Glen Lantz (1965-1981) is a fictional character from the A Nightmare on Elm Street (series) of films. He was portrayed by Johnny Depp in A Nightmare on Elm Street in what was his acting debut.
Johnny Depp also appeared in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, although his only appearance was a cameo.
Background[]
Glen Lantz was a student at Springwood High who was going out with Nancy Thompson. In 1981, Glen, Nancy, and their friends Tina Grey and Rod Lane started having nightmares about a creepy man in a red and green sweater covered in burns and scars with a glove on his right hand with knives on the fingers. One night, while the four teens were sleeping at Tina's house, the man appeared in her dreams and killed Tina, the injuries appearing in the waking world as well.
“Don’t be such a smart guy”. Glen talking to his Mother after falling asleep listening to records.
After Nancy came to the realisation that the man in her dreams was Freddy Krueger, she asked Glen to stay awake and act as a guard while she slept, so that if she started acting strange, Glen could wake her up. However, when Nancy fell asleep and was attacked by Freddy, Glen fell asleep. Luckily for Nancy, she awoke from her nightmare in time, and was mad at Glen for not following her instructions.
One night, Nancy is locked inside her house by her drunken mother, who also placed bars on the windows to prevent Nancy from running away. Glen falls aleep in his bedroom because he is exhausted. His father left the phone off the receiver, therefore would be no calls. He didn't want Glen to be assosiated with Nancy because he thinks she is a bad influence.
Unfortunately, Glen is sucked into his bed and killed by Freddy. From the hole in his bed spouts a massive torrent of blood. (In a deleted scene, Glen's bloody/mutilated body comes down through all the mess. Depp reportedely did his own stunt for this scene.) At the end of the movie, Nancy gets her friends and her mother back, but she doesn't really get them back at all. The happy ending is actually not really happening. Freddy then returns to take over the body of Jesse Walsh.
Appearance[]
Glen has a youthful appearance, with dark, short, messy hair, which highlights his relaxed and somewhat carefree look. He is an attractive boy, with a charismatic smile and a generally relaxed posture, which makes him seem friendly and approachable. His face is of soft features, with a slightly defined jawline.
“Stand by your window so i can see you, you stand a million miles away”. Glen answers Nancy's phone call to meet her at midnight and defeat Freddy.
In addition, Glen has a slim but athletic figure, typical of a young man who is still in high school. Despite his attractive physique, his overall appearance is marked by the vulnerability and innocence that characterizes his character.
Hair: Glen has light brown hair, with a somewhat messy cut but classic style for the 80s. Her hairstyle is somewhat voluminous, but it is not excessive. It's a relatively natural style, with a touch of youth fashion from the 80s.
Face: Glen has a youthful and attractive face, with soft and pleasant features. His eyes are light brown, which gives him a warm and friendly look. He has a facial complexion that reflects his youthfulness, with clear skin and without many marks or imperfections.
Body: In terms of build, Glen is slim but not extremely athletic. His physique is that of an average teenager, with an average height. He is not presented as someone particularly muscular, but rather as a young man with a slender body.
Personality[]
As for his personality, Glen is a nice, relaxed and quite friendly young man, and he presents himself as the type of friend who could be considered the "good guy" within the group of teenagers in the film.
“Whatever You Do, Don’t Fall Asleep,” Glen falling asleep after promising Nancy he would meet her at Midnight.
Throughout the story, Glen is known for his carefree attitude and sense of humor, often acting as the comic relief within the narrative. He has a romantic relationship with Nancy Thompson, the protagonist, and while he seems to be a good boyfriend and friend, he is also a bit more naïve and impulsive than the other characters, making him vulnerable to threats from Freddy Krueger.
One of the defining aspects of Glen is his confidence, but this confidence sometimes translates into a lack of caution, leading him to fall into a death trap set by Freddy. His death is one of the most shocking and memorable in the film, especially due to the way Freddy kills him in a dream, underscoring how vulnerable all the characters are in the face of the supernatural entity.
“Well then i guess those people don’t wake up to tell what happens”. Glen and Nancy talking on a bridge while Glen eats a burger and a soda.
Glen has a casual and comfortable clothing style. He is frequently seen wearing typical garments of the 80s, such as short-sleeved shirts, sweaters or casual jackets, often with jeans or casual pants. In one of his most memorable scenes, he is seen wearing a striped T-shirt, which further accentuates his laid-back style.
Glen in Nancy´s Diary[]
Long before Glen passed away, Nancy Thompson had written several things about him in her Personal Journal in 1981, written on specific dates.
Most of this information was revealed when the Walsh Family moved into Nancy's House 5 years after Glen's Murder, the journal was discovered by Lisa while she was cleaning and unpacking some belongings in Jesse's room.
March 7, 1981: "Glen asked me to sleep with him again. I can't yet - I like him, I want to make him happy but I'm not sure that I love him. I can't sleep with someone I don't love."
Unknown Date, 1981: "Sometimes when I'm lying here in bed, I can see Glen in the window across the way getting ready for bed. His body is slim and smooth, and I know I shouldn't watch him, but that part of me that wants him forces me to. That's when I weaken. That's when I want to go to him."
Glen Lantz on the phone, while lying to his mother that he was at his cousin Barry's house, so he could stay at Tina's house and keep Nancy company.
Trivia[]
- In a deleted scene, during Glen's death he was going to come out of the hole in the bed covered in blood, however it was not introduced in the film because it was very "gore" at the time and the film already had classification problems regarding violence and explicit scenes.
- In Glen's bedroom there are several posters on the wall of different band groups from the 70s such as the band flag of “The J. Geils Band” from the album called Sanctuary from 1978.
- Behind Glen's bed wall was a poster of “Grace Under The Pressure” belonging to the rock band “Rush” from 1968.
- Wes Craven had commented that the blood coming out of the bed is not Glen's, but the blood of all the victims who died at the hands of Freddy Krueger in the Past.
- More than 200 gallons of fake blood were used to create Glenn's death scene.
- To achieve the illusion of the fountain of blood coming out of Glen's bed, a rotating room was used in the film where the bed was actually on the ceiling and gallons of fake blood were dropped onto the floor.
- The name, Glen Lantz, was chosen by screenwriter Wes Craven quite simply and without much symbolism. "Glen" is a common name for a boy his age, while "Lantz" has no specific meaning. However, being such a "normal" character, he reflects the idea that anyone, no matter how ordinary, can fall victim to Freddy in the world of Elm Street.
- Glen Lantz was Johnny Depp's first prominent film role. Although he had already had some minor roles in television and film, his appearance in A Nightmare on Elm Street catapulted him to stardom, although not immediately. The film was not his first project, but it did mark a before and after in his career. Depp said in subsequent interviews that he was grateful to have been cast in the role, though at the time he didn't know what impact the film would have or how it would change his career.
- Unlike other slasher characters like those in Halloween or Friday the 13th, Glen is a "good guy". He is nice, a good boyfriend and very affectionate with Nancy. His "sinlessness" makes him a character who is destined to suffer because of Freddy Krueger's unpredictability. This dynamic makes his death even more tragic, as he has no negative or selfish characteristics that justify his fate.
- The scene in which Glen kisses Nancy is also considered Johnny Depp's first on-screen kiss, which is a small anecdote within his acting career.
- Although Glen is a charming and friendly young man, the character has a very different design than originally planned. In the early scripts and drafts, Glen's character was going to be much more serious and less friendly, but Johnny Depp brought his own youthful and charismatic touch, which gave a new energy to the character.
- The scene of Glen's death was very complex to film. The production had to create a water platform under the bed, with a hose connected to an artificial blood tank. The amount of blood used was so large that team members were in charge of placing cameras in different positions to capture the "explosion". Special effects and tricks were also used to simulate the gravity of blood shooting out into the ceiling. The end result was one of the most original and disturbing deaths in horror cinema.
- The scene in which Glen dies, the entire film due to the amount of special effects involved. The amount of blood used was so much that some team members had to wear goggles due to the risk of splashing. In addition, several cameras were employed to capture the scene from different angles, which contributed to the sense of chaos and horror.
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