Ladies and gentlemen… that time of year has arrived! As the trees start to change colors and people begin to put up spooky decorations, Halloween is once again upon us. It’s time to carve up pumpkins, don our costumes, and scavenge our neighborhoods for candy. It is perhaps the only time of year when we want to get scared.
Although many of us have passed the traditional age of trick or treating, we can still find ways to celebrate the spooky season. Many of us might attend Halloween parties or hold smaller gatherings with friends to watch horror movies and wonder why the main characters almost always make the wrong decisions. A Nightmare on Elm Street is the perfect movie to do so.
Released in November 1984, the movie stars Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, and Johnny Depp in a chilling story about the notorious Freddy Krueger and one girl’s fight to stop him. Through the decades, the film has entered the echelons of horror royalty as one of the most iconic and influential movies of all time.
Set in suburban Ohio, the movie centers on Nancy Thompson, a young girl with divorced parents. She begins to have regular nightmares of a man with twisted flesh and leather gloves with long blades. During a sleepover, one of her friends is murdered, which sparks a frenzy trying to find the killer. Eventually, Nancy’s boyfriend Glen is also killed, with all signs pointing to the mysterious dream beast Freddy Krueger. She eventually battles him and ends his reign of terror—at least, that’s what she thinks.
A Nightmare on Elm Street is packed with famous lines, action-packed scenes, and a powerful female protagonist at a time when it was rare to see one in Hollywood. However, it also serves as an example of a film that leaves its message open for the audience to decide.
For some, it’s a heroic tale of courage, with Nancy putting aside her fears to save her loved ones from Freddy. For others, it’s a complex study into the blurred lines of reality and dreams, where Freddy is caught in between both worlds, with his imaginary hauntings crossing over into the real world.
However, it is this open interpretation that has led to the film becoming a cult classic. Freddy Krueger can be seen as the manifestation of our fears and anxieties. His face of molten flesh, his signature red and green sweater, gloves of blades leave an unmistakable image in the minds of viewers. His background and implications in his community also create a sense of unease that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. Kreueger’s origin story has been retconned in following films, but his mean, sadistic nature in the series’s inaugural film laid the foundation for the franchise to be the cultural juggernaut it is today.
Though it has been over four decades since Nancy and Freddy first graced the silver screen, A Nightmare on Elm Street continues to be a celebrated and revered entry of the horror genre. The blend of psychological and physical horror work together to craft a story that subverts stereotypical horror tropes and delivers ironic performances from the talented cast. This Halloween, the film is a must-watch for those looking for unexpected thrills and jaw-dropping scenes.
Happy Halloween, Eagles!
