Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) by James O — 04 Oct 2013

Is it just me or do many famous actors and actresses in Hollywood get their career started in horror movies? Kevin Bacon in Friday The 13th, Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween, and Johnny Depp in this film.

Anyway, A Nightmare On Elm Street stars Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, John Saxon, Ronee Blakely, Amanda Wyss, and Nick Corri and is directed by Wes Craven. The film follows four teenagers named Nancy, Rod, Glenn, and Tina who are being murdered in their dreams by a man named Freddy Krueger.

Freddy Krueger was a sadistic child killer in the past and earned himself the name "The Springwood Slasher". When he was released from prison out of technicality, the parents of Springwood burned him alive in a boiler room.

Freddy then targets the kids of the parents that killed him. Nancy and Glenn then try to unravel the mystery of Freddy Krueger. The plot for this film is outstanding. The film has brilliant writing by Wes Craven, great acting, and it warps the senses of dreams and reality.

The characters in this film are great. Heather Langenkamp is outstanding as Nancy Thompson. She is the best character in the Nightmare series. Other characters like Lt. Thompson(John Saxon), Marge Thompson(Ronee Blakley), Tina Gray(Amanda Wyss), Rod Lane(Nick Corri), and Glen Lantz(Johnny Depp) are very good.

The most famous charcter in the film is Freddy Krueger and he is played by Robert Englund who wasn't well known at the time but is now praised by many people. Freddy is serious in this film unlike the later films where he is a joker, but he does joke a little bit.

The look of Freddy is creepy since he was a burn victim and his glove is so iconic. The special effects are outstanding. My favorite special effect is when Johnny Depp's character is dragged into his bed and his blood erupts out of the bed.

Another great effect is when Rod is hanged by a bed sheet. Today, it would be computer generated. Another great effect is when Freddy comes out of a wall. It was done in the remake and it looked horrendous.

The film is also very confusing. It is hard to tell when characters are dreaming or sleeping. It builds a lot of tension and you are most vulnerable when you are asleep. The ending in the original script was different from the film's ending.

Originally, Nancy and her friends would've driven into fog, but the producer wanted to set up a sequel so Wes Craven left the series(with the exceptions being A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 Dream Warriors and Wes Craven's New Nightmare).

Overall, A Nightmare on Elm Street is a horror classic. It has great characters,brilliant writing by Wes Craven, great acting, inventive kills, outstanding special effects, and a scary antagonist. A Nightmare on Elm Street is my second favorite slasher film and my fourth favorite horror movie.