Scream Finally Confirmed a Nightmare on Elm Street Easter Egg

In 1996, the phone rang, and a teenage girl picked it up. Little did she know that in that short exchange, she was helping launch a horror icon. Wes Craven’s Scream launched one of the most recognizable franchises in modern horror. In 2022, a new installment brought a continuation and a soft reboot, introducing fresh heroes battling the same life-and-death stakes. Scream (2022) was a nice surprise, paying homage to the meta-humor of the originals while bringing the franchise in a modern direction.

All of this remained in the name of Wes Craven. A horror icon in his own right, Craven remains one of the most beloved directors in the genre even after his death. An Easter egg linking the Scream franchise and another one of his notable works, A Nightmare on Elm Street, was finally confirmed after 28 years. For horror fans, this ties together two of the most famous horror slashers of all time in an easy-to-miss moment. What is this Easter egg? What does it mean for the Scream franchise? Why should horror fans be excited? Here’s what you need to know.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Lives in Scream

If you pay close enough attention, you’ll be able to spot a street sign in Scream (2022) that is likely to send shivers down the spine of anyone familiar with Freddy Krueger’s supernatural killing spree in 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. During one scene in Scream (2022), a street sign reading ‘Elm Street’ can be seen, linking the two movie series and fundamentally changing the way horror fans will view both going forward. It could suggest that Ghostface’s killing spree and Freddy Krueger’s dream invasions happened in the same area, or, more likely, it’s a simple homage to the classic horror film.

This hidden detail wasn’t featured in the original Scream in quite the same way, but the seeds were planted in the 1996 film. In Scream, the protagonist, Sidney Prescott, lives on Elm Street, as a direct reference to A Nightmare on Elm Street. However, an explicit reference linking Sidney to the infamous street was deleted in the 1996 movie. It wasn’t until Scream (2022) that Tara, played by Jenna Ortega, mentions that Sidney used to live on Elm Street. What this exactly means for Sidney is still unclear. Whether she ever faced Freddy Krueger in her dreams is up for speculation, but this Easter egg adds subtext to one of horror’s most iconic final girls.

The Wes Craven Connection in Scream

This Easter egg means more than just a fun little nod to one of Wes Craven’s previous works; it signals a style that Craven was to adopt for Scream and its sequels. Scream is known for its highly self-aware humor, referencing the rules of surviving a horror movie and what would normally happen if this was all just a movie. It’s one of the endearing aspects of the original that Scream (2022) continued, an aspect that makes Scream so re-watchable. Putting this Elm Street Easter egg in Scream is just another piece of a self-aware bite that shows Craven’s knowledge of horror and how to subtly expand his universe of terror.

Scream has had a complicated history on the screen, one that continues today. Scream almost never happened, and Wes Craven initially turned down the project out of fear it was too violent and dark. After Craven passed away in 2015, it seemed that Neve Campbell was reluctant to make any more movies in the franchise, showing just how integral Craven was to it. The enduring love for the franchise spawned a wave of teen-led horrors like I Know What You Did Last Summer, and in an ironic turn, became the subject of the parody Scary Movie. Scream was made to satirize movies like Halloween and Friday the 13th, and it became so popular and well-known that it started a wave of parody.

The Possibilities of an Expanded Horror Universe

In a time of shared universes and attempts to launch franchises, it is rare to find a director have his work directly referenced in a successful reboot of his movie like Scream (2022). Bringing the supernatural thrills of A Nightmare on Elm Street into the world of Scream adds new possibilities and questions to an already richly painted universe of blood and guts. Supernatural horror usually exists in a separate place from more grounded slasher horror, but this Easter egg combines them in a very small but clever way that pays tribute to the satirization of the genre Wes Craven helped popularize in 1996.

On Halloween, many people sit down with their loved ones around the roaring flames of the fire in delight at watching beautiful teenagers being brutally killed. It’s a tradition. But 28 years after Elm Street became a street that’s probably best to avoid if you’re easily spooked, the monster Freddy Krueger, who stalked you in your dreams, took a frighteningly close step into the real world of Sidney Prescott’s life. It’s more than a shared universe of horror; it’s a chilling reminder that after you’ve escaped Ghostface’s knife, you might not be able to fall asleep just yet. On Elm Street, in your dreams, Freddy Krueger is waiting. And unlike Ghostface, Freddy Krueger has more tricks up his sleeve than a knife. Scream (2022) is streaming on Netflix just in time for Halloween.