Changing the face of horror

Rating: 8/10 (19 January 2006)

There have been many periods of film release that have had impact on film history(think "Wizard of Oz","It Happened One Night" and "Gone With the Wind" in 1939 or "Close Encounters" and "Star Wars" in the Summer of 1977,for examples),but one that comes to mind for me was one particular month:November,1984. That's when two somewhat under-budgeted films,James CAmeron's "The Terminator"(which would catapult then-cult figure Arnold Scwarzenegger to super-stardom) and this film,Wes Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm Street". Both central characters,the eponymous Terminator and "Nightmare" menace Freddy Krueger would become iconic film images for decades to come.
The plot line of the story's no government secret here: a handful of high schoolers in a seemingly ordinary town in Ohio are being haunted in their dreams by a grotesque figure. When this figure starts murdering each one of the group,it's up to Nancy(Heather Langenkamp),the most stable and level of the group,to ferret out and end the terror. Robert Englund,previously known from supporting character roles and his touching,gentle alien in the "V" mini-series and t.v.series,is able to develop a nearly permanent career as the seemingly indominable child-killer. Wes Craven would redefine his own career,as well as the slasher genre,with this film,where he had previously been known for visceral,uncomfortable shockers like "LAst House on the Left" and "The Hills HAve Eyes".
Definitely worth a look,especially for those who consider themselves horror film buffs.