A Nightmare on Elm Street

1984 "If Nancy doesn't wake up screaming she won't wake up at all."

A Nightmare on Elm Street

7.4 | 1h31m | R | en | Horror

Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter, Nancy Thompson, traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger, who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen, must devise a plan to lure the monster out of the realm of nightmares and into the real world...

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7.4 | 1h31m | R | en | Horror | More Info

Released: November. 09,1984 | Released Producted By: New Line Cinema , Smart Egg Pictures Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:

Synopsis

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Cast

Heather Langenkamp , John Saxon , Ronee Blakley

Director

Don Diers

Producted By

New Line Cinema , Smart Egg Pictures

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Trailers & Images

Cast

Heather Langenkamp

as Nancy Thompson

My Little Pony: A New Generation Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street Hellraiser: Judgment Truth or Dare Home Fantasm The Butterfly Room I Am Nancy Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

John Saxon

as Lieutenant Donald Thompson

Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy How Bruce Lee Changed the World War Wolves Clarkworld Pelts Trapped Ashes Blood and Steel: The Making of 'Enter the Dragon' Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-Screen

Ronee Blakley

as Marge Thompson

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Reviews

The Movie Diorama It's fame and popularity managed to spawn an entire franchise, ludicrous amounts of pop culture references and I'm sure a massive sale in gloves with knives as finger tips. This is a story of a group of teenagers who, when they dream, have nightmares of a killer named Freddy Krueger. So what's the main lesson here? Don't sleep if you live on Elm Street...just don't. Krueger is then able to kill these teenagers in reality as well...or so we think. Its surrealism and reality bending story means nothing is certain. The whole damn film could've been a dream...so let's take the whole plot with a pinch of sweet sweet sugar and just enjoy what's on show. What we have is a pretty intense horror that, due to the realm of dreams, is able to be creative and innovative with its scares. Yes, watching this now for the first time is slightly tame, but there are moments of tension particularly as these teenagers try to not fall asleep. Some of the deaths are incredibly iconic, especially a young Johnny Depp (wait...let's take a moment to admire how fluffy his hair looked!) who is sucked into his own bed and sprayed back out in litres of blood. That's sure to be one of the best deaths is cinematic history. Wes Craven created one of the most iconic horror characters ever: Freddy Krueger. Burnt face, knife glove of doom, striped shirt of terror, crooked hat of dread...he is what haunts people at night. The horror imagery that Craven conjures up is rather visceral, so whilst the film lacks in jump scares it makes up for in creepy atmospheric tension. This imagery and gore is what makes it the horror film that is today. Acting is your standard 80's teen flick. The repetitive musical score was slightly infuriating by the end of the film, although that theme tune is embedded into my mind forever. As a first-time watch in 2017, it's tame...but back in 1984 I'm sure it was a genuinely terrifying experience. Creatively scary is how I would describe this.

pkollmeier Aside from its clunky ending, A Nightmare on Elm Street is my favorite horror movie of all-time. For starters, Freddy Krueger does not discriminate, and he will haunt your dreams no matter your age. Aside from Alien's "In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream," "Don't Fall Asleep" is the second-best horror movie catchphrase of all- time.After Friday the 13th and the 80s slashers took the scene, Wes Craven came through with a whole different evil villain in Freddy Krueger, a former child murderer that kills kids in their dreams. I'm sorry, what?He got the idea from a string of stories ran in the LA Times about a young child that had survived the field killings in Cambodia. After a slew of nightmares, the young boy was found dead in his house after dying in his sleep. The police found a coffee pot in his closet with an extension cord running up under his bed and plugged into the wall. He obviously didn't want to fall asleep either. Craven ran with the story and created the most heinous, vile monster in horror movie history. With some Hitchcock elements spun throughout, A Nightmare on Elm Street is a fantastic ride from start to (almost) finish. The mood, music, atmosphere, shots, effects, blood, kills, and nightmares are all perfect. There are a few scenes that you watch and say "Wow, that's a classic cinema shot," or "Holy hell that's terrifying". Some scenes make you feel like Freddy Krueger is actually out there waiting for you to fall asleep tonight.Heather Langenkamp, aka Nancy Thompson in the film, works perfectly here. All of the characters do really. There are some missed opportunities, sure, but it all works out and there are times throughout the film where you feel trapped inside a boiler room, a terrible nightmare or a dangerous place and think, "Is this really happening to me?" The ending is a bit clunky and takes the fear away a bit, but I also think that is part of the point. As Nancy fights back and becomes the ultimate bad-a#$, Krueger becomes less and less of a threat. Facing your fears is difficult, but Nancy shows us the courage and tenacity it takes to destroy an evil entity like Freddy Krueger. Or, does she?

jdoor A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984) is no masterpiece in any means but it still holds up as a genuinely scary movie. the thing that makes A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)so good is its practical effects it has amazingly well done practical effects for its time even though there are is few CGI (computer generated image)it is only about once or twice and when it is used it does break the tension. there are a few flaws as in glass is already broken before its broken and cushions for the stunt man to land on. anyway I give a nightmare on elm street a 7 out of 10

Eka Herlyanti It's still pretty scary for today's era of horror movie. Quite enough scenes made me jumpy. What's more, the story is strong, unique and science related (the sleeping thing). However, I don't find the acting of the main actors so believable except for the screaming. Even Johnny Depp didn't show enough realness in the kissing scene (his other scenes were great, though).I feel glad to finally watch one of this great horror classic. The villain/devil is so popular and I would feel bad if I never see one of his movies. I hope I can watch all of the franchise despite the bad reviews.