31 Days of Halloween Films #14: A Nightmare on Elm Street
The Lowdown: Kids are going asleep and being terrorized in their dreams by the evil Freddy Krueger, a serial killer who was murdered by the parents of the town for violence against children. But by killing Freddy, did they unleash something far worse?
The Breakdown: While obviously having a legacy that has spawned countless sequels, ANOES is a much more important movie in regards to its’ cultural impact on films in other genres, but we’ll get to that in a minute. Elm Street is a clinic on the slasher genre, combining elements of spirituality and meditative concepts with fantasy-styled horror, making a cocktail of Halloween-time goodness that has made the character of Freddy Krueger and the film series as a whole endear throughout the years, despite the declined quality of subsequent films.
The main plot concerns a young girl, named Nancy, whose best friend Amanda died, or was murdered, under mysterious circumstances. As Nancy learns more about the situation, she comes to realize the presence of a monster in Amanda’s dream may have caused her brutal death. This germ of an idea then makes Nancy fear the same monster, the terrifying Freddy Krueger, who haunts her dreams. It becomes clear that any pain or suffering inflicted in the dream manifests itself in the real world. As Nancy struggles to stay awake, she is in a race against time to save herself from Krueger.
Does this concept sound familiar? That’s because The Matrix, one of the most original films of the past twenty years, borrowed heavily from Elm Street’s perspective on the dream state. Now, I’m not saying The Matrix ripped off this film as they do very different things there than they do here, but the idea of the mind being explored by characters in dream or altered states of conciousness. Inception, Altered States, even the recent Man of Steel’s shared dreams between Kal-El and Zod call back to this films’ innovation in scenes of mental lucidity. It’s an interesting, but altogether overlooked aspect of this film that, for me, makes it a much more special film than a simple slasher flick.
The Comedown: While sustaining a creepy vibe, superb kills and a ballsy attitude, coupled with a fantastic “twist” ending, A Nightmare on Elm Street has earned, deservingly so, a spot in the legacy of incredible horror films. Freddy Krueger is without question one of the creepiest villains ever put on film, and Wes Craven’s originality and direction keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the story. A Halloween must-see if ever there was one.