The iniquities of the father (and mother) are to be visited upon the children

Rating: 8/10 (6 October 2012)

Horror movies have always derived their power from monsters: those figures which inhabit realms we dare not go for fear of the unspeakable things that may be done to us. In early horror movies, by way of extension of folklore, these monsters lived under the bed, in the shadows, in the woods, or among desolate ruinsall those places that parents warn their children not to go and where we (if possessed of sense) actively choose to avoid. However, with Freddy Krueger, writer/director Wes Craven presented us with a monster that lives, and kills, in a place all of us have no choice but which to visit every night: our dreams.
In addition to this unique twist on folklore, 'Elm St.' supplies Freddy with a richly developed back story which distinguishes him from the other slasher genre anti-heroes Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Leatherface in delivering an archetypal punch as well as the classic movie monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein in its wholly contemporary nature. In the original writing, Freddy was penned as a child molester before being changed to "merely" a child murderer for the film, who is assaulted and killed by a vigilante mob of parents who cover up their dastardly deed and set about raising their children to be well-adjusted and wholesome members of society. However, Freddy returns to enact his revenge by stalking their children in their dreams.
As such, the film could be said to contain a criticism of the hypocrisy of society's moral rectitude which, looked at in a larger context, is the same hypocrisy which is offended by bad language but which supports unjustified wars like the then-recent memory of Vietnam. However, Freddy's genesis is not only found in the mal-formed reflection of society at large but also the very personal fears of Craven himself: Craven had been bullied at school by a child named Fred Krueger (and indeed, an alternative title for Craven's debut 'Last House on the Left' was 'Krug and Company', after the lead villain's name), while Freddy's dirty clothes and hat was inspired by a homeless man he saw as a child who scared the bejesus out of him. All of this enables Freddy to effectively straddle the role of a personal and societal monster.
However, let not this abstract chin-stroking fool you – 'Elm St.' is possessed of a crushingly claustrophobic atmosphere unmatched in any slasher film (save perhaps 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre') due to the convincing nightmare-you-can't-wake-up-from vibe many people will recognise from personal experience. In addition, it's a darn sight more gory than notable slasher entries like 'Halloween' or 'Black Christmas' and the explicitly supernatural element adds an imaginative dimension to the "kills" unmatched in the genre (as the Johnny Depp bed scene (calm down ladies, it's not like that) will testify) and all pulled off without CGI. Things are rounded off nicely with a decent set of performances from "final girl" Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp (in his film debut), 70s/80s horror stalwart John Saxon and a host of lesser known talent who, albeit as Freddy-fodder, nonetheless deliver solid performances which flesh out the 'Elm St.' universeall to the accompaniment of an effective and eerie score and the infamous "one, two Freddy's coming for you" children's rhyme.
Like 'Friday the 13th' and 'Halloween', 'Elm St.' became a franchise: spawning a host of sequels (of varying degrees of quality from barely passable to painfully awful), a TV series (which continued the trend of Freddy as hip king of the one-liner), and all manner of merchandise which effectively de-clawed the grim visage of Freddy and offered him up to our consumerist society as merely another innocuous product. However, even with the bad taste of the franchise in the mouth, the fact that 'Elm St.' holds up well to repeat viewing even today and still retains the power to chill newcomers, is truly a testament to the quality of this mould-breaking supernatural slasher which stands as an exemplary example of what horror can, neigh, should be.