Freddy didn't kill the kids on Elm Street, the Manson Family did
August 16, 2017 12:51 PM Subscribe
Cult actor John Saxon is perhaps best-known for his role as Donald Thompson in the first and third Nightmare on Elm Street films. But in 1987, Saxon also tried his hand as a screenwriter with a bizarre treatment for a prequel to the series in which it was to be revealed that Fred Krueger was an innocent man and the real killer was... The Manson Family? (via Bloody-Disgusting)
I'll always remember him as that guy from Mitchell.
posted by SansPoint at 1:33 PM on August 16, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by SansPoint at 1:33 PM on August 16, 2017 [10 favorites]
I will watch pretty much anything with John Saxon in it. Seeing him show up in something is always a treat. This looks pretty insane, but it's a neat piece of Saxoniana. Pretty sure I'd never buy it, but it's interesting to know that it exists.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 1:34 PM on August 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 1:34 PM on August 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
Funny, I remember him from mst3k's Ator but he wasn't in it, they just referred to one guy as being a "John Saxon looking guy"
posted by condour75 at 1:36 PM on August 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by condour75 at 1:36 PM on August 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
I definitely thought of "John Saxon looking guy" too. Ugh, now I have to watch that episode for the millionth time. Such a burden.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 1:46 PM on August 16, 2017
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 1:46 PM on August 16, 2017
Mitchell!
Even his name says "Is that a beer?"
posted by entropicamericana at 2:01 PM on August 16, 2017 [5 favorites]
Even his name says "Is that a beer?"
posted by entropicamericana at 2:01 PM on August 16, 2017 [5 favorites]
My first frame of reference for John Saxon was as a villainous robot on The Six Million Dollar Man, which is perfect casting because, you know, John Saxon.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 2:09 PM on August 16, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by DrAstroZoom at 2:09 PM on August 16, 2017 [4 favorites]
I mean, your opinions are all FINE, but really John Saxon is known for Enter the Dragon.
posted by selfnoise at 2:09 PM on August 16, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by selfnoise at 2:09 PM on August 16, 2017 [21 favorites]
how has he not been in star trek
how
he even looks like some guy who used to be a starship captain until he flipped his shit and now kirk has to fight him
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:15 PM on August 16, 2017 [11 favorites]
how
he even looks like some guy who used to be a starship captain until he flipped his shit and now kirk has to fight him
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:15 PM on August 16, 2017 [11 favorites]
I'll always remember him as that guy from Mitchell.
A favorite MST3K moment is Joel's aside - ignored by the 'bots - "Hey, guys, wasn't John Saxon in this movie?" after he disappears, seemingly inexplicably, two-thirds of the way through.
It wasn't until my 3rd viewing that I realized that the death of Saxon's character is announced almost inaudibly on Mitchell's car radio during a stakeout (to compensate for a deleted scene when Saxon is killed, as I learned much later.)
That line still gets trotted out as commentary on slapped-together grindhouse plots when I'm watching movies with friends. Always greeted with 'bot-like silence, too.
Anyhow, Saxon was great in "Cannibal Apocalypse" - we shouldn't be too hard on him.
posted by ryanshepard at 2:16 PM on August 16, 2017 [4 favorites]
A favorite MST3K moment is Joel's aside - ignored by the 'bots - "Hey, guys, wasn't John Saxon in this movie?" after he disappears, seemingly inexplicably, two-thirds of the way through.
It wasn't until my 3rd viewing that I realized that the death of Saxon's character is announced almost inaudibly on Mitchell's car radio during a stakeout (to compensate for a deleted scene when Saxon is killed, as I learned much later.)
That line still gets trotted out as commentary on slapped-together grindhouse plots when I'm watching movies with friends. Always greeted with 'bot-like silence, too.
Anyhow, Saxon was great in "Cannibal Apocalypse" - we shouldn't be too hard on him.
posted by ryanshepard at 2:16 PM on August 16, 2017 [4 favorites]
how has he not been in star trek
There's still time!
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:17 PM on August 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
There's still time!
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:17 PM on August 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
I think the implication was that Mitchell killed him somehow.
John Saxon as kung fu master was...entertaining conceptually.
posted by praemunire at 2:27 PM on August 16, 2017
John Saxon as kung fu master was...entertaining conceptually.
posted by praemunire at 2:27 PM on August 16, 2017
Cult actor John Saxon is perhaps best-known for his role as Donald Thompson in the first and third Nightmare on Elm Street films.
Perhaps John Saxon is best known for Nightmare on Elm Street, but really he's best known for being The Other Hero-Guy in Enter the Dragon, the one who isn't Bruce Lee or Jim Kelly.
If you'll excuse me, I now have to run around making weird shouts and flapping my arms as I pretend to be Bruce Lee for a while, because even the mention of Enter the Dragon gets the mind going.
WHOOOOO-PAH! WAAAAAA!!! AAAAAH! [terrified cat runs away, wife covers eyes in embarrassment]
posted by Harvey Jerkwater at 2:36 PM on August 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
Perhaps John Saxon is best known for Nightmare on Elm Street, but really he's best known for being The Other Hero-Guy in Enter the Dragon, the one who isn't Bruce Lee or Jim Kelly.
If you'll excuse me, I now have to run around making weird shouts and flapping my arms as I pretend to be Bruce Lee for a while, because even the mention of Enter the Dragon gets the mind going.
WHOOOOO-PAH! WAAAAAA!!! AAAAAH! [terrified cat runs away, wife covers eyes in embarrassment]
posted by Harvey Jerkwater at 2:36 PM on August 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
I think the first movie I think of when I hear his name is Tenebrae.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 2:55 PM on August 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 2:55 PM on August 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
That Manson Family prequel would have sent me hiding under my bed for the next 3 decades. I mean, that's a SERIOUSLY twisted and scary idea!!
posted by helmutdog at 2:58 PM on August 16, 2017
posted by helmutdog at 2:58 PM on August 16, 2017
I think the implication was that Mitchell killed him somehow.
Not to continue the Mitchell derail, but the uncut film does feature an entire scene of Saxon trying to kill Mitchell in a dune buggy in the desert. Best Brains cut it for time, most likely, but they decided to do the joke anyway. Kind of a low blow, Joel, but hey, it's Mitchel!
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 3:06 PM on August 16, 2017 [5 favorites]
Not to continue the Mitchell derail, but the uncut film does feature an entire scene of Saxon trying to kill Mitchell in a dune buggy in the desert. Best Brains cut it for time, most likely, but they decided to do the joke anyway. Kind of a low blow, Joel, but hey, it's Mitchel!
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 3:06 PM on August 16, 2017 [5 favorites]
This is hilarious because whenever I saw Saxon show up in something when I was a kid or teenager, I thought he seemed like the one normal and competent guy who wandered into a campy low-budget wackadoodle production.
The more you know!
posted by allthinky at 5:35 PM on August 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
The more you know!
posted by allthinky at 5:35 PM on August 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
The podcast You Must Remember This did a 12 episode series on Manson, placing him in context in a lot of ways having to do with his musical aspirations and his Hollywood connections and it was entrancing and horrifying and I recommend it for anyone interested. The first episode can be found here.
posted by hippybear at 8:03 PM on August 16, 2017
posted by hippybear at 8:03 PM on August 16, 2017
You could drop him right into any Kurtwood Smith role.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 12:36 AM on August 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by GallonOfAlan at 12:36 AM on August 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
Last night I watched Wrong is Right, a satire of media and politics from 1982 involving oil, nukes, dumb politicians, and terrorists, starring Sean Connery as a globetrotting star reporter. It felt very dated of course, but it had some laughs, and it was one of those movies with a lot of faces in it--and John Saxon plays a CIA guy who outsmarts everybody. He gets to fight a little too.
DrAstroZoom, that was my all-time favorite episode of The Six Million Dollar Man! I also fondly remember John Saxon as the vampire from that episode where Starsky and Hutch had to catch a vampire.
posted by heatvision at 3:25 AM on August 17, 2017 [2 favorites]
DrAstroZoom, that was my all-time favorite episode of The Six Million Dollar Man! I also fondly remember John Saxon as the vampire from that episode where Starsky and Hutch had to catch a vampire.
posted by heatvision at 3:25 AM on August 17, 2017 [2 favorites]
Same old Roper.
posted by Mocata at 3:32 AM on August 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Mocata at 3:32 AM on August 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
I wonder if Saxon ever saw the 1988 Nightmare cash-in Bad Dreams...It contains some high-level elements of his treatment.
posted by doctornecessiter at 4:43 AM on August 17, 2017
posted by doctornecessiter at 4:43 AM on August 17, 2017
Cult actor John Saxon is perhaps best-known for his role as Donald Thompson in the first and third Nightmare on Elm Street films.
Cult actor? He had a continuing role on Dynasty and Falcon Crest and starred in The Bold Ones, ffs.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:30 AM on August 17, 2017 [2 favorites]
Cult actor? He had a continuing role on Dynasty and Falcon Crest and starred in The Bold Ones, ffs.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:30 AM on August 17, 2017 [2 favorites]
how has he not been in star trek
Well, he was in Planet Earth and Strange New World.
posted by The Tensor at 2:45 PM on August 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
Well, he was in Planet Earth and Strange New World.
posted by The Tensor at 2:45 PM on August 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by Etrigan at 1:24 PM on August 16, 2017