I first review the Nightmare on Elm Street series as a whole, and later in this write-up I get into the movie of the same name (the first in the series). As I watch the others in the series, I will node them. If you have any fun facts or comments, let me know.
Since I recently watched the
Friday the 13th series for the first time, it seemed a logical step for me to watch the Nightmare on Elm Street movies as well. After all, they both go hand-in-hand as genre-defining horror movies and are two of the most influential series in horror history.
Freddy Kreuger is the name of a bully that once tormented
Wes Craven in high-school. Wes Craven got him back real good by making his name feared everywhere. I'll bet ol' F.K. never got a job as babysitter.
The 7 movies in the Freddy series are as follows:
- A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)
- Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (In 3D!) (1991)
- New Nightmare (1994) (noded by isogolem)
TOTAL BODY COUNT: 33
There was even a 2 year run on the TV networks inspired by the whole Nightmare plot. Freddy hosts "
Freddy's Nightmares" over 44 episodes, each night detailing a gruesome death of some poor fool on Elm Street - a prequel, if you will, to the popular "
Tales from the Crypt" series.
Now, for the first movie in the series:
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) -
Weasello Rating:
{>>>>} (Whoop! There it is!) {{
Sequel }}
Please note that this review is laden with spoilers.
Freddy Injury Count: As Freddy is a
supernatural being only existing in the
dream world, some of his injuries are self-inflicted and of no consequence. For instance, Freddy cuts off his own finger, has his face ripped off, and cut open his own chest. After being brought into the
real world, he is struck on the head with a vase,
sledge-hammered in the chest, fell down some stairs, was set alight and in the midst of an explosion, burned a bit more, had a door slammed in his face, fell down more stairs, and hit with a chair. He was finally done in because the girl he was tormenting stopped beleiving in him, and he faded out in a
dazzle of
special effects.
Body count: Suprsingly, a mere 4. Freddy did, however, kill 20 children before the movie took place.
Plot Outline: A bunch of kids on Elm Street start sharing a
recurring nightmare, and end up being hunted in their sleep! Only one person can figure out how to defeat freddy, and does.
Freddy, long ago when he was alive, was a brutal serial-child-killer, and killed 20 kids before he was caught by police. But on a
paperwork error, there was a
mistrial, and Freddy was set free. The disgruntled parents of Elm Street banded together and tracked Mr. Kreuger down to his school-boiler-room hideout, and
burned him alive in the boiler.
Now, 10 years later, Freddy is back on his anniversary of death and is haunting the kids of Elm street once again.
The special effects are pretty amazing considering the 1984 timeframe, and the acting isn't half bad. After all, this does star
Johnny Depp! I would say everyone should watch this if they are a fan of the genre, just to pay homage to one of the founding fathers of modern horror.
Interesting Notes:
- "Fred Kreuger" is never referred to as "Freddy" in this movie! I was much-so shocked.
I am corrected! In the song "one, two, Freddy's coming for you," the word "Freddy" does indeed appear! But that's the only time, I swear. (Thanks, Stealth Munchkin)
- There is a torn poster of The Evil Dead in this movie, and it is also the movie that the main character watches to try to stay awake.
- Jason's mask can be seen in this movie.
- The inept police officer in this film goes on to later stardom in Wes Craven's Scream as the boss of inept Deputy Dewey.
- Hot on the heels of Friday the 13th (1980), Wes Craven had Nightmare's script ready in 1981. It wasn't picked up until 1984 by New Line Cinema - Their first real movie. Before this time, New Line was simply a movie distributor for college campuses.
- Freddy's glove was used in Evil Dead II (1986).
- Wes Craven wrote Freddy's part to be a "silent serial killer" type, much like Jason is. It isn't until the later movies that he gets his great lines.
- Freddy's famous red-and-green sweater had (only in this movie) solid-red sleeves.
- Oddly enough, there is a payphone in the "STUDENTS NOT ALLOWED" boiler-room area of the school. Oh.... kaaaay....
Fun Quotes!
Lead roles:
Directed by: Wes Craven
Writing credits: Wes Craven
Tagline: If Nancy Doesn't Wake Up Screaming She Won't Wake Up At All...
Sources: The oh-so-wonderful IMDB, my head, and the box. Special thanks to r3ason and O-Swirl's writeups.