MIDDLE -AGED MATINEE! #13 - 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'

'A Nightmare on Elm Street' (1984)

Welcome back to “Middle-Aged Matinee!”, the article where I take a look back at films that came out in the year of my birth, 1984! Today, I’m taking a look at a film that is often considered writer and director Wes Craven’s masterpiece, “A Nightmare on Elm Street”.

Believe it or not, by the time the mid-80s was arriving, the slasher genre was already starting to show diminishing returns at the box office. This is why, also in 1984, Paramount Pictures decided to try and end the “Friday the 13th” series with the fourth entry, “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter”. But then, a movie came along that completely re-energized the slasher for the latter half of the ’80s.

“A Nightmare on Elm Street” was inspired by a series of unrelated articles that Craven read in the “L.A. Times''. The articles were about young teens, often refugees who had gone through bad experiences. The kids were trying to avoid sleep by taking caffeine pills or sneaking a coffee pot into their rooms because they thought their nightmares were trying to kill them.

The kids would eventually have to fall asleep and much to the horror of their parents, the kids would scream due to a terrible nightmare before dying in their sleep. This is when Craven had the idea of a monster that stalked kids in their nightmares and if the teens are killed in the dream, then they are killed in the real world.

Freddy invades the nightmares of his victims in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'!

For years, Craven was trying to get his film off the ground, but no one wanted to touch it. Even Craven’s friend, Sean S. Cunningham (who directed “Friday the 13th”), told him that it wasn’t that scary since the kids were dying in their dreams. In other words, no one understood the concept and passed on it… Except for one man.

Robert Shaye was the founder and CEO of New Line Cinema, a small video distribution studio that had only dabbled in theatrical releases. Shaye wanted to make a real effort to put a movie into theaters and he actually understood and liked Craven’s idea.

While it was a harrowing experience to get the money and the funding even ran out at one point during the film’s production, Shaye was able to secure what ended up being the $1.1 million budget in order to finish the movie. “A Nightmare on Elm Street” came out on November 9, 1984, and ended up grossing $57 million, a solid hit when considering the genre and the budget.

The home video sales were also through the roof and New Line Cinema instantly became a major player in Hollywood. That is why New Line was often referred to as the “house that Freddy built.”

'A Nightmare on Elm Street' marked the feature film debut for Johnny Depp.

Speaking of which, for anyone who has never seen the movie, it is about a group of teens who are all having nightmares about the same monster. He is a horribly burned man who terrorizes them and tries to brutally murder them in their sleep. He has a unique glove with knives on the fingers and he wears a dusty fedora and a red and green striped sweater.

His name is Freddy Krueger. Now, it looks like Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) and her friends must figure out a way to stop him before it’s too late and they all end up on the wrong side of Freddy’s glove.

This movie is one of the most original slashers ever released with a genuinely original movie monster. Freddy is played by Robert Englund and it would become Englund’s signature role throughout the years. The character is based on an encounter that Craven had when he was a kid.

One night, in his bedroom, Craven looked down from his window and noticed an old man in a fedora walking down the street. The man somehow picked up on the fact that he was being watched and he turned and stared back up and smiled at Craven. The man then acted like he was going to come into the apartment building, but that was the last that Craven ever saw of this man that he assumed simply wanted to scare the shit out of a kid for kicks.

Nancy and Freddy face off in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'!

While the role was originally supposed to be played by an older man, Englund’s persona and his ability to tap into Freddy’s dark humorous side won Craven over. And we’re all glad that it did because without Englund, this film wouldn’t have worked nearly as well as it does.

The movie is also beautifully shot by Craven and his cinematographer Jacques Haitkin and, along with Charles Bernstein’s haunting score, it really does give the movie a dream-like feel. The dream sequences themselves are also great, including the death of a character that is dragged up the walls in the real world by an unseen Freddy.

The performances beyond Englund are great as well. Langenkamp is perfect as the girl next door and ultimate final girl, Nancy Thompson. She has to make a transformation from an innocent young woman to a badass who ultimately decides that she has to face off with Freddy herself. Nancy is up there with the other legendary final girls such as Sally Hardesty, Laurie Strode, and Alice Hardy.

The movie would go on to spawn a legendary series of films where Englund would return time and time again as Freddy Krueger. The franchise would also spawn an anthology TV show called “Freddy’s Nightmares” with Freddy as the host and the original movie would be remade in 2010, but the less said about that the better.

No matter what anyone thinks of the later movies or where the franchise went, though, there is no denying that the original “A Nightmare on Elm Street” is still a bonafide horror classic. It is definitely a masterpiece from the legendary Wes Craven and if by some chance you’ve never seen it, then you need to do yourself a favor. If you have seen it, you already know how special this movie really is.