Review #108: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)


This review was originally written in October 2020.

October Movie Review #25- A Nightmare on Elm Street

I've seen most of this series at some point or another; the only one I can definitely say that I've never seen was Wes Craven's New Nightmare. However, for most of the entries in this series it's been about ten years since I watched them, so I was happy to make my way through them again.

Starting us off is the original, and despite some flaws I think this movie still holds up today. The dialogue isn't great, much of the acting is pretty bad (Heather Langenkamp's in particular leaves a LOT to be desired), but the practical effects are top-notch, and the dream sequences in this movie are legit some of the most horrifying images ever put to film. (The body bag in the school hallway, the bladed glove in the bathtub- those sequences are just so mind-blowingly good that you have to give it credit.)

I was also astounded by how quickly this film gets right into the good stuff. We're barely five minutes in when the characters start to realize they all had the same dream, and Nancy quickly realizes she can pull things out of the dream all on her own(to the point where it actually felt unimportant to me, as it was seemingly glossed over so quickly). If this film didn't have the weight that it has as one of the pillars of horror I wonder if I would feel differently looking at this objectively; I'm not sure. But it gets right to the point and right to the horror and I love it.

I also love how completely bonkers the ending stinger is. To this day I'm not entirely sure what's happening- Freddy is seemingly beaten (otherwise he would have just... killed her, right?) but Nancy starts exerting her own dream will to make things better, and then we get a sequence where everything is happy, sunny, and positive, and then Freddy turns into a car or something and presumably kills them all? (Again?) I don't know, but I love the sheer audacity of it. It gives the viewer such mood whiplash that even if you don't understand it, you'll definitely remember it!

There isn't really much else I can say that hasn't already been said, so I'll just add: If you haven't watched this one, go do it! Right now!

Overall Rating: 8/10 Incorrectly-Signed Search Warrants

My Unintentional Laugh-Out-Loud Moment: When Glen's mom wakes him up, just to tell him to go to sleep

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