A Nightmare on Elm Street Review

MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1984

A Nightmare on Elm Street was an extraordinary film that took the existing "rules" of the horror genre and rewrote them entirely. Wes Craven, the director of this film, boldly showed fans of the genre that a horror movie could be both terrifying and intelligent, and it was a revelation that viewers never expected. This potent combination made the original A Nightmare on Elm Street a horror classic that will forever be revered by those who embrace the genre.

It was the year 1984 when Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street slipped into theaters and ambushed horror fans with its unexpected blend of shocking violence and psychological mind games. Although horror fans had cut their teeth on many 70's fright fests such as the gritty The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Craven took the genre a leap forward… and did so with absolute ease.

This probably shouldn't have been a surprise, for Wes Craven was shattering boundaries from the very start of his career. In 1972 he shocked the world with an underground rape/revenge horror movie called The Last House on the Left… and to this day, over 30 years later, it remains a film that is too intense for many audiences due to its cringe-inducing realistic depiction of the rape and degradation of two innocent young women.

Wes designed the concept for A Nightmare on Elm Street after he read a news article about Taiwanese children who perished in their sleep after experiencing severe nightmares. Nightmares are something that everyone has experienced, so it's easy to identify with such a terrifying experience. By creating a movie that engaged and shocked the mind, viewers would be subjected to both a visceral and mental assault. Thus the idea of Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) was born… a vile man that can circumvent death by attacking his victims in the dream world.

Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) is a normal teenage girl that lives in a peaceful suburban town. One night her relatively peaceful existence is shattered when she finds her best friend, Tina Grey (Amanda Wyss), brutally slaughtered after a romantic romp with her boyfriend, Rod Lane (Nick Corri). Rod is charged with the crime, but when Nancy starts dreaming of a vile man she begins to believe that he, and not Rod, may actually be the one responsible for the crime. This suspicion is confirmed when Rod also falls victim to the dream stalker.

The remainder of the film involves Nancy attempting to warn her boyfriend, Glen Lantz (Johnny Depp), as well as her parents of the horrifying danger that awaits them in their dreams. Although initially Nancy's mother resists the terrible truth, finally she breaks down and shares the reason why Freddy Krueger is targeting the teenagers in this small town.

Can Nancy save herself and her boyfriend from the perils of a monster that can kill a person in their dreams? If you have already seen this classic horror film then you already know the answer, and if you haven't… what are you waiting for? Go out and get A Nightmare on Elm Street so you too can experience this mind-twisting thriller.

While the idea of an untouchable killer that can assault you in your dreams is terrifying enough, Craven's adept handling of it takes it a notch further. Any wounds incurred during a dream sequence will also occur to the physical body, so awakening from a nightmare before Krueger can wound or kill you becomes a necessity.

Sleep is also necessary for the human mind and body to function… no matter how much we can try to resist it eventually our mind will give way and drift off. This creates a feeling of impending doom, for no matter how hard potential victims attempt to stay awake we know that eventually they will be forced to face that which they fear most.

As viewers we're also not always certain when Nancy or another victim is actually awake or dreaming, which never allows us to become settled or comfortable. Just as we think everything is safe we may instead discover it was all a dream and the victim is actually in more danger than we ever suspected. Trying to stay one step ahead of the movie proves entertaining, if not sometimes nearly impossible.

The actors ranged from absorbing to acceptable. Heather Langenkamp may not be one of acting's greats, but she was a good casting choice for A Nightmare on Elm Street. She lends an authenticity to her depiction of a teenager terrorized by a killer she's not sure how to defend against. It may come as no surprise that three of the best entries in the series were also the ones that starred Langenkamp.

Who can't love Robert Englund as the sadistic Freddy Krueger? If you ever witnessed his performance as Willie in the sci-fi alien invasion mini-series V (which, might I add, is a damn good mini-series), you might be shocked that someone capable of playing such a peaceful role could turn around and play such a menacing one. I doubt A Nightmare on Elm Street would have been nearly as popular were it not for the ever dependable Englund.

The rest of the actors didn't disappoint either, but one performance in particular did surprise somewhat… and not for the reason you'd expect. A Nightmare on Elm Street was Johnny Depp's film debut, and although he's undeniably one of acting's most skilled and versatile masters, his brilliance is barely recognizable in his first showing. Of course he was young and inexperienced at the time, but it's still interesting to see one of acting's greats before he became an international star.

Although A Nightmare on Elm Street spawned many sequels, most of which were quite good in their own right, there is no doubt that the original is the best. This was a malevolent Krueger that was still a dark secret to us. Craven didn't place the spotlight on him, but rather the terror the victims experience due to his bad intentions. Krueger is always just around the corner, not right there in our face… and true horror masters realize that which scares us most is that which we can't see or understand.

I may have enjoyed some of the middle to latter entries in the A Nightmare on Elm Street series, but I also missed the demise of the dark and ominous Freddy. He was the thing nightmares were made of, whereas the wisecracking version was more akin to a psychotic clown… perhaps a bit disturbing in its own right, but not nearly enough to make a person's blood go cold.

Movie rating: 9 stars

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