A modern day horror classic.

Rating: 10/10 (29 June 2011)

Released in November of 1984, A Nightmare On Elm Street was a very personal project from Wes Craven. He was already a cult icon after directing two of the most notorious low budget films of the 70s, The Last House On The Left (1972) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977). By this point, Craven was moving up in the industry but still struggling in Hollywood and after directing two films back to back, Deadly Blessing (1981) and Swamp Thing (1982), he went off and wrote a screenplay that he has stated was inspired by true events.
A Nightmare On Elm Street came from a series of articles that Craven had read where many children were afraid to fall asleep, even trying the best that they could to avoid sleep. There was one article in particular though in the L.A. Times I believe that was so haunting to Craven that it inspired him to come up with the concept of a dream stalker or figure. While the script proved to be an inspired story with brilliant characters through out, many studios in Hollywood rejected it, claiming that it was too gory or dark. Some turned it down because they thought that the concept couldn't be pulled off. The future looked very bleak but then Craven found someone who saw great potential in the script and that was Robert Shaye. Shaye was the founder of a small distribution company called New Line Cinema, which had been around since the late 60s and released a lot of low budget films during the 70s and early 80s, all of which they were able to make their money back on but still were not huge successes. You have to give a lot of credit to Shaye who saw a lot of great things in Craven's script and believed in it probably as much as Craven himself. He felt that not only did this have commercial appeal but also, it was a great story that could work.
Production began in early 1984, Craven casted some of the freshest up and coming actors at the time, one of them being the very beautiful and intelligent Heather Langenkamp who proved to be a very strong choice to play the film's hero, Nancy Thompson. What Craven wanted was someone who was strong, smart and wouldn't fall down unlike most female leads in slasher films but also, someone with a lot of courage and determination and Heather pulled it off perfectly in the film. To me, Nancy is the main reason why the film works so well and while Freddy deserves credit too, Nancy is the true lead in the first film. Other actors casted were John Saxon, who had been in the business many years before and was even known as a great character actor. Also, Amanda Wyss as Tina, who you think is going to be the film's lead heroin at first and even though she is killed off in the first 30 minutes, you still care about her a great deal and I don't think Amanda ever received enough credit. First time screen actor Johnny Depp was cast as Nancy's boyfriend, Glenn. We all know Johnny as the huge movie star today but at the time, he was very much afraid of working in front of the camera and Craven stated himself that Johnny's hands were shaking a few times but because of his willingness to put himself into that character and play something that wasn't him shows what a gifted actor he was and still is.
Of course, Craven was looking for someone to play Freddy. He was actually looking for someone much older but it proved to not be effective. While Robert England may have not looked right for the part on first look, Craven saw something in him and Robert was cast, we can now all agree that he made the right choice because Robert brings something to the character that goes beyond what Craven had envisioned.
After a hard shoot that caused a lot of tension between the crew because of the low budget and restrictions, the film had an uncertain future. If the film had failed, it could have been the end for New Line, which caused a lot of stress for Robert Shaye and everyone working for the company. The film opened that November and surpassed everyone's expectations by becoming not only a film that was profitable but also one that found a huge cult following before a franchise had even been born. It launched a series of sequels, most of which are very effective and well done and while Freddy became less mysterious as he was in the first film, it was clear that because Robert Englund believed in the role so much and that the filmmakers worked so hard to make them unique visual experiences, they deserve a lot of credit and should not be ignored as far as I'm concerned. All of the actors are remembered for their roles today, especially Robert and Heather. They both are extraordinary talent and care so much about the characters while most people would try to forget about it as much as possible. I want to say again that Nancy is a great character, one that pulled me into the movie and made me believe in the story. I hope that someday, a Nancy doll will be made.
This is a modern day horror classic, one that came at the right time and so much hard work from people who were determined to do their best and make a great film. A company's future relied on this film and it is now one of the biggest studios in Hollywood. So check this film out if you're into the genre. While I can't speak for everyone, I think that this is a great film and one of the best of the 80s. Find yourself a copy and watch it now!!