Customer Reviews

Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Coming in at 298 pages the book is a quick read. But this hasn't been a quick life for Robert Englund. The anecdotes on things that have occurred in his life tend to lack some details; however, they do range from the star studded to the hilarious. For a man who is currently considered an amazing character actor in horror films, he is possibly one of the most recognizable stars in the genre since Vincent Price. The book starts off with his young acting career (to get girls) and follows his life through to the top of becoming the horror icon Freddy Krueger.

This is great fun and a quick read. The appendix contains some fun filled favorite lists: music, movies, and kills. The lists depict Englund's tastes and well Freddy's morsals.

Hollywood Monster is a must read biography for actors, horror fans, and folks wanting to experience a large part of cinema history. Who knew the scariest man in cinema is the nicest, humblest, and sincerest man in hollywood for 4 decades.

My only complaint about this book is that it is such a quick and enjoyable read that I finished it almost as soon as I got it lol. Being an actor with a particular interest in the horror genre, I had been waiting for this book for a long time. I was not disappointed. Englund kept a perfect balance in writing about his pre and post Freddy Krueger life. He obviously realized what a person reading a Robert Englund bio would want to read about and did not load the book with a bunch of boring crap from his life, which was very nice after trudging through page after page of golf stories in Christopher Lee's Lord Of Misrule (yeah, I said it). For my fellow actors reading this, it's a nice insight into an actor's life who has achieved what most of us are trying to achieve. Englund seems to have totally embraced being a horror icon, and he fully acknowledges how fortunate he's been. Another interesting point for me as an actor is that he also states several times that even as famous as he is, he is still to this day a "working stiff" and will usually take any job offered to him. Food for thought for those of you just getting into the business with stars in your eyes.

I read this book because I am a Freddy/Nightmare On Elm Street fan. I liked the book, it was a fast and fun read. It does NOT however have all the Nightmare gusto the title or cover might imply. Don't judge a book by it cover...yeah, yeah - I know!
By the time it gets to any Nightmare stuff, you're almost half way through the book. On top of that, a lot of what is mentioned (about 85% of it), I already knew from the Nightmare DVDs or other interveiws with Englund I've seen in the past. The biggest gripe I would have is that Englund says that his favorite Nightmare movie to work on was New Nightmare, but he mentions very little about his experience on this movie (compared to others)...HUH?
So, this book was entertaining. But, from a Nightmare fan, not that great, or in depth. Get it from the library, save some $$$.

I LOVED this book! I'm a huge nightmare/robert englund fan so I just knew I had to have this book. I was so interested in learning about everything that Robert has experienced throughout his life. His stories about frightening people on and off set of the nightmare movies are hilarious. I also loved how before each chapter, he talked about a nightmare he's had. This is just a fantastic book for anyone wanting to know more about the real freddy krueger. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I finished it in about 5 hours and I was so upset when I finished it. I just wanted to keep reading!

This book is a great choice for fans of Freddy. At first I thought the background on Robert Englund would be boring, but the man has led a very interesting life and seems to be a seriously nice guy.

I loved this book! I finished it in 27 hours and thats only because I had to work. Robert Englund has led an interesting life, plus he has scared us as Freddy for many years. I would recommend this book to any fan of his.

If you are even a passing fan of the Nightmare series, you would do well to read this book. Great stories about not just the Nightmare franchise, but playing Willie on the original "V" series, working with Henry Fonda, and funny asides about Gary Busey. I do wish Mr. Englund could have elaborated more on some of his stories. This is nitpicking though, as what he does write is a lot of fun. Get your finger-knives on this book.

The name Robert Englund will always be synonymous with the name Freddy Krueger. Some actors might see that as a hinderance, but Englund embraces it, and it's a breath of fresh air that your not hearing the same incessant Hollywood whining about "being typecast". The man's a hard-working character actor and happened to land himself into one of the most iconic roles of a lifetime. The book is a page-turner in that it's quick-paced, quick-witted and damn interesting. Being a huge horror aficionado, buying this book was a given, but I have to admit I found myself completely more drawn in and fascinated with his early career in Hollywood. Englund recounts so many brushes with Hollywood royalty in his rise to stardom that it starts to feel almost Forrest Gumpish (I mean that as a compliment). His drive to become an actor and how hard he worked to get where he is today is inspiring. As for the 'Nightmare' stuff: Most of the Freddy anecdotes contained here can be found in various interviews on the countless DVD's released surrounding the series, so that aspect was a bit of a familiar letdown only in that I wish there was MORE. Englund will take you through the productions of all of the 'Nightmare' movies, but at a break-neck pace. Maybe the guy is sick of talking about Krueger. I wouldn't blame him. I just wanted more detail, and how he really felt about some of the films, and how he reacted when they were lambasted by critics/fans... and vice versa. Where the fans will really benefit is hearing of Englund's personal relationships in the business: like his friendship with F/X wizard Kevin Yagher, and his admiration for filmmaker Tobe Hooper. I found some of Englund's "Freddy jokes" planted throughout the pages to be just as cheesy as some of the latter films in that series. Overall, I recommend the book for further insight into a really genuine, hard-working actor. I only wish there were more pages to fill with his fascinating stories of making movies.

Lon Chaney. Vincent Price. Boris Karloff. Bela Lugosi. Lon Chaney, Jr. Peter Cushing. Christopher Lee. Donald Pleasance. Robert Englund. Horror/monster movie stars. It's a small club. No doubt each one of them have led rich, interesting lives. The biggest star of this field of the last 30 years or so is, without a doubt, Robert Englund. Now, Englund shares with us his life, his story, his career, and a certain character by the name of Freddy Krueger. Read on....

After reading this book, you will find that Englund's life and career has been no nightmare. In fact, Englund seems to of been blessed with a wonderful existence. Sometimes a blue collar, hard working character actor like himself is much better to be than a leading man Hollywood star. Things just seem to be so much more interesting. He talks of working with the likes of Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Henry Fonda, and others, and writes like he is taking you on a backstage journey through trying to make it as an actor and what goes on behind the scenes. For anyone that knows how Englund is, the book, like himself, is written in the same jovial, interesting, ball of energy way that he is himself in interviews and what others always say about him. So much of the book you can actually hear him saying and talking about, and it makes for a fun, enjoyable read. While there is no real dirt or gossip, or horrible childhood memories, the book is filled with wonderful Hollywood talk and taking you inside the life of a working actor. While Englund has done a lot of work over the years, he will always be known as Freddy Krueger. The one and only! He devotes a fair amount of the book to Krueger and his 'Nightmare On Elm Street' films, although some may be disappointed that it doesn't appear to dig too deep, and has some things that any die hard fan will probably already know. Still, it's a man's first hand account of playing one of the most iconic screen villains of all time.

If there is anything wrong with "Hollywood Monster", it's that Englund doesn't seem to stay focused too long on any one thing. Most things he talks about are over and done like that! He doesn't dwell too long and it doesn't really delve too deep. For the most part, Englund seems to of lived a charmed, wonderful life, and maybe it would of benfitted if the book was a bit longer and more in depth in certain areas of his career.

In the end, "Hollywood Monster" is a must for any fan, or just anyone who is a fan of the ins and outs of a career of talented, hard working, character actors. It has a nice section of colored photos as well. Englund writes in a fun, easy, breezy way, and that's how the book goes down. It's light reading, really, and will leave you not having nightmares at all. In fact, it will probably leave you thinking of how cool it would be to be Robert Englund.

If you were wondering how one of the nicest guys in Hollywood became famous for playing one of the most memorable and menacing villains in cinematic history, wonder no more. Robert Englund has written an autobiography about his life as an actor and it's a surprisingly likable and down-to-Earth Hollywood memoir. Starting with Englund's days as a struggling character actor and concluding with his thoughts on his current status as an icon of horror, Hollywood Monster is an engaging book that, ultimately, stands as a tribute to Mr. Englund's talent and his ability to survive and thrive in an often cut-throat industry.

While Englund is best known for playing Freddy Krueger, the book covers his entire career both before and after the original Nightmare on Elm Street. I can understand why some Nightmare fans might feel a little bit cheated but it didn't bother me. Some of that's because I'm old enough that I actually associate Robert Englund more with the role of Willie in the original V miniseries than I do with Freddy and Englund offers up a lot of anecdotes and stories about his time on V. For Nightmare fans, his story of his first meeting with Wes Craven is priceless but, for the most part, most of his Nightmare memories seem to focus on how uncomfortable the makeup was.

Hollywood Monster is ultimately a very engaging book because Robert Englund is a very engaging and ultimately very humble actor. (As anyone who has ever seen an interview with Mr. Englund knows, he's also a very witty person and that comes through in this book as well.) Ultimately, this is a likable memoir and it makes for a very enjoyable read.