A Nightmare on Elm Street

 “If Nancy doesn’t wake up screaming, she won’t wake up at all.”

Diving in this week with the third of the “Big Three” franchises: A Nightmare On Elm Street. While Halloween and Friday the 13th have specific months that will serve as their theme months the entries for this franchise will be sprinkled through periodically, ultimately culminating with Freddy vs. Jason. 

A Nightmare on Elm Street was written and directed by Wes Craven (Scream) and was released on November 9, 1984 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. A Nightmare on Elm Street was made on a budget of $1.8 million, made $1,271,000 upon opening, and went on to make $25,507,137 worldwide. Over the years A Nightmare on Elm Street has garnered a reputation of being one of the greatest horror films of all time.

A Nightmare on Elm Street follows Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp, Growing Pains) and her friends who are being haunted and subsequently killed in their dreams by a mysterious man named Fred Krueger (Robert Englund, Urban Legend). As Nancy investigates, she learns of a shocking connection between her parents and Krueger.

A Nightmare on Elm Street’s reputation is well-earned. Despite emerging in the slasher boom born from the success of Halloween, it isn’t content to be a mere carbon copy of its predecessor. Craven distinguishes his film with the inclusion of the dream world, giving him a larger sandbox to play in with his set pieces and kills, and with his voiced and unmasked killer. Unlike Michael and Jason before him, Freddy has a very distinct personality (and only one performer up until the 2010 remake).

While the dream set pieces and Freddy are obvious draws of both the original film and the franchise at large, the real coup here is the character of Nancy. While I am a big fan of Laurie Strode, Nancy Thompson makes a stronger first impression (it would take 20 years and six sequels for Laurie to become the badass she’s known as today). Nancy immediately takes matters into her own hands to investigate and take down Freddy. Between her disbelieving father (John Saxon, Black Christmas), alcoholic mother (Ronee Blakley, Nashville), and utterly useless boyfriend (Johnny Depp, Edward Scissorhands), Nancy is largely on her own in her battle against Freddy. 

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a must see for any horror fan. It’s a triumph of imagination and terror thanks to both Craven’s script and direction that’s anchored by Englund’s terrifying villain and Langenkamp’s brave heroine. 

Rating: 5 blood geysers out of 5

Other Observations:

• Does the Dog Die? No animals of any kind are killed (or even featured) during the film.

• Harrison’s Favorite Scare: Tie between Tina’s (Amanda Wyss, Fast Times at Ridgemont High) death scene and Nancy’s dream of Tina’s body being dragged through the school by an invisible force.

• Seriously, Glenn is completely useless throughout the entire movie.

• There is an excellent documentary called Never Sleep Again which covers the entire franchise (except the remake, which hadn't been released when the documentary was made). It’s four hours long, but worth a watch.

• Next Week: One of my all-time favorites: The Haunting.