Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) by Armand V — 18 Jan 2016

The pinnacle of horror films in the golden age of horror films with one of the most iconic villains in all of horror fiction. A Nightmare on Elm Street stands head and shoulders above roughly 95% of any horror movies that have ever made their way to the big screen in the past fifty years. It is a film that people of any age, of any generation, can enjoy. The limitations of CGI and modern portrayal techniques do not take anything away from the experience for the modern viewer while viewers of old will gleefully (and somewhat reluctantly) take a stroll down Springwood Memory Lane,.

In true 1980's fashion, Wes Craven's 'Nightmare' is a campy thriller with tons of blood, gore, scares, and often some very shoddy and cheesy acting. Yet it is effective in and of itself. It never strays from its core ideas or diverts from the direction in which it's taken. Most importantly, Wes Craven successfully delivered something certified fresh in the genre. The idea that dreams, a place that most of us associate with a peaceful and mystifying asylum far, far away from the harsh realities of the world, being used so deviously against us is a very disturbing thought, and a thought in which there is no escape. No matter what we do or how we do it, we have to sleep. We have to hit the hay. It's as simple as that. It's the way we were programmed and the possibility of such conjures a truly morbid, claustrophobic sense of fear.

The primary antagonist, Freddy Krueger (played expertly by Robert Englund), is the complete antithesis of other slasher stalwarts such as Jason Voorhees or Michael Meyers. Krueger does not dwell in the physical world, he dwells in the dream world, and there he is the master puppeteer, a being without peer. A being without limits. Also unlike the aforementioned slashers, Krueger is a vocal antagonist. Although dead and buried (figuratively), he has retained his witty, sadistic and sarcastic demeanor, and that adds greatly to his grotesque charm. He is an antagonist that immerses the audience and leaves a certain sense of intrigue that leaves the viewer confused as of what to make of him. They dread the next coming of the Springwood Slasher, but at the same time he's just so fascinating that you want to see more of him and learn more about him. That's the type of reaction anyone would like from their 'Big Bad'.

On the other hand we have Nancy Thompson, who is played by a very young and verbose Heather Langenkamp. Sufficed to say, her inexperience at the time shows. Her portrayal of Thompson probably captures the core ideal of the character; Nancy was meant to be the epitome of innocence and the embodiment of horror-style campy cheer, but there is no denying that some of her dialogue comes across as amateurish and that she sometimes conveys the timidity of her character as whiny and slow on the draw. Despite these flaws, Langenkamp doesn't do the film any real injustice. It almost feels like these flaws add to her performance and make Thompson much more interesting and easier for the adolescent to relate with.

It is in actual fact Thompson that makes the movie as good as it is. She is the Final Girl, and that obviously means that she steers way clear of cigarettes, beer bottles and gratuitous sex. That is horror movie staple, we've been there, done that and bought the t-shirt. But here Craven throws the curve ball. Nancy Thompson may be reluctant, but when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. She is faced with a dream demon that is murdering all those close to her. This psychopath resides in a dimension where he is the master and where he cannot be defeated. Her resolve, in turn, is to meet this unstoppable force by being an immovable object. Though faced with adversity, she decides to take the fight to him and meet him halfway. This ballsy approach is what adds a twist to the genre and sets the film up for an amazing climax.

The pacing of the movie is faultless. The opening scene of Tina's dream throws you right smack in the middle of the ongoing mayhem and leaves you wondering this like: What just happened? Who is chasing her? And where exactly did all of this start? The next dream scene comes shortly after, and one of the most iconic kills in the whole of the slasher genre. Craven handles the transition between dream and reality very well. He leaves you guessing which is which and that adds to the tension and obscurity.

So what A Nightmare on Elm Street gives you is ultimately something that you've never seen before. It takes the common practices of the genre as groundwork and continually adds new and fresh ideas to it, ideas that we've never seen before. The antagonist is new sort of monstrosity while the protagonist is the amalgamation of everything we've ever wanted from our leading ladies.

Original, terrifying and entertaining. What more could you ever want?