C6

By Victoria Ahearn
The Canadian Press

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TORONTO - Horror film icon Robert Englund elicits chills, screams and apprehension as the burnt-faced dream demon Freddy Krueger in Wes Craven's spooky film series, A Nightmare on Elm Street.

In real life, the American actor is an amiable guy who loves physical comedy, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and munching on a childhood lunchtime staple while reading movie scripts such as the horror-comedy Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, opening this week in Canada.

"The first night I read it - you know, I've got my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and David Letterman on in the background and I'm reading the script ... I just took the narrative too seriously," Englund said in a recent interview, explaining that he initially had reservations about the role of the science professor who becomes possessed by an evil heart buried on his property.

Englund came around after his agent told him the project was in the same vein as Evil Dead, the campy, gory 1981 Sam Raimi flick that has become a cult classic, and that his character would be like the zany monster from Beetlejuice.

"It's what I call a good, cheap thrill," Englund said in a hotel room, his crisp dress shirt, jeans and warm blue eyes providing a stark contrast to his scary Krueger costume that featured a glove with knives attached to the fingers.

"I hope people see it in the theatres but it also would be fun with a six pack and a cold pizza and a couple of your buds over in the dorm room. It's that kind of film where you laugh at it and with it and it's fun."

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer - which hits theatres in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver on Friday - is a project of Brookstreet Pictures, an Ottawa-based filmmaking company founded by Jon Knautz, Trevor Matthews and Patrick White.

The trio have made five short films together under the company and this is their first feature. They snagged Englund after sending him their script and a copy of their short thriller, Still Life.

"He's like a dictionary of film knowledge and he's been a working actor in Hollywood since he was like, 25 years old, or younger," said Matthews, 25.

"Here we are aspiring filmmakers, trying to make a career and a lifestyle in one of the most competitive industries in the world ... we're making our first independent feature film and we're sitting down beside a guy who's already done it ... and can tell us what it was like in the '50s and stuff in Hollywood. It's just amazing."

Knautz directed the Ottawa-shot film, White produced and Matthews played the title character, a plumber with anger management issues stemming from his family's death at the hands of a monster when he was a child. Brooks is seen as a social outcast but becomes the heroic monster slayer in the end.

The Brookstreet crew hopes to make a sequel.

"If you guys all have as much fun watching it as we did making it, then let's keep it going," said Matthews.

Englund, 61, said he was overjoyed with the opportunity to be silly on camera.

"I'm an old dog and this was maybe the last time I ever get to do physical comedy," said Englund, adding he took on many humorous theatre roles before becoming widely known for his Krueger role.

"I became known as this sort of road company Vincent Price, Klaus Kinski guy, but prior to that I really enjoyed comedy and I was a very strong comedy stage actor," said Englund, who is based in California.

"In fact, I was a big Stratford, Ontario wannabe. I idolized all the great actors of Stratford. I grew up wanting to be one of those guys."

15:23ET 23-07-08