A Nightmare on ELM Street Movie Details

We all dream and I prefer my dreams “the scarier the better”. Killing zombies, howling at the moon, and battling evil is all in a good night’s work for this decaying mind. These are the sweet images that haunt my dreams and I can honestly say that I have never been afraid of nightmares and actually prefer them most of the time. I guess that is why I love horror so much. Real life can be so much more terrifying. Thereee is only one other kind of dream that puts a smile on my face, but I will keep those thoughts to myself (I encourage all of my female fans to send pictures).

Dreams have always intrigued me. The dreamscape serves as a stage where all our biggest joys and fears battle. The netherworld of our subconscious forms the foundation of who we are. Slowly but surely these thoughts manifest themselves in our dreams and serve as a guide to our inner being. (Damn, I feel like Sigmund Freud). It is this that molds our interpretation of right and wrong.

The dream world is supposed to be the only place where we are really safe…gods of our own imaginations. Where a little child can defeat his or her demons. Well, my fine fiendish fans, this couldn’t be farther from the truth in this classic horror flick. In fact, this REM sleep could kill you, so “DON’T FALL ASLEEP”

“A Nightmare on Elm Street” perfectly illustrated the ultimate manifestation of one’s fear. Freddy Krueger not only haunted your dreams but also could literally kill you in them. He was the great puppet master in the darkness, who would unmercifully cut the strings of his victims’ lives… damning them forever to his mad world.

Wes Craven masterfully borne this madman, but it was Robert Englund who developed him into the manifestation that still haunts our dreams. Like I said on previous pages, I really liked the first “Nightmare”, but I can do without the rest. Freddy’s one-liners were cool at first, but after a while, they could get really annoying (still enjoyed the entire series, except for 2, reviews to follow) I prefer monsters who don’t speak and wear a hockey mask (HA, HA). Freddy is still cool and a definitely an “icon” in the modern age of horror.

Thereee is a lot of things I liked about “A Nightmare on Elm Street“. One was the dark atmosphere of this film. The first “Nightmare” firmly established the sub-genre of “fantasy horror”. “Hellraiser” is another great film that really helped this sub-genre, while making it a main staple of horror today.

Another thing I liked is how Craven took the “slasher” film to a whole new level with the first “Nightmare”. This film definitely plays upon the Giallo theme of Italian cinema and Freddy could easily be the gloved (HA HA) maniac that slashes through so many Argento films. Finally, this movie was pretty damn gory, but the gore was placed very effectively. But really, the tension in this film is sensational and overpowering at times.

This by far Wes Craven’s best work. I can already hear the complaints, “What about Scream and Scream 2”? “Scream” although an entertaining thriller/comedy is not horror. I am sure I will get a ton of e-mail regarding this, but oh well what the hell. If you want “Scream” or “Scream 2” look elsewhere. They will never appear in the “House of Horrors”.

Again, as always, if you have anything you can add to help improve this page or if you have any comments, criticisms, and suggestions, please e-mail me.

A Nightmare on ELM Street Story

The movie begins as we see a man fashioning together a glove of some sort. Flash to a scene in a dark, damp boiler room with the lovely Tina (Amanda Wyss) being stalked by an unknown assailant. Just as she is about to meet her doom she wakes up drenched in sweat. It was only a bad dream and she thinks it’s all over, but it is only the beginning for the kids of Elm Street.

We later find out that other kids are having nightmares about a strange man with knives as his fingers. Right away, we recognize Freddy as a trendsetter among slashers, being years ahead of the advent-grade Edward Scissorhands and boy, that red and green sweater is so…sexy. Watch out girls, this boy’s one-liners will kill you.

After ripping through a cast that could have easily starred in “Scream” (we now see where Wes’ originality sprung from), Freddy finally meets his match. Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) realizes that the only way to defeat this maniac is to bring him out into the real world. She also finds out why Freddy is doing all this killing. The ending was pretty bizarre; leaving the door open (literally) for the sequels that followed.

A Nightmare on ELM Street Frightful Facts

• Freddy was named after a bully that terrorized Wes Craven as a kid.
• Wes came up with the idea for A Nightmare on Elm Street while sitting at a restaurant in 1978. He had recently read three separate articles about people who had nightmares and then later died in their sleep.
• “Evil Dead” is being shown on a TV in Nancy’s room. This was Wes Craven’s way of repaying Sam Raimi for putting a “The Hills Have Eyes” in the basement scene in “Evil Dead“.
• Robert Englund was not the first choice to play Freddy Krueger. Actually, they wanted a stunt man to play the part.
• Friday the 13th alumni, Sean Cunningham, directed a non-dialog sequence because Wes Craven was pressed for time.
• This Johnny Depp’s (Glen) first acting job.
• Grossed $25.5 million dollars in the US. The entire series (7 movies) grossed $216M in the US with “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master” being the most popular grossing $49.4M domestically.
• The scene where Freddy appears over a sleeping Nancy was done with spandex.
• Over 500 gallons of fake “blood” was used in the scene of Glen’s demise.
• The bathroom scene was not included in the original script but was rather the brainchild of Jim Doyle (special fx). The tub was built over a swimming pool and Jim Doyle in scuba gear performed as Freddy’s glove.
• Banned in Finland on video and heavily censored in Germany.

A Nightmare on ELM Street Leftovers

A new Freddy vs. Jason film is in the works, as well as, a new Friday the 13th film.

A Nightmare on ELM Street Goodies

• You can Buy the “Nightmare on Elm Street” DVD Collection atAmazon.com
• You can Buy the original A Nightmare on Elm Street on DVD atAmazon.com
• You can Buy “A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge” on DVD at Amazon.com
• You can Buy “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” on DVD at Amazon.com
• You can Buy “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master” on DVD at Amazon.com
• You can Buy “A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child” on DVD at Amazon.com
• You can Buy “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare” on DVD atAmazon.com
• You can Buy “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare” on DVD atAmazon.com
• You can Buy Freddy vs. Jason on DVD at Amazon.com
• Click here to buy the book “The Nightmare Never Dies” an excellent reference guide on the first six films atAmazon.com.
• You can Buy “Screams & Nightmares: The Films of Wes Craven” atAmazon.com

A Nightmare on ELM Street Cast 7 Crew