The first and best of the the Freddy Kruegar films!

Rating: 10/10 (7 September 2017)

"A Nightmare On Elm Street" is a highly original horror film. A new icon of horror cinema was born and appeared in several sequels and a T.V series. The film made a star of Robert Englund, who made the character of Freddy Kruegar his own for all time. It is nothing short of remarkable and incredulous in what was achieved with "A Nightmare On Elm Street," both from a technical and a storytelling standpoint. Audiences had never seen anything like this before. Wes Craven (R.I.P to a great director) was enjoying success with his films "The Hills Have Eyes" and "The Swamp Thing" at this juncture in the early 1980s. He drew inspiration for his next movie, from a real life incident somewhere in Asia. The said incident was about a young boy who claimed he was troubled by the nightmares he was experiencing whilst asleep. For the character of Kruegar and his appearance, Craven remembered as a boy, Walking along a pathway near his home. He came across this man who was a hobo. Craven said that he couldn't see the man clearly as it was growing dark but observed this shabby fedora hat the man was wearing. Then suddenly, the man cast a look at young Craven and stared straight at him. Craven fled in terror and soon reached home. The director took his ideas for the film to several producers but they all said no. They claimed that they didn't fully comprehend the story and that it would never be made into a film. Then an unknown producer named Robert Shaye was shown the project and he immediately agreed to be the producer for "A Nightmare On Elm Street" via his own company of "New Line Cinema." The said company at this time, hadn't yet been established and Robert Shaye's office was slightly struggling. However, filming was scheduled to commence. John Saxon and Ronee Blakley were cast as the nominal leads but it was Heather Langenkamp who is the central character to the story. In the town of Springfield, a group of teenagers are experiencing some rather alarming nightmares. They all claim to being stalked by a man who wears a dirty sweater, a fedora hat, who wears a glove of knives and is disfigured. Soon, the teenagers begin dying and one of them, Nancy, begins to investigate who this man is and what it is he wants. The killer in the dreams, is one Freddy Kruegar and he has a score he wishes to settle. Nothing is what it seems in the world of Freddy Kruegar. In his particular world of dreams, everything around the victim is recreated to the smallest detail. That makes the film even more disturbing as the victim is lulled into a false sense of security. Only Freddy knows the rules of the game and he changes those rules to suit his own devilish ends. He turns reality completely upside down in his pursuit of his victims. The teenagers in question realise that it is fatal to fall asleep as they struggle to remain in control of their destiny. The dark photography highlights the eerie and thought-provoking scenario very well. Wes Craven's direction is amongst his very best as he makes this rather outlandish premise both plausible and very convincing. We are drawn into the world of Freddy Kruegar along with the teenagers. You have the impression of sharing their danger. What makes the film work most effectively, is that Freddy isn't seen all that much. Indeed, during the opening credit sequence, he is only seen in shadow and briefly in a close up. Robert Englund doesn't have a lot of dialogue but what he does have, is unforgettable. His actual screen time isn't much but his is the character to remember. However, the actors who play his victims are very good as they successfully display the vulnerability. Johnny Depp as Glen, was in his first proper film and he was one of these actors who developed his trade as he went along. Amanda Wyss makes for a convincing victim and gives her character of Tina some shading. Nick Corri makes it known in his character of Rod, that he is more frightened and vulnerable than he initially lets on. From the time the film was commissioned to be made, right up to post production, everyone involved in the making of "A Nightmare On Elm Street" was aware of the tight budget and demanding filming schedule. Robert Shaye had to gain some financial support from elsewhere in order to have the film completed. His business partners kept appearing on the set and were always checking their watches and making some notes about the filming. Both Craven and Shaye felt the pressure of this and this caused a tense atmosphere throughout the rest of the shooting. The whole thing was made for $1,800,000 and that is not much money at all for a Hollywood movie. The filming schedule was for about 45 days or less. Considering all the technical scenes that were needed for "A Nightmare On Elm Street," 45 days wasn't much time. The technical scenes represented the alternate real world as conjured up Freddy Kruegar. The effects department had to produce miracles and they did just that. The work they did is absolutely brilliant. The script could have been just another routine one, seeing as this film is another Slasher horror film. To the film's credit and to Craven's, the script is one of the best I have come across. It helps that the narrative is kept fairly tight and with no irrelevant subplots. The running time of 87 minutes is just right. "A Nightmare On Elm Street" proceeded to make a fortune at the box office upon its release in 1984. The public immediately took to Freddy Kruegar and it wasn't long before a sequel was made.