Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) by Compi24 — 10 Oct 2019

As someone who has never seen the film and lived for the better part of three decades within a "post-A-Nightmare-On-Elm-Street" world, I can tell you for a fact that this is almost impossible to walk into without preconceived notions.

I can only imagine what it would be like to see this in 1984, either in my teen years or early 20's, having the absolute dookie scared right out of me and not being able to sleep the same way for the next few days/weeks/months.

Alas, I didn't get that luxury in actuality. I watched this movie on my couch, with a decent knowledge of its plot, the overarching plot of the entire franchise that entailed after it, the laughable plot of the crossover with "Friday The 13th" that we tried to forget in 2003, and the "revamped" plot of the remake that came and went in 2010 all in my head.

Did any of this effect my overall enjoyment of "A Nightmare On Elm Street?" How could it not? This isn't a bad movie. In fact, there's so much in it that -- again -- I can't help but feel would've been even more enjoyable had I seen it in its time.

But there's also some other things within that just simply don't age well. The acting is subpar at best, featuring line readings that conjure up more horror than the actual subject matter of the film.

The music is laughable in certain moments, with a lot of the chase music making me think that Chris Pontius was coming after Heather Langenkamp, whilst wearing his bowtie and speedo, rather than Freddy Krueger, in his fedora and sweater.

The special effects are really well done, though, with some of the moments even making you think to yourself, "How the hell did they do that at all? Let alone back then?" This is a mixed bag, albeit an enjoyable one.

As someone on the other side of a nearly 40-year-old movie, I had a lot of the same problems I've had with other films that are as heavily embedded in their cinematic era as this is. Still, it's required viewing for anyone interested in the history of horror films and filmmaking in general.