A Nightmare on Elm Street — Review

Few filmmakers can claim to have created two of the most recognisable final girls and villains, in different franchises but within the same genre, but such was the genius of Wes Craven. More than a decade before he almost single-handedly saved slashers from purgatory with SCREAM, Craven trawled the depths of hell to conjure up a genre-defining antagonist in Freddy Krueger. Severely burned from head to toe and donning a dirty red-and-green striped sweater, a fedora and a glove fixed with finger knives, Freddy Krueger terrorised the children of Springwood with a warped sense of playfulness and a menacing grin, earning both him and Robert Englund instant icon status.

Much of what came before A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET was more grounded; simple hack-and-slash killers with a penchant for mindless violence and/or revenge. Craven sought to differentiate by striking out at a primal fear with his second slasher outing, gifting his dream-invading, supernatural serial killer access to a universal safe space. NIGHTMARE all but strips its protagonists entirely of their control and autonomy, creating a suspense-laden environment where danger becomes an inevitability without the opportunity for long-term respite. Craven’s creative concepts are psychologically piercing, allowing the movie to hang tension on every note of Charles Bernstein’s chilling score.

Marilyn Burns and Adrienne King predate Heather Langenkamp in the annals of final girl history but Nancy Thompson instantly became the poster girl for slasher scream queens. Nancy naturally fears Freddy but she doesn’t let his grisly appearance and his sweltering boiler room murder setting deter her from going on the offensive. Langenkamp lights a fire behind Nancy’s eyes, imbuing her with an inner strength that isn’t supplied by parental figures or adult guidance. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is a perfect slasher storm that binds together technical proficiency, acting calibre and ironclad writing, birthing a timeless genre classic that continues to frighten and inspire.