This 1984 horror flick will leave you unable to sleep at night, but for all the best reasons. This is one of the most iconic horror films ever created.
In 1984, filmmaker Wes Craven released a piece of cinema that would ensure generations of moviegoers would never sleep easy again. The fear was of Freddy Krueger, and the film was ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’.
‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ capitalised on the horror of nightmares by introducing the world to Freddy Krueger, a disfigured serial killer who is able to murder you in your own dreams. Krueger is played by Robert Englund, a role that propelled the actor to horror fame after the film’s release, and his performance helped to create the monstrous icon that is instantly recognisable today by his burnt face, striped jumper and infamous glove adorned with razor-sharp knives.
The film itself follows the struggle of teenager Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) who attempts to single-handedly defeat the killer after two of her friends, and her boyfriend, are murdered by him. It‘s much easier said than done however, as Krueger exists only in dreams and convincing anybody who could help her continually proves fruitless. As we learn more throughout the film of the story of Freddy Krueger, we come to learn that Springwood, Ohio – where the film is set – has much more to do with these murderous dreams than was first thought.
Freddy Krueger is a fantastic horror villain and it is easy to see why his legacy has endured to this very day. You can hide from Michael Myers. You can run from Leatherface. Eventually however, no matter how hard you try, you must fall asleep – and this is when Freddy has control. You would need more than a pinch to wake yourself up in his world, especially seeing as he will slash you to pieces in your dream with horrific consequences in real life.
Cinematographer Jacques Haitkin creates a perfectly eerie quality in his camera work, and Charles Bernstein’s musical score serves to ramp up the tension, but what sticks in your head the most are the inventive ways in which Craven allows Freddy to murder his victims: think of when Tina is levitating on the ceiling whilst her white nightie becomes little more than a butcher’s apron. In Johnny Depp’s big-screen debut as Nancy’s boyfriend, he is swallowed alive by his own bed and then flushed out as a gruesome geyser of blood.
The dream world allowed Craven to make the macabre glow with surrealism, and this resulted in some of the most memorable deaths in horror history. Director Craven also plays on the very real fear of dying in your sleep in such an effective way that makes his nightmares so relatable to our own, complete with disorientating locations and those infamous stairs that turn your legs into jelly – yeah, those stairs. We’ve all been there.
I do, however, think that the majority of performances in this film have unfortunately aged pretty poorly, especially in moments where scripted dialogue comes across as unrealistic and clunky. Englund as the murderous Krueger is brilliant however. He plays the killer in equal parts sinister and humorous, giving Freddy an almost-jovial, teasing character that only helps to disturb and to prolong his victim’s suffering.
In hindsight, it is interesting to see just how much Johnny Depp’s acting matured between ‘Elm Street’ in 1984 and 1990 when he took the lead role in Edward Scissorhands. The somewhat wooden performances from supporting characters do not detract from the film’s enjoyability, but they haven’t aged as gracefully as others from the same era.
Personally, I think that ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ is one of the best films to watch around Halloween. It is creepy, but it has the adventurous spirit of the biggest blockbusters and an unmistakeable 1980s charm that means whilst it is terror-some it also has the excitement of the decade weeping into it. Drawing on the universal experience of horrifying nightmares and propelling them to the most extreme point possible, this film is sure to leave you uneasy when your head hits the pillow tonight. Sleep tight.
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