 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
A Nightmare on Elm Street
- Review Date: September 9, 2006
- R
- Genre: Horror
- 1984
Common Sense Media says
First feature for knife-handed horror idol Freddy.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
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.
What's the story?
High school football player Glen (Johnny Depp, in his movie debut), 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, Nancy manages to pry the truth from her 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 (Robert Englund) hunting and tormenting their sleeping offspring.
Is it any good?
Part of the success of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET was that writer-director Wes Craven made it at a time when banal, bloody copies of Friday the 13th (starring hockey-masked Jason) commonly filled theaters. 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.
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).
What families can talk about
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.
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AGE
What can I say? This is a classic. When people that havent seen the movie think of A Nightmare on Elm Street, they think sex, killing, and language. That's wrong. There is no sex in this film, only moaning, and that is used for comical intentions. There is a lot of blood, but its totally fake and very unrealistic. There were only 4 f bombs and a handfull of other mild explitives. A must see for tweens.
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AGE
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Little kids beware, this is not a movie for you. But teens and adults must watch it! Freddy is #4 on my top 5 favortie slashers.
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AGE
Good Halloween scare, in today's standards, a PG-13 flick
My MPAA Rating, PG-13: Brutal horror violence and gore, strong language, terror, sexual situations, and use of alcohol
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AGE
Perfect For Young Teens.
Not bad. The killings are creative, there's good acting. Oddly enough, Krueger himself isn't all that scary. Every two seconds he's spewing out badly-written puns. On the plus side, there's a very young Johnny Depp. It's definitely not a great movie, but it's an alright movie. It has it's flaws, but it's pretty enjoyable. I think the only disappointment is the ending, which is just an obvious cliff-hanger.
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AGE
"A Nightmare on Elm Street" isn't terrible but be cautious about showing it to your children
"A Nightmare on Elm Street" is age appropriate for children between 12 and 13 if you feel they are mature enough. It contains intense violence and a scene of sexuality. It also contains a life-affirming message about dominating your nightmares.
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AGE
Kids Love Freddy
ANoES holds the biggest soft spot in my heart imaginable. Here's a series I loved since I was about eight years old. We're at a point in time where Robert Englund's Freddy is just not scary. Really, I can't imagine this scaring a kid over seven at all.
Language, yes. Violence, yes, but it's very obviously fake. Nudity? Kind of-ish. When you compare Nightmare on Elm Street to Friday the 13th, you find this is very classy and doesn't use nudity to bring in viewers. There is one silhouette of a nude figure, but it makes sense in context with the scene and it is not at all sexual. Your call, parents.
Personally, I'd let a younger kid than twelve watch it, but for the best interest of every parent and child, twelve is a very safe age for a child to watch it.
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Kid, 3 years old
September 1, 2011
AGE
For mature kids and teens only
No matter what your age is, you must be mature to see this.
This is fun for the whole family if the whole family is mature.
4 uses of f**k and 2 more swears, but this was made in the 80's! Ratings were higher back then! Today, It would be PG or PG-13. I saw this and the remake when I was like 7! Most of you adults and parents have seen this at my age (or maybe 9 years old). So let your kid see this if there mature, PLEASE!
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AGE
For bieng scary: 5 stars. For bieng appropriate 2
I only wanted to see this movie because it was around halloween, and I wanted to see something scary. While this was certaintley scary it was also not for kids. Its bloody,gorry, sexual, and just pure evil. The F word is said multiple times, kids sleep together, and many people are grusomley killed by a monster of a man seeking revenge. You also have to have a strong stomach in order to get through it. You see an explosion of blood, and You see Freddy slash open his stomach while cornering one of his victims. I hated it.
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AGE
not to scary
its not very violent there is hardly any blood or gore not to scary either
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| Studio: | New Line |
| Director: | Wes Craven |
| Cast: | John Saxon, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Run time: | 91 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | November 9, 1984 |
| DVD release date: | August 11, 2001 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | gore, profanity, sexual innuendo, alcohol use |
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