A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) – Why the Original Still Haunts and Surprises
Poster found at A Nightmare On Elm Street / B2 / Japan
I never expected to like A Nightmare on Elm Street — let alone to find it strangely profound. What begins as a surreal 1980s horror flick about dreams and death turns, somehow, into an unnerving meditation on fear, innocence, and the endurance of good when confronted by the absolute corruption of evil. Wes Craven’s film is not merely scary; it’s unsettling because it feels true.
Of all of the movies I thought I would like, A Nightmare on Elm Street was never on that list — in fact, it was emphatically off the list. Something about the marketing and fan-worship of the main antagonist was wildly off-putting to me for this franchise. It certainly didn't help that the later remake leaned heavily into character retcons which, even without following the film or being a fan, I quickly became aware of; namely, the film took Krueger from a deeply evil maniac child killer and turned him, somehow, into something even worse: a pedophile on top of all of that. Take that along with my Christian beliefs, and I was quite positive this was a franchise that just was not for me. However, I finally sat down to watch the original because I have become so much more interested in horror and the stories which the horror genre as a whole can tell. In some ways, the genre feels uniquely equipped to deliver actual truth through fiction because it doesn't have to adhere to genre constraints that, at times, undercut the very serious reality of evil, vice, corruptibility, failure, insanity, and so on, which are so obviously a part of existence in this fallen world. What that means, though, is that horror tends to be able to provide far stronger and deeper walls against which to throw heroes and heroines in order to show the might, power, beauty, and awe-inspiring profundity of the even more real good that pervades such a world — despite its very truthfully disrupted and disturbed state. So, setting the remake aside (because I am just uninterested in that kind of story if I am being honest), I determined to watch at least the very first film. And you know what? I absolutely loved it!
I picked it up on the new 4K release, and man, the quality of the film on disc is among the best I have ever seen, with gorgeous colors and retention of essential filmic flavors, and beautifully balanced sound. The story here revolves around, in essence, a handful of high schoolers who have been having extraordinarily disturbing and life-like nightmares about a horribly burned figure, seemingly with blades for fingers, who is garbed in a red-and-olive-green sweatshirt and a brown fedora. What unfolds over the nicely succinct and well-paced narrative is how those kids, their parents, and even the town itself reckon with the possibility that what the kids have been experiencing is something more than a shared nightmare.
What I love above all, in this film, is the character of Nancy. There is something about the way she is written and acted that underscores the virtues that the character is meant to provoke in the audience (it's a sort of subconscious texture to the performance and the dialogue and the interchange between the two in the rest of the film's context — but it's hard to be any more specific than that). Now, certainly, without spoiling anything, Nancy is a perfect contrast to Freddy in the film with her adaptable but headstrong personality and charisma. I also love the atmosphere here. Craven is at the top of his "eeriness" game with A Nightmare on Elm Street. With gorgeous scoring, an incredibly innovative rhyming motif, and his ability to nod to the broader supernatural reality while placing everything surprisingly firmly in the reality of the town, it's honestly little wonder that it became such a cult hit. I do think it's a shame that the later films would drive more toward gore and slasher trope than a retention of and advancement on the actual characteristics of the original film, though I find A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors to be something of an exception there.
Oddly enough, though I obviously stand with Nancy and crew against Krueger, part of the appeal or draw of the film is the character of Krueger as portrayed by Robert Englund. He is somehow simultaneously charismatic and goofy while also imposing, haunting, frightening, and detestable. I think that's probably the key to why the film grew to such pop-culture heights as it did: the interplay and diametric tension between, primarily, Nancy and Krueger. If I have one criticism, it's that the ending of the film, which was changed at the pressure of the suits to be more brutal and unclear, should have retained its strong positive note. By this, I mean that, without spoilers, the themes that undergird the movie and the fundamentally hopeful notes of the film established through the protagonists (namely, Nancy) are off-puttingly undercut by the way the theatrical release concludes. This isn't just me saying this either, as Wes Craven himself famously expressed his own regret at having bent away from his originally penned ending for the film toward the ending being pushed on him from the suits.
All in all though, and I truly am shocked to be saying this, I am a fan of A Nightmare on Elm Street (and yes, I loved the third film too)! I would say if you’re a horror fan, or even just a fan of films that play with surrealism, deep lore, and really cool conceptual stories and filmmaking, A Nightmare on Elm Street is a must-watch (especially in 4K)!
Viewing A Nightmare on Elm Street for the first time reminded me that genuine horror is never about blood or spectacle — it’s about what happens when the veil between the real and the unreal begins to tear, and something ancient and moral slips through. Craven’s film captures that rupture perfectly: it’s both nightmare and mirror, showing us the fragility of courage and the necessity of hope when the lights go out.
If you enjoyed this review, then check out my review of The Blob or my piece on why you’re probably wrong about John Carpenter’s Halloween. Thanks for reading! Please feel free to donate, become a patron on Patreon, and leave a comment below!
