Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) by Elan K — 04 Sep 2016

In 1984, while the slasher sub-genre was heating up, a film was released written and directed by Wes Craven which changed the game for horror films. This movie was known as "A Nightmare on Elm Street" which shock and scared viewers at the time.

Though I never saw this film until decades later it still holds up as one of the most iconic horror films to ever releases launching the villain, Freddy Krueger, into the mainstream. "A Nightmare on Elm Street" follows the character of Nancy Thompson (played by Heather Langenkamp) a seemingly ordinary teenager who starts having weird nightmares about a man in a striped sweater with switchblades for fingers, known as Fred Krueger.

Things get even stranger when Nancy's friends seem to be having similar dreams and are soon dying off one by one. One thing you'll note right off the bat about this film is how highly original this film is, it is such a clever idea for a horror movie and really does propel the film to a higher standard for slasher flicks as it changed the game for the way we view horror films.

Up until 1984 a slasher was defined as a silent killer who stalks its prey (teenagers) with a knife, however "Nightmare" changed up this formula with its villain Freddy Krueger, and though he isn't as talkative nor comedic as audience will come to see in later films, he was still unlike anything seen at that time.

As I was saying this first "Nightmare" differs from its sequels as it is much more darker and goes for a horror approach rather than a horror comedy that the sequels would later emulate. Wes Craven creates such a great atmosphere in this film that if you were to ever see a clip from it, you'd know you're watching a "Nightmare" movie.

Many iconic scenes came out from this film, such as the bathroom scene; with the Freddy's hand coming out of the water, the second time the viewer sees Freddy; elongated arms in the alley, the wall stretching out, blood coming from the bed, etc.

This made excellence use of practical effects particularly the stop motion used for Rod's hanging and the rotating set used for Tina's and Glen's death which still captivates me as its something I've always wondered "how exactly did they film that?" This film has so many positives going for it just based on its originality that it is a shame it suffers from typical horror/slasher tropes of many pointless scenes going nowhere and their only intent is to awkwardly set up a group of teenagers who we know will eventually bite the dust.

The ending is also particularly weak offering no conclusion to the story, and its only purpose is try to set up future instalments. I understand from reading online that the ending to the first "Nightmare" film was not in Wes Craven's original script as he intended to wrap up the story with proper ending.

Now with the film releasing in the 80's you'd be surprised that "A Nightmare on Elm Street" isn't particularly dated however the fade-to-black transition is used quite often and either end scenes abruptly or awkwardly.

It has always been a scene transition that I've never liked, luckily the fade-to-black is really only noticeable in the first half of the film. Now most of the good out weighs the bad and as Ive stressed throughout the video this was a original tale created by Wes Craven which really worked.

From the iconic scenes, to the score, to Fred Krueger, it is without a doubt no wonder why "A Nightmare on Elm Street" made its way into people's hearts, as well as their nightmares. "A Nightmare on Elm Street" gets a 8.

5/10.