A Nightmare on Elm Street - R
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this slasher flick has a lot of over-the-top gore and violence, with the qualifier that it's often "nightmare," surreal violence. Nightmare visions include a face being torn off to reveal a staring skull, a geyser of blood pouring out of a victim's bed and pooling in defiance of gravity on the ceiling, and so forth. It's dream-like, but fatalities still result. The young people at the center of the film, though very highly evolved for horror-movie teens circa 1984, are still sexually active and at odds with their parents.
Families can talk about the secret guilt that the parents share: that they killed Krueger and covered it up, and now the evil child-murderer is attacking their children rather than them. Considering the old sins-of-the-fathers biblical warning (in slasher-movie clothing), does that change what you think of Freddy and what punishment he deserves? Parents may also be able to make English class seem more interesting to horror-minded kids by mentioning that writer-director Wes Craven was once an English teacher.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Charles Cassady, Jr.
Once "Elm Street" was a cliché for a typical suburban address in any Thornton Wilder, all-American town. Now it carries the same spooky baggage as Sleepy Hollow or Transylvania. And it's all thanks to this hit film, which kicked off a franchise and invented an unforgettable horror icon.
Part of the success of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET was that writer-director Wes Craven (Scream) made it at a time when banal, bloody copies of Friday the 13th (starring hockey-masked Jason) commonly filled theaters; all of it vile slasher stuff peddled to kids like stale Halloween candy in late November. Any teen-themed horror film that was even halfway original and imaginative would have stood out refreshingly, and this one did.
Elm Street's cast of teenage characters was a shade more sympathetic and well-drawn than Jason's victims, and one is played by none other than Johnny Depp (in his movie debut), cast atypically as a not-so-dumb football jock. His girlfriend Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) and two schoolmates have been having disturbing dreams about a badly scarred man in a hat and garish striped sweater who's stalking, taunting, and trying to kill them with a custom-made glove that has knives in the fingers.
After a ghastly murder (during an unauthorized sleepover/sex party with another teen couple, in which the other boyfriend is falsely blamed), Nancy manages to pry the truth from her alcoholic, divorced mother (Ronee Blakely). Years ago a child-killer named Freddy Krueger prowled their neighborhood and was released from jail on a legal technicality. The grown ups set his dwelling on fire, burning Krueger alive, and concealed their act of vigilantism. Of course, those same grown ups now have no clue that the renewed "nightmare" on Elm Street is the vengeful ghost of Freddy hunting and tormenting their sleeping offspring.
The dream-attack gimmick (which is never really explained as clearly as it should be) makes for lots of shock scenes and visual surprises, teasing viewers about what is or isn't really happening, and filmmaker Craven also plants more sophisticated seeds of unease. Parenting and family life -- touchstones of reassurance and protection in horror movies like Poltergeist -- aren't sources of comfort here. Mothers and fathers killed Krueger and covered it up, and now the villain is punishing their children for it rather than them -- the old sins-of-the-fathers biblical warning (in slasher-movie clothing). Do the parents in this movie seem as shifty and guilt-ridden as the kids in I Know What You Did Last Summer?
A Nightmare on Elm Street spawned inevitable sequels, mostly under other directors. Once again going against most horror-movie trends, the follow-ups showed larger-than-usual ambition in exploring more of Freddy's dark powers and can stand well on their own for those who liked the first one. and longtime character actor Robert Englund became a star with his progressively ghoulish and witty portrayal of the shape-shifting fiend.
Elm Street's studio, New Line, prospered from the series' earnings and eventually metamorphosed from a low-budget operation to a successful A-list production company. So even if you're put off by horror but were awed by The Lord of the Rings, remember that it came from a studio whose nickname is "the house that Freddy built."
Fans will also enjoy I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentTeen lovers in bed together (exerting themselves loudly, though nothing is seen). Brief female nudity (a profile in heavy shadow). |
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ViolenceMuch gore -- with the qualifier that it's often "nightmare," surreal violence, like Freddy's face getting torn off to reveal a staring skull, an endless fountain of blood pouring out of a victim's bed, and so on. Freddy's fingers are sliced off, and he's set on fire. |
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LanguageR-worthy profanity including "f--k" a few times and "s--t" uttered by a few police officers. |
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Social BehaviorWhile heroine Nancy is smart and resourceful in fighting against the evil Freddy, her friends are a little less so, and the neighborhood grownups and authority figures are secretly vigilante murderers who cause more harm than good. |
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CommercialismNone, although a Freddy Krueger industry of toys, models, books, and even software ensued. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoThe heroine's mother is a heavy-drinking alcoholic. |
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