A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)

ONE TWO, Freddy's coming for you...
THREE FOUR, Better lock your door...

Forty years ago this November saw the release of one of the most influential horror films of all time directed by the late, great Wes Craven who would gradually be acknowledged as one of the true masters of the horror genre having directed iconic genre classics before this (The Hills Have Eyes, The Last House on the Left) and after, most notably Scream which would come out twelve years later.  And what he created as both writer and director was a truly terrifying concept: An otherworldly monster who could invade your dreams to murder you while you were asleep. :o 
 
That monster was of course Freddy Krueger played by Robert England, sporting a crinkled fedora and most memorably a leather glove with sharpened razor blades protruding from each finger.  Freddy was the stuff of nightmares and quickly caught fire as a hugely popular film icon.  Fortunately, there were folks on the side of good to fight and hopefully defeat this new evil force....for this first film, they were lead by mild-mannered teenager Nancy played by Heather Langenkamp.  And she had help including her father played by John Saxon (Enter the Dragon) and her boyfriend by a young, baby-faced Johnny Depp in his film debut.  Let's head on over to Elm Street....

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET - 1984

Directed by Wes Craven

Starring Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Johnny Depp, and Robert England

Genre: Mystical Horror (Audio clip)

I grew up just eating these movies up at a likely inappropriate age....hell I remember going as Freddy one Halloween during grade school. 🤫 I also probably remember several of the sequels better than this one...which is actually more stylish than I remember, it's easy to forget that this was the ONLY one to be directed by the late, great Wes Craven besides New Nightmare. He really did craft a pretty original story, especially for the time - what a cool concept for a villain, he can reach you whenever you're asleep! :/ 

The cinematography Jacques Haitkin is crisp, most of the practical effects pretty much hold up, and of course I really dig that synth score. As for the cast and performances well....yeah that remains a mixed bag. Robert England is of course lights-out as Freddy, doing the most with actually limited screentime....well at least, you RARELY get a full, clean view of him. John Saxton's pretty good as the police detective father of Nancy as are Amanda Wyss as her friend who gets killed early on along with Jsu Garcia as the mysterious boyfriend who is suspected at first as the killer....and of course, we have the on-screen introduction of future incel hero (and acclaimed actor) Johnny Depp giving a nice relatable performance as Nancy's boyfriend, Glenn. 

But regarding Nancy herself....I think the IDEA of the character ends up being better than the actual execution. Heather Langencamp seems to be giving it her all here as our spirited protagonist trying to take down Freddy but her performance just isn't always there – even worse are her interactions with her on-screen mother….which I’ll get to in just a bit.  - 

That said, 'Nightmare still remains overall a pretty inventive and tense horror thriller - unlike its many sequels, it takes its central premise pretty seriously and even offers a few surprises towards the end. The impact that this film had on the horror genre in general CANNOT be overstated! There are narrative beats here which would be recycled again and again for decades to come, including Craven's own Scream which would come out twelve years later....

Best Needle-drop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Now about that synth score…..it’s often spare and RARELY in your face, yet it leaves a distinct impression especially with those SEVEN distinct notes which comprise the main theme….in essence FREDDY’S theme as we will hear them referenced even if just briefly in every Freddy movie moving forward. (Audio clip) 

The score here is composed by a true genre journeyman who had been doing this for MOSTLY B-movies since ’69 with over 140 credits – he originally hails from Minneapolis, I’m referring to the versatile Charles Bernstein.  And I mean LOTS of notable B-movies including Cujo, The Entity, White Lightning, and Gator…..but none as iconic nor or recognizable as his moody, atmospheric music over this nightmarish tale.   One personal highlight for me is a bit of a more rousing number which we hear over the montage late in the movie watching Nancy making final preparations for ONE last visit from Freddie in her house…..there are some electric guitars thrown in there too for good measure, this track is fittingly called “Laying the Traps.” (Audio clip)

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

As mentioned previously, Langencamp has her share of awkward line readings but honestly….MOST of them are with Ronee Blakely playing her mother. :/ Her mother who has but one trait per the screenplay: drinking vodka from a giant white bottle she hides everywhere around their house. Blakely is truly the weak link here as she just seems to stare blankly no matter the situation - it's unfortunate but it's THEIR scenes together as mother and daughter which sometimes drag down the movie. I don't know, it just feels like if we had fewer scenes of JUST the two of them together, it wouldn't have been as noticeable.... (Audio clip) 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

This is a tough one as there are several standout sequences of Freddy unleashing his fury on an unsuspecting victim within the dream world but for me the TRUE standout one occurs about an hour in….much of it due to the sheer shock value of what happens.  Actually it’s TWO shocking things which occur almost in rapid succession.  You see Nancy has enlisted her boyfriend Glenn (played by a baby-faced Johnny Depp in his first on-screen role) to help her defeat Freddy….Glenn’s WAS keeping himself up in his house just a few doors down….with TV on his lap no less…..only of course HE fell asleep.  Nancy is waiting on his call….the phone rings and she hears the disturbing sound of metal scraping…..uh-oh!  So she hangs up the phone, rips the chord out of the wall and throws the phone on the floor…..and THEN it rings AGAIN! (Audio clip) 

Now some would say the quick image of the mouth and tongue sticking out from the phone was a cheap-looking practical effect….but I don’t care, forty years later, it STILL startles the hell out of me.  Even worse, it’s setting up what happens next…Nancy KNOWS that Glenn’s in danger, only she can’t leave the house as her mother as locked the doors from the inside…..and then cut to Glenn in his bedroom.  Passed out on his bed…..and then SUDDENLY……(Audio clip) 

Yup a LITERAL geyser of blood after he’s violently sucked into the bed, pretty impressive effects….and it sets up the final showdown: Nancy vs. Freddy. 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

At the end of the day, this film was the vision of one man…..Cleveland’s own Wesley Earl Craven.  By the time this film came to fruition, he had been directing for about ten years and had already proven himself as a competent and stylish purveyor of B-grade genre cult hits including The Hills Have Eyes, Swamp Thing, and The Last House on the Left which was actually his feature debut.  But up until this films release in November of 1984 – yeah funny how they waited until AFTER Halloween to release it but no matter – he had not yet achieved mainstream success.  Yup this film was a surprise box office hit grossing around $57 million worldwide on a budget of less than $2 million.  And of course as we now know, it spawned a pretty successful franchise which would last well into the ‘90’s.  For the core concept of this film, Craven drew inspiration from a variety of sources including some frightening childhood memories, the Gary Wright smash hit “Dream Weaver” and…..a real-life phenomenon reported in the ’70’s of Hmong refugees from Southeast Asia who were suddenly dying in their sleep, apparently spurred by past trauma.  And as both writer AND director, he transformed this potentially out-there concept into something very palatable….and primal, including one Boogeyman at the center of all of it.  

Despite my issues with a couple of the performances, this is STILL a very tightly constructed, always suspenseful thriller….and that’s ALL him.  Like his contemporary Jim Cameron had done around the same time with The Terminator, Craven really made the most of available resources to visualize for us a variety of crafty ways with which the entity known as Freddy could attack his prey…..SO much inventive stuff occurring on-screen, it’s no wonder audiences were hungry for more for years to come.  For creating one of THE most influential horror films of all time, Wes Cravey is the MVP. (Audio clip)  

Final Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Can I also just say that even at probably too young of an age to be able to WATCH these films, I can vividly recall just how enamored myself and so many of my impressionable pre-teen friends WERE with this franchise.  We were able to catch them all mostly on video or on cable….and I remember even going AS Freddy one Halloween I think when I was eleven??  Yeah I put on some ratty clothes, a crinkly hat, got some gunky burn makeup from the local J&R….and my mother labored to help me craft that iconic razor blade glove….out of tin foil of course.  And I’m fairly confident that I was NOT the only pre-teen Freddy out there roving the streets for candy….kinda nuts in retrospect.  Happy 40th Anniversary to the scariest Dream Weaver out there!

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And that ends another NINE TEN….NEVER SLEEP AGAIN review!