By Josh Bate
Johnny Depp’s career began in one of horror cinema’s most influential films, Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, where his character met an extraordinarily gruesome end at the hands of Freddy Krueger. Decades later, after establishing himself as one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actors, Depp is returning to major studio filmmaking with Ebenezer, a new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ beloved A Christmas Carol. The project has already attracted considerable attention, not least because it brings together Depp’s highly anticipated comeback and director Ti West, the filmmaker celebrated for his distinctive contributions to modern horror through films such as The House of the Devil and X.
Although A Christmas Carol is fundamentally a story about personal transformation, forgiveness, and redemption, its narrative has always contained elements of genuine horror. The arrival of Jacob Marley and the three Christmas spirits forces Ebenezer Scrooge to confront the consequences of his selfish existence through a succession of disturbing supernatural experiences. In Ebenezer, West takes particular advantage of his source material’s darker elements, bringing an unmistakable horror sensibility to the appearances of the three spirits.
However, one sequence stands out for an entirely different and more interesting reason. Rather than simply intensifying the supernatural atmosphere, West incorporates a clever visual reference to Depp’s earliest appearance on the big screen. More than forty years after the actor made his film debut in A Nightmare on Elm Street, Ebenezer revisits the circumstances of his character’s unforgettable death, creating an unexpected connection between Depp’s first feature film and his widely publicized comeback film.
The reference occurs after Scrooge’s encounter with the spirit of Jacob Marley, his former business associate. After appearing before Scrooge, Marley informs him that three additional spirits will arrive throughout the night, each offering him an opportunity to examine the choices that have shaped his life. Understandably terrified by the prospect, Scrooge struggles to accept what is happening and remains reluctant to accompany the supernatural visitors on their journey through his past, present, and future.
The Ghost of Christmas Past is the first spirit to arrive. As the mysterious visitor approaches Scrooge’s bedroom amid ominous noises and swirling clouds of fog, the frightened miser retreats into his elaborate four-poster bed. He draws the surrounding curtains closed, effectively separating himself from the rest of the room. Convinced that the protective enclosure will keep the approaching apparition at a distance, Scrooge waits anxiously for whatever might happen next.
Instead of entering through the curtains, however, the supernatural encounter takes an unexpected turn. While Scrooge remains hidden beneath the bed coverings, his mattress begins to swallow him. Gradually descending into its surface, he disappears completely, leaving no trace of his body above the bed.
For longtime horror enthusiasts, the imagery immediately brings to mind one of the most recognizable sequences in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Depp made his feature-film debut in the 1984 classic as Glen Lantz, the boyfriend of Heather Langenkamp’s Nancy Thompson. In one of the film’s most shocking moments, Glen falls asleep in his bedroom before being dragged into an opening that mysteriously forms in his mattress. His disappearance is followed by an enormous eruption of blood, which shoots upward and drenches virtually every surface of the room, including its ceiling and walls.
It feels particularly poetic that Depp’s first on-screen death in his very first movie is recalled so strikingly in his big comeback movie. All these years later, Depp appears to remain cognizant of the ways in which his encounter with Freddy Krueger set the stage for him to ascend to Hollywood A-lister status.
Ebenezer is now playing in theaters.