A Nightmare On Elm Street [MA]

Nancy has been having grizzly nightmares featuring a hideously burnt man with knives on the ends of his fingers. Meanwhile, her high school friends, who are having the same nightmares, are being slaughtered in their sleep by the same fiend, known as Freddy Krueger. When the police ignore Nancy’s explanation for the murders, she herself must confront Freddy in her dreams. But if she doesn’t wake up screaming, then she won’t wake up at all. 

Yes, it has happened. I am now steadily easing my way into the horror genre. I figure what better way to start than with one of the most infamous undead villains in cinematic history? Freddy Krueger has slashed up screens time and time again for years, becoming one of the most celebrated and widely recognised villains. 

Nancy has been having grizzly nightmares featuring a grotesquely burnt man in a striped sweater with knives at the ends of his fingers. The following day, she learns that she is not the only one who has met this monster. Her high school friends Tina, Glen, and Rob have also been having disturbing dreams starring the same fiend. It’s all just a strange coincidence until one night, Tina is brutally murdered in her sleep. As each of her friends gets viciously slaughtered in their sleep, it becomes apparent to Nancy that Freddy, the fiend who stars in her dreams, is out to make her nightmares a reality. When the police ignore her explanations, Nancy takes it upon herself to confront Freddy and take him down, keeping in mind that if she doesn’t wake up screaming, she won’t wake up at all. 

Nightmare was a brilliant film that pretty much had everything right. It had the perfect balance of blood and gore, a good story, the right amount of suspense and sudden appearances of the villain, and spine-tinglingly brilliant music. For someone just beginning to get into horror films, I found this one perfect to start with. I wasn’t scared at all, I was exhilarated and I even laughed once or twice. 

The thing that really stood out for me in this film was the movement of the camera. I’ve always said that the music plays the most important part in horror films because it creates the atmosphere, but now I’m thinking that it’s the marriage of music and camera work that gets the response from the audience. The slow movement of the camera as it follows the heroine, creates the haunting and sinister atmosphere and makes you feel like looking over your shoulder. Brilliant! 

And the special effects were pretty cool too. Obviously, because it’s an 80s movie, it’s not going to be as realistic or gory like the effects of today, but I think that’s what makes the movie so good: it’s not overflowing with special effects. The effects that stood out for me were the attack in the bathtub and the attacks where the victims are sucked into their beds as though they were in quicksand. Downright awesome! 

Starring John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Robert Englund, and introducing Johnny Depp, A Nightmare On Elm Street was a brilliant horror flick packed with suspense, bloodshed, murder, and a brilliant twist of the plot at the end. 

“One, two, Freddy’s coming for you. Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six, grab your crucifix. Seven, eight, gonna stay up late. Nine, ten, never sleep again.”