A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
Starring John Saxon and Heather Langenkamp
Wes Craven made his big directorial comeback with this seminal early 1980s horror film featuring Robert Englund as the killer Freddy Krueger, who kills teens by entering their dreams.
Although it wasn't a big hit when released, it garnered a huge following of high school students when it was released on video. It remains one of the most important horror films ever made.
Like "Halloween" and "Carrie,"
it does a great job of depicting the anxieties of high school life. It was also the first
film to star Johnny Depp, playing Langenkamp's boyfriend. Exploitation legend Saxon is a
welcome sight as high school student Langenkamp's policeman dad. After her friend is brutally
murdered in a mysterious killing, Langenkamp suspects the killer may really be Freddy
Krueger (Robert Englund), a figure with razor blades for fingers that keeps tormenting her
in her dreams. Worse yet, when he injures her in the dream, the injury shows up in the
real world. Her alcoholic divorced mom doesn't understand what she's going through.
The story, penned by Craven himself, could be an allegory for how broken marriages bring evil into the lives of teenage kids and is a great excuse for some truly chilling horror set-pieces, including a bloody ghost in a body bag that appears in the middle of a classroom.
Seven sequels resulted. As we all know, the series became a huge cultural phenomenon, replete with a totally forgotten "Nightmare on Elm Street" TV series, Freddy Krueger dolls and pop songs. It all started with this movie, a masterpiece of the genre.