Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) by Ethan P — 06 Dec 2015

In all Horror films the killer immediately seems to be a blood-thirsty, grotesque, un-relatable monster that preys on the weaknesses and fears of the characters. Horror is defined as "an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; a shuddering fear." As the bounty of Horror movies grow, we see clichés, and poorly casted films that we could produce better ourselves. Looking deeper we find movies that are cinematic successes; movies estimated to be a "blip on the radar" and end up being Historic. Similar to "Psycho" the killer causes extreme confusion at at the start of the movie slaughtering the main character. Unable to predict what will happen next you are pulled into the obis. What stands out about this movie is the difficulty to tell the difference from the dream world and reality.

Not only does this movie define the horror genre with its frightfully shocking scenes, we find A Nightmare on Elm Street to be a movie that is suspenseful and pulls your fears to the exterior. The suspenseful music sets every scene with a dark, sinister mood; anticipating Freddy's appearance. Wes Craven added countless astonishing surprises, as the viewers experience the unforeseen actions of Freddy. We become attached to the characters, reminiscing on the reoccurring nightmare we all have; fearing the unforeseeable outcome.

The horror genre persuades its audience to resurface their deepest fear and relate it to the movie. A Nightmare on Elm Street is recognizably a top movie in the genre of Horror, Freddy becoming one of the greatest villains in cinema history. As the ending locks in the inability to define the dream world from reality you are left wanting more understanding. A movie that could never be forgotten, and will be a Horror classic for generations to come.