Robert Englund, the man who made “A Nightmare on Elm St.’s” Freddy Krueger a household name returns to directing for the first time in almost two decades with “Killer Pad.” The direct-to-DVD movie available from Lionsgate centers around three hapless losers who move into a sweet pad in the Hollywood Hills that just happens to be a direct portal to hell. Mr. Englund was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to talk with Horror Yearbook’s Tyler Shainline about his latest directorial effort, “Star Wars” casting rumors, playing an upcoming “Spider-Man” villain, his television work, “Zombie Strippers” and whether or not he’ll return as Freddy in the upcoming Micheal Bay produced remake of “Elm St.”

Tyler Shainline: So what attracted you to Killer Pad?

Robert Englund: I’ve had a long association with producer Wayne Rice, his big hit was “Dude Where’s My Car?” Wayne and I have had a business relationship for about 25 years now; he produced and co-wrote one of my favorite cult films, “Suicide Kings.” He had great success after that in teen comedies and family films. In fact, he hooked me up with one of the producers of “Saw” before there was a “Saw” franchise and put me in “Meet the Deedles” with Paul Walker for Disney. So I’ve had this association with Wayne for many, many years and I’ve done a couple of films for him as an actor and he had been toying around with the idea of doing a low budget teen comedy with some horror elements in it. A horror spoof or something like that. He’s always looking for hot young writers and he thought I might be the right director and we’d been looking around for stuff.

He originally wanted to target the film for what we call “The Boys without Drivers Licenses.” You know, when you’re 15 ½ years old, it’s a horrible year. You’re smart, you’re funny, you’ve got a lot of male friends but you’re not getting laid yet because you don’t have a car and all the girls you want to take out are going out with older boys who have their driver’s licenses and have a car. I can remember that age, so we said ok we combine that with Freddy’s fan’s kids and all the good stuff that we’ve seen out there. Wayne found a writer and he sent me this script and I almost immediately loved it. I thought that it was silly and funny, my original take on it was sort of like “The Three Stooges” sell their soul. We decided to shoot it up in the Hollywood Hills, which meant it would be a little more expensive so we had to shoot it a lot quicker. But it also gave us a great talent pool to draw upon and I think that’s the biggest attraction of this film is that we assembled an extraordinary cast and crew for a low budget film.

We all went up on the top of the Hollywood hills on Mullholland Drive and worked real hard for three weeks and we did our little Faustian making the deal with the devil film. It was tricky because the main running joke of the movie is that these guys are in such denial about what’s going on around them that they’ll do anything to keep this party going. We had to be careful about not letting them be glib or hip, like the guys can be in a Judd Apatow comedy, so they had to be much lamer for there in lies the willing suspension of disbelief with our plot. The pinnacle of their lameness was when they improvised for me during a looping session when their suitcase falls out of the car they’re very distressed because they think they might have lost their box set of Gilmore Girls.

TS: For an “R” rated film, concerning three hot demons at a wild party house there’s a surprising lack of gore and nudity, what that a conscious effort on your part?

ENGLUND: We wanted the movie to have a kind of a cheesy feel to it. We were targeting this fifteen year old demographic, that way we also had to say no to some nudity and some language that we had to cut out of the movie. Now that we’re on DVD I wish I could have restored some of that or shot it to begin with, but we still have some of that in it.

TS: Killer Pad is your first time directing film in almost twenty years, why so long since your debut behind the lens with “976-EVIL”?

ENGLUND: I don’t consider myself a filmmaker, I’m a character actor who’s done a ton of movies, and I’ve done over seventy movies now. I go where I’m asked; I’m at that age now where I can’t really knock on doors anymore. The pre-production and the length of time it takes to direct, takes a lot of energy from me, it’s about a year from beginning to end when you direct a movie. I’m used to getting in and getting out in six weeks or less as a character actor which gives me a lot of freedom and a lot of personal time which I like.

Since I did “976-EVIL” I’ve been very busy, I went through a phase in the nineties where I was altering my career a little bit. I was dong some movies in Europe, I was also guiding other projects, some of which happened, some of which didn’t. You get busy, directing is not like acting, it’s a year of your life and with both of the films I directed I was working with somebody I knew. Now I’m in pre-production directing a movie in Italy with another friend of mine, who was my translator back in the early 80’s in Milan. Now he’s a big producer in Rome who brought me a project based on an old Nikolai Gogo short story that I’m busy casting and getting ready to direct over in Northern Italy. I think it’s because friends came to me, its not something I seek, I’m an actor who directs, I’m not a film maker and I don’t consider myself a filmmaker, but there’s a lot of projects and you need a professional and I’m a professional so occasionally I do direct.

TS: In addition to these two films you also helmed two episodes of the late 80s television series “Freddy’s Nightmares” how was directing a TV show compared to a film?

ENGLUND: That’s how they got me on that show, they lured me onto it. I only had to work two or three days a week as an actor, but they promised me I could direct. That was fun, I was the star of the show and because I knew the crew really well I got to play with the handhelds and the steady cams and I got to pick some actor’s I’ve loved for years.

That show was originally an experiment in syndication, we were supposed to be on very late at night, which means we could get away with a lot more. Unfortunately once were syndicated they put us on in the afternoon or early in the evening in the bible belt and it kind of hurt our show a bit because we were a little ahead of our time. Which was frustrating to me because I was looking forward to do another season of that show and direct a lot more and really get some nasty stuff on after 11 o’ clock at night on American television.

TS: Is there any chance of fans seeing “Freddy’s Nightmares” on DVD?

ENGLUND: There’s a special DVD in Europe that has four of them on it including Tobe Hooper’s pilot but it’s only Europe. I don’t know who the company is but I’ve seen them over there, it may be bootleg but I think it’s legitimate. I’m surprised that they haven’t shown up as filler on the Sci-Fi channel. There were some amazing actors and directors that worked on that show.

TS: Speaking of television, one of the first places I remember you from was on the 80s Science Fiction series “V.” Was it the project that really jumpstarted your career?

ENGLUND: “V” was my first television work, back then you either did movies or you did TV and I did movies all thorough the 70’s. Then when Travolta did the transition form “Welcome Back Kotter” to movies it sort of opened the door for a lot of us, we could go back and forth a little bit. I think I had already done 12 movies before “V,” I enjoyed a career in that 70’s renaissance of independent film and then “V” came along and sort of changed my life. There was no other science fiction on at the time and by default we got all the “Star Trek” fans, so the show was really huge for me. I can remember getting mobbed in New York and Europe. I went to an awards show in Milan Italy, everyone was there Catherine Deneuve, Dustin Hoffman; I step out the car with my girlfriend and I literally got picked up and pushed over the mob like a mosh pit in front of the La Scala. That was a really great time for me and Freddy came along during the hiatus of “V,” so it was a really interesting one-two punch with genre fans. First science fiction and then horror fans.

TS: “V” wasn’t you only science fiction project, in fact it’s been rumored that you once auditioned for the role of Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars.”

ENGLUND: You know, there’s a little confusion there, one of my best friends in the 70’s was Mark Hamill. Mark had the bachelor apartment from hell in Hollywood and he was sleeping over at my girlfriend’s house a lot. We all hung out, we watched TV together, called our agents together. Where I lived was very close to of the studios where Mark worked a lot, the old Mary Tyler Moore studios at CBS. I went up there to read for the surfer in “Apocalypse Now,” I wore an old faded military shirt with the sleeves rolled up and I was bigger then, kind of buff and tan. Instead they sent me across the hall and they actually looked at me for Han Solo, never Luke Skywalker. I think it was just because I was dressed right. I had the old military shirt on and it looked a little bit like the shirt Harrison Ford wears on the movie, but I was way too young, they wanted Han Solo to be like and older brother to Luke but Mark and I looked about the same age back then.

TS: A sci-fi film you did appear in was the Roger Corman produced character actor extravaganza “Galaxy of Terror,” what was it like working with “The King of B’s”?

ENGLUND: That’s what I call my actor’s strike movie, the big actor’s strike was coming up and we were all scrambling to get a job, because we were so scared about what was going to happen. So I said yes to Roger Corman, and I showed up in Venice and there was Erin Moran from “Happy Days,” Eddie Albert Jr. from” Butterflies are Free,” Ray Walston from “Picket Fences” and Grace Zabriskie from all the David Lynch movies. All these great actors and we all just wanted to have a job so we did this low budget movie.

TS: If I’m not mistaken there was also a rising star mixed in with the production company as well.

ENGLUND: There was a guy in the art department with long blonde hair that had an office across from my dressing room and his name was James Cameron. So that will give you an idea of the talent working on the old Roger Corman back lot, that was kind of an amazing moment in time. A funny thing about that movie was one of the tricks Cameron did was he went and got a bunch of Styrofoam Whopper boxes and opened them up and stapled them to the ceiling of the corridors and it looked like a Japanese vacuum form of architecture. I heard a rumor that on one Sunday when we all had the day off Corman rented that stage to some German company and Corman got his whole budget back on that one day’s rental.

TS: That’s classic Corman. You’ve recently been doing some voice acting work in cartoons, most notably portraying two DC comics villains Felix Faust and the iconic Riddler.

ENGLUND: Not only that but I’m the voice of The Vulture on the new “Spider-Man” animated series. Next Thursday I have to go and do my finish up work which is always hard because you have to do it to the animation and all I want to do is look at it because it’s so cool. When you originally read it you just sit around with all the talent and everybody jokes and it’s a lot of fun. But when you come back to polish it, you have to do it to the image and that’s always tricky because it’s hard to loop the animated mouth.

TS: That’s an impressive array of comic book villains you’ve added to your resume, are you a comic book fanboy at heart?

ENGLUND: I am but I’m such a different generation from you guys, I love some of the new graphic comics, I’m always getting them from friends and stuff. I have a new movie coming out called “Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer” and the advertising campaign is a great comic book. I go to comic-cons a lot as a guest and there are some interesting graphic novels, like R. Crumb and stuff. As a kid I liked “Blackhawk,” “Scrooge McDuck,” “Tales from the Crypt” and obviously “Mad Magazine.” But there was a great, great war comic that was really heavy on aircraft I liked called, “Two Fisted Tales” that I did the introduction for in one of the big EC coffee table books. I just loved “Blackhawk,” I don’t know what it is, it was kind of like “The Magnificent Seven” and it was international, of course you look at it now at it looks racist.

TS: There have been numerous comic books based upon Freddy Kruger, most recently Wildstorm comics has been publishing the occasional “Nightmare on Elm Street” mini-series. Have you checked any of those out?

ENGLUND: The new ones I love because they’re really nasty, I mean reaaalllyyy nasty! I love seeing that stuff. I go to Brussels a lot, for the film festival and they’re comic crazy over there. So lately I’ve been cartooning a little Freddy head for the fans over in Brussels.

TS: Another rumor I’ve heard is that you wrote an unused treatment for an “Elm Street” sequel.

ENGLUND: I turned in a little treatment for “Elm St. 3,” it was based on the Tina character, from the first one, you know, the first kill? My story was, what if she had an older sister who came back who researched the whole story and wanted to avenge Tina’s death.

TS: I recently read that you don’t want to return for the upcoming Platinum Dunes remake of “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”

ENGLUND: The decision isn’t mine; apparently it’s been announced while I was scouting locations in Italy that Micheal Bay is producing the remake of “Nightmare on Elm Street” Part One, the original. But they never talked to me, so I assume they’re going in a whole new direction with a whole new cast.

TS: What if Bay called you up and requests you reprise the role that you made iconic?

ENGLUND: If I was approached it would be a challenge but sure, yeah. I’m still thin so I could pull it off under the makeup, it would be interesting. But it sounds to me like they want to reinterpret it and I think it sounds like the way to do it. The story is so strong that I think this is one of the few projects that could really stand a digital CGI infusion, because obviously the first film we had a very low budget. One of the points is the surreal dreamscape and nightmare worlds that would certainly lend itself to CGI and digital work.

TS: If Bay’s stupid enough not to hire you for the role you essentially created then who would you like to see cast in the role?

ENGLUND: I think they have to reinterpret it, I don’t think Freddy should even look exactly the same. I think the make-up should be reconfigured, maybe he’s more melted, maybe one of the eyes is burned shut, I don’t know. Maybe the glove is a little different, maybe he wears a jacket or something. To remake it, you have to make it different, but you should keep the basic story, Wes Craven’s original story is so strong.

TS: A few years back I remember hearing a buzz about a new television show you were working on based off the “Nightmare on Elm Street” property but I never saw it hit the air.

ENGLUND: It was a television series called “Real Nightmares” that was going to be a reality show and it had nothing to do with “Elm St.” or Freddy Kruger, it had to do with real people all over America. They would discuss a reoccurring nightmare that they’d been having since they were children. We would select a winning nightmare, bring them back to Hollywood and completely recreate their nightmare with a big budget. Then put them into it as a challenge to see if they could get through their own nightmare as a film. Not as a dreamer but as an actual participant and see how they would handle it and hopefully purge themselves of their nightmare.

It never made it to network; we did it for CBS back in the fall of 2004. We did a great one about a clown nightmare. I saw the rough cut of that one and let me tell you it was psycho, it was great. We locked her in an old house in downtown LA and behind every medicine cabinet and in every tub we hid these unbelievable psycho actor clowns that would pop out at her.

TS: Of you more recent post Freddy work I’d have to say your performance as Mayor Buckman in “2001 Maniacs” is a personal favorite.

ENGLUND: Well thank you, that’s my old buddy Tim Sullivan’s movie, we’ll be doing a sequel to it. I heard some rumors that we might be going after Paris Hilton in that one. But I’ve got to finish my movie in Italy first. I’ve got to tell my fans out there besides “Killer Pad” which is a lot of fun to check out “Behind the Mask,” I’m real proud of that one. It’s a great little deconstructed horror movie I did last year. I’m like the Donald Pleasence guy from “Halloween” in that.

TS: So your next directorial project is going to be the “Vij”?

ENGLUND: We’re looking for a new title but it’s an adaptation of the Nikolai Gogo short story based on the fallen angel from purgatory. We’ve got the script done, we’re doing a polish on the dialogue, and we’re casting in Rome in Canada next week. We’re hoping to maybe get Christopher Lee; we’ve got our fingers crossed on that one. It’s going to be a gothic, romantic horror fairy tale.

TS: Last year you finished production on the adaptation of horror novelist Jack Ketchum’s “Red.” What is this film about?

ENGLUND: “Red” stars the original Hannibal Lector, Brian Cox and it was just a Sundance; we got a great ovation and I’m real proud of it. It kind of starts out as a Norman Rockwell movie and it just sort of mutates into Sam Peckinpah land, it’s great.

TS: It’s been reported that midway through production on “Red” that acclaimed director Lucky McKee was fired and replaced by the relatively unknown Trygve Diesen. Do you have any insight into what happened to force this directorial change?

ENGLUND: I think it was a problem with financing and then they started up again and they just got a Dutch director to come in and finish it. I don’t know the gossip behind it but I think it was a problem with financing.

TS: Of all your upcoming project’s I’ve got to admit the one that sounds the most promising is entitled “Zombie Strippers” could it possibly be as great as it’s title promises?

ENGLUND: Oh “Zombie Strippers,” oh my god. It’s well… I’ll just give you two words, Jenna Jameson. Does that explain it? There’s horror comedy, there’s grindhouse and this is a new hybrid, this is soft core horror, that’s what I’m calling it. It’s for all those dorm rats out there, when you’re horny.

TS: Any last words of wisdom for all your fans out there Robert?

ENGLUND: I want to tell my fans to warm up a pizza in the microwave, crack a beer and check out “Killer Pad,” it’s a hoot.