Review #154: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

This review was originally written in 2020, and reposted as part of the Bucket List Challenge in 2022. There may or may not be small differences between the two reviews.

Gabe's 100 Bucket List Horror Films Review #9 - A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

I already watched and reviewed this movie for a previous October movie marathon, but I figured it was worth a revisit. I have mostly the same thoughts now as I did then but will add some more outside of the context of the whole series.

It's easy to see why this movie started a franchise, and despite some flaws I think this movie absolutely 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.) On this most recent watch I kept finding myself taken aback at how visceral and terrifying some of the imagery was!

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 realizes she can pull things out of the dream all on her own very quickly (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! I've heard that the ending went through several different iterations and it easily could have ended up differently, but I'm glad they went with this one, for whatever reason.

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: 9/10 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. Don't want him missing his bedtime because he was too busy sleeping!