October of Horror #2: A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
Posted by Trixter on October 2, 2018
(For an explanation of what these posts in October are, see the parent post.)
Synopsis
Teenage kids are killed by a burnt madman, who comes after them in their dreams once they fall asleep.
Opinion
Believe it or not, I’d never seen A Nightmare On Elm Street all the way through from start to finish until tonight. It was the basis for many movie sequels, reboots, tie-ins, and even a horror anthology series in the late 1980s (as was trendy at the time). Based on how many VHS copies are available on ebay, A Nightmare On Elm Street contributed massively to keeping rental stores afloat.
So, how did it hold up? As a teenager, I’m sure I would have been very scared by this. I recruited my wife Melissa to watch it with me, and while there were some legitimate I-can’t-believe-that-just-happened moments, they are few and far between. The movie is less horror, more campy-slasher catered to the teenage crowd.
Recommendation
The original Nightmare on Elm Street series is probably best left in the 1980s, but if you want a conclusion to the original film, skip to the 3rd entry in the series, Dream Warrior, where the good guys actually win for a change. And if you really want to see Freddy go at it, Check out Freddy vs. Jason which is way better than it deserves to be.
Oldskooler Ramblings 
Leave a Reply