For a generation of horror movie fans, she is the ultimate survivor.
Although his victims and adversaries proved numerous over a multitude of films, it was in Nancy Thompson that the iconic Freddy Krueger first met his match. Though Nancy would ultimately meet her end at Freddy’s bladed fingers in the subsequent sequels, the character’s plucky determination was forever seared onto the collective brains of fright fandom. Nancy, brought to exuberant life by Heather Langenkamp, has persevered as a symbol of goodness across the decades; leaving a mark that many other final girls only dare dream.
For Langenkamp herself, carrying the legacy of Nancy has been a continuous badge of honor. Having played the character in three films, she is easily one of the most recognizable faces in horror. Yet, for someone as mired in the world of dark fantasy as Langenkamp has become, she has never allowed her thoughts on the genre to grow complacent. Langenkamp’s new documentary, I Am Nancy, serves as a personal investigation into the world that horror cinema has created, and seeks to answer the actor’s own unanswered questions about what compels throngs of fans to revel in such blood-spattered entertainment.
I was lucky enough catch up with Heather in the midst of the documentary’s release for a good, old-fashioned discourse on the state of shock. Warm and energetic, she was all too happy to discuss the findings of her research into terror, as well as delve into the nightmares of the past to share memories of everyone’s favorite fedora wearing fiend.
From her battles with Freddy to the cult status of her 80s sitcom, Heather and I covered all the bases in a conversation that was positively dreamy.
You’ve titled your new documentary I Am Nancy. This seems like a pretty definitive statement to make, as it further cements your association with your character from A Nightmare on Elm Street. What can you tell us about the documentary itself?
The documentary starts as a journey to get to know my fans on a deeper level. I wanted to understand what drives them to love these horror movies and the monsters that are associated with them. From there, I move onto the question of “Why Freddy-mania and not Nancy-mania?” Why do people no longer hold the heroes of these movies as closely to their hearts as the villains? It’s all tongue-in-cheek. But then it turns, because it becomes about who we are as a country and as a people. Nancy is greatly loved as a character in film, but the marketing juggernaut around A Nightmare on Elm Street has always focused on Freddy. While I approached that issue tongue-in-cheek as well, I do have a serious concern about that world of toys, movie merchandise, and areas of movie-money making where the heroes and women are being completely left out.
The movie seeks to discuss Nancy as a much more global symbol of resilience and rallying against this demon in your life. When I started asking that question to my fans, I got some incredible answers from people that I just had to include in the film. I’m most proud of the statement I make at the end about what it means to be Nancy, because it’s less about Heather Langenkamp being Nancy, and more about everyone in the world being Nancy.
Recently you executive produced and narrated another Elm Street documentary, Never Sleep Again. How would you say that film differs from the one on which you’re currently working?
That movie was really inspired by the 25th anniversary (of A Nightmare on Elm Street), in that we felt it was time to do something really thorough about all the Nightmare films and all the people who were instrumental in making them. It’s very thorough about the lives of not only Bob Shaye (Nightmare’s producer) and New Line Cinema, but about the passion that Bob had for this low-budget movie that ended up building a movie studio. Then, when you hear about who was hired and who was fired and how each film came to pass, it just became incredibly interesting. Of course, Robert Englund is an incredible part of that story. What I took away from that movie is how instrumental and important Robert Englund is to the whole franchise, from the very first day that Wes hired him to Freddy’s Dead.
Never Sleep Again is more of an intellectual pursuit and a historical document. It has over four hours of bonus features, so it encompasses a lot of other things as well, but it is a great achievement revealing the history of these films.
Whereas I Am Nancy is a more personal document.
My sister-in-law, Arlene Marechal (the film’s director), and I wanted talk about the fan side. Where does the popularity come from? Where is it rooted? What kind of people go to horror movies? She didn’t even know anybody who liked horror movies, so we used one of our employees as a jumping off point. We went with him to a tattoo parlor where he was getting his Freddy tattoo finished, and from there on the movie delves further and further into fandom.
Here you are, three feature films, two documentaries, and a whole page in the pop culture zeitgeist later, still talking about Nancy Thompson. When you first stepped foot on set of the original Nightmare on Elm Street, did you ever suspect it would endure the way it has?
No, not at all! We shot in a real run-down, basically abandoned area. It was all very low budget, but the people involved were very high-minded at the same time. We had John Saxon. We had Robert Englund, who had been educated at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Wes Craven was a college professor who moved into the horror realm in a very successful fashion. Everybody involved really did not represent what you’d come to think of as the usual low budget feature film. So, even though we usually got lunch for ourselves at McDonald’s or our wardrobe came from thrift stores, it never really felt like it was low budget. I felt that movie had something to say, and there was less horror about it…but more just a great story about teenagers.
Now, Nancy Thompson isn’t the only Nancy you’ve played. You also turned in a performance as divisive figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in the made-for-TV movie Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story. Would you say you’re a little bit that Nancy too?
That Nancy is really a lot harder to be. I always felt that Nancy Kerrigan comprised the kind of personality of a person who really has to excel in every single moment of her day. I’m too lazy to be Nancy Kerrigan! I wish I could be, but there are just times I don’t feel like I have that drive to push the way she must’ve had to in order to get to the Olympics. In that respect, her character is very foreign to my personality. –laughs-
How do you think Nancy Kerrigan would’ve fared against Freddy?
She would’ve whooped his ass in the first scene. She would’ve figured a way to slash her skates across his face, or something. She would’ve been a great opponent of Freddy Krueger, I think.
Since we’re discussing your life as Nancy, I can’t help but think of the role you played in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. In that film you were asked not to play Nancy, but to play yourself in the Nancy role. How does the Heather of that film differ from Heather in real life? Is playing yourself more challenging than it seems?
It’s very uncomfortable to play yourself onscreen. As an actor, you train and try so much to create new people. Unless I walked around looking in a mirror all day, I really wouldn’t want to be aware of how Heather Langenkamp carried herself. In that respect it makes you very self-conscious. I’d ask myself, “Is this how Heather would hold coffee? Would I even drink coffee?” I ended up having to create a Heather that I could play as if I studied her, and I wanted to feel secure in the thought that I had formulated a character that I could bring to the set everyday instead of worrying about whether I was playing myself. I don’t know, it’s very hard to think about yourself in that way.
I read in another interview of yours that because of its meta-fictional themes, New Nightmare was your favorite of the Elm Street stories. Is that true, and could you elaborate?
It’s my favorite in many ways. For one, I had finally come to appreciate the character of Nancy by that time, seeing as how it was ten years after the original. I really appreciated the battle that she and Freddy represented. From that point of view, I got a lot more satisfaction out of playing the character. Also, because I was older, I appreciated how great it was to even have a part that had that kind of groundbreaking and unique view. I really understood what Wes was doing with that script and how it was truly different. When I did the first Nightmare, I had only seen a few horror movies. By the time New Nightmare came around, I had really educated myself about the genre and felt much more understanding. That, and we had a little more money to spend. The effects were really spectacular, my clothes were really fun to wear…so even on the superficial level it was just a lot of fun. It was a great experience overall.
Within any given year, the horror genre has unleashed upon audiences a plethora of villains and monsters. While so many have come and gone, Freddy continues to endure. What is it about the character that you think transcends the cinema for fans?
I think it has a lot to do with the kind of battles Freddy fights. He’s not totally omnipotent. He actually has to fight a little bit, less so in his later movies, but against Nancy and Alice, there’s a real battle. Even if the hero doesn’t survive in the end, it’s interesting to see their struggle and how they get there. Knowing about these characters makes the conflict meaningful. We’ve all seen the films where the characters exist to be killed, and I guess those horror movies are fun for some viewers. But for Freddy, there has to be a chance that he won’t win. I think that makes him so successful, because there’s a give-and-take there between the hero and Freddy. For a short time maybe, but still…there’s always that glimmer of hope for his victims.
Let’s get down to brass tacks: Just the Ten of Us.Will it ever get a DVD release?
Oh my god! I was at a convention recently where that was the most common question I got. You know, I have asked that question to our producers over and over again. I’ve never really gotten a great answer, but in their eyes it’s never going to be released. I’m not sure what the issue is, whether it’s copyright, licensing, or just plain bad blood, but nobody’s real optimistic. It breaks my heart, because I have only recently been made aware of just how great a fan following Just the Ten of Us has.
We did have a Just the Ten of Us reunion. In fact, some of the footage in I Am Nancy was taken at aJust the Ten of Us gathering in Hollywood. I got to see the whole cast together again for the first time in a long time, and they’re a group of people who I feel really close to. We all just experienced something really great with that show.
Was it apparent at the time that Just the Ten of Uswas a veritable Nightmare alum spot (In addition to Heather, the cast featured many other stars of theNightmare franchise- MV)? Or did those connections get made later?
They got made later. Actually, when you think of those Nightmare movies and how many actors that they got to be involved, the chances of that happening were probably pretty great!
I also understand that you recently completed a film called The Butterfly Room with scream icon Barbara Steele. What can you tell us about this project?
This is a situation where somebody approached me with a script that was so interesting and dark. There are just real elements of evil to the story. It’s rare to read something like that. It wasn’t too bloody and disgusting, but walked that perfect line of just strange evil. Of course, Barbara Steele is a total icon and someone I’ve come to really appreciate now that I’ve played Nancy. She is probably the most famous woman in international horror, so the offer to play her daughter in this movie was something I couldn’t pass up. It was really a great joy to make. We all had this horror background going into it, so it gave us this language of our own on set. It really made going into the project special and fun.
With I Am Nancy and The Butterfly Room on the way, the obvious question is simply, what’s next? What can film fans expect to see in the future from Heather Langenkamp?
A lot of things! –laughs- Actually, I’m in a state of limbo right now because I just want everyone to see this documentary and get it out there. I’m hoping to use it as a jumpstart to the next phase of my life in theatre and movies. I’m praying someone will look at it and say, “I want to give Heather Langenkamp a job!” –laughs-
At this point, I just hope it has enough success that I can maybe work on another documentary, or perhaps get involved in some more fiction-oriented projects. I’ve never been the kind of person who looks too far in the future or makes big plans; I like to take things as they come.
Though, I am going to be in San Francisco! I should tell you about that!
Oh yes, I’m sure Peaches Christ’s home base readers will definitely take an interest in your arrival to the Bay area. What brings you to the Golden Gate City?
My son is in college up there, so that brings me up from time to time. But officially, I’m going to do Another Hole in the Head Film Festival on June 12th. It’s kind of a real indie film fest thing.
…and what will you are doing there?
They will be showing I Am Nancy, which will be followed by some sort of question and answer session. So if anyone is in the San Francisco area, they should definitely come out.
Yes! Children of the popcorn…go! In the meantime, Heather, it was a distinct pleasure and a joy to talk to Freddy’s number one nemesis. I Am Nancy sounds like a refreshing take on the horror genre, exploring the loss of cultural identification with the hero. For me, and I speak solely on a personal level now, I have always watched these movies for the survivors. That struggle, imagining the courage of what that individual must endure, has always been the most compelling thing in slasher cinema. We’ve all seen the film where the character exists to solely be menaced, but Nancy has always embodied something more for me…and for many others!
Yes! Wes addresses that very issue and the need for her to be more than just another victim in the documentary. With that notion in mind, I will leave you with my final thought. There seems to be this notion that it’s absolutely essential that the hero character in horror be a girl, a victim for the villain to terrorize. Where we are in society and where we as a country…we’re all Nancy. Her spirit was always the most important part about her, not her gender. It’s that perseverance and the ability to overcome a conflict. That’s what makes Nancy, well…Nancy.
