, including meeting all 18 cast members and getting autographs and pictures of and with them. The majority of the cast was very open and gracious with the fans, especially friendly was Amanda Wyss, Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englund. Well over 600 people stood in line to meet Robert and he still took the time to talk to each and every one of them, along with personalizing autographs. This is one of the many reasons why he was presented with the Fear Fest Horror Icon award during the show.

There were panels held for both the original Nightmare and The Dream Master that allowed all of the cast members in attendance to talk about their favorite Nightmare memories. Perhaps the best one came from Toy Newkirk, who discussed the filming of the “Wanna suck face?” death scene in #4. She was required to keep her mouth really wide open during that scene and in one take Robert’s Freddy dentures fell off and into her mouth, “saliva and all.” They also used the “real” Freddy glove during the filming of that scene, as opposed to the glove that wasn’t sharp and was usually used in scenes where the actors had contact with it.

Over all it was an extremely memorable event and a very enjoyable experience, both because of the Nightmare cast and the people that I met while standing in line. If it’s possible I’m an even bigger Nightmare geek now and to put that into perspective, I was the one who won the 900 # telephone trivia contest that was held to advertise The Dream Child!

– Photo Highlights –

– Photos © April A. Taylor. –

Click here to view more of April’s great photos from the event!

Click here to download the Nightmare on Elm Street original cast panel. (17MB)

Special thanks to April A. Taylor! Please contact us if you attended this event and would like to share your photos or experiences.