Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • 3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)
    • 3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)
    • 3625. Ode To Joy (2019)
    • 3624. One Chance (2013)
    • 3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)
    • 3622. The Polka King (2017)
    • 3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)
    • 3620. Friendzone (2021)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»3123. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

    3123. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on October 16, 2020 1984, 8 - 10, 90-99 mins, Drama, Horror, Movies Of 2020, Oct 20, Review, Thriller, United States
    8.1 Brilliantly mysterious
    • Acting 8.1
    • Directing 8.1
    • Story 8.2
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Robert Englund

    Director: Wes Craven

    Running Time: 91 mins


    A Nightmare On Elm Street is an American film about a teenage girl who is haunted in her dreams by a mysterious murderer, who will stop at nothing to brutally kill her and her friends.

    This is how you make a horror film. A Nightmare On Elm Street isn’t exactly a terrifying movie that will make you hide behind the sofa, but it is a disturbing and enthrallingly mind-bending mystery, with such brilliantly captivating uncertainty from start to finish.

    Not content with relying on puerile jump scares and excessive gore, the film first builds an exhilarating sense of tension, then hits you hard with its undeniably bloody violence. But it’s not the gore and horror that’s there to scare you, more the fear and total bewilderment you feel about what’s happening on screen.

    A Nightmare On Elm Street is more than just a slasher movie. Yes, the main premise may be a vicious killer picking teenagers off one by one, but it’s actually a really engaging and mysterious psychological thriller, with fantastic ambiguity that makes it a completely mesmerising watch.

    Its main villain, Freddie Krueger, is perfectly unnerving when he’s on screen, but it’s his dominating presence even when he’s nowhere to be seen that makes him such a fearsome monster. And the terror that he strikes into the teenagers who are stalked by him makes the film even more disturbing.

    This movie has an almost unique blend of pure, violent horror and calm, patient and intelligent storytelling. If you’re a fan of the gory stuff, then there are some scenes you’re going to love, but if you’re looking for a great story that will really grab you, then A Nightmare On Elm Street has exactly what you need.

    The principal brilliance of the film’s screenplay is scaring you by confusing you. As the story unfolds, things start to make less and less sense, and that mystery coupled with the intensifying violence of affairs makes the movie both intoxicating and all the more frightening. After all, it’s what you don’t know that’s always the most terrifying, and A Nightmare On Elm Street plays on that in brilliant fashion.

    Meanwhile, Heather Langenkamp is fantastic in the lead role, and proves a really strong, likable hero in a genre where there are surprisingly few to be seen around. What’s more, her screams are just as chilling as Marilyn Burns’ legendarily chilling shrieks in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, bringing an extra level of fear to proceedings.

    But even beyond the movie’s thrill and fear factor, there’s still a lot more going on in A Nightmare On Elm Street. On first viewing, I can’t say that I managed to grasp absolutely everything – such is the excitement of the main horror story – but there’s certainly more to be said about some of the film’s secondary characters, setting and emotional themes, all of which I really look forward to unpacking when I come to watch this movie again.

    Overall, I loved A Nightmare On Elm Street. Gory and violent it may be at times, but this film is a well-plotted, intelligent and engrossing horror all the way through. With a clever use of violence in tandem with ambiguity and mystery, it’s scarier than any jump scare-heavy fright fest, proving an often intoxicating and powerfully suspenseful watch throughout, which is why I’m giving it an 8.1.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. Since January 1st, 2013, he has watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    7.1

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    5.3
    January 17, 2022

    3620. Friendzone (2021)

    7.1
    January 10, 2022

    3612. The Lost Daughter (2021)

    8.0
    January 7, 2022

    3609. Licorice Pizza (2021)

    7.2
    January 7, 2022

    3608. Lamb (2021)

    7.4
    December 30, 2021

    3599. The King’s Man (2021)

    6.3
    December 29, 2021

    3598. The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

    8.4
    December 28, 2021

    3597. West Side Story (2021)

    6.3
    December 27, 2021

    3596. Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

    Recommended Movies
    8.3
    Review
    August 16, 20200

    3057. Babyteeth (2020)

    8.7
    Review
    December 27, 20130

    396. Buried (2010)

    8.1
    Review
    November 9, 20180

    2344. Roma (2018)

    8.2
    Review
    December 11, 20130

    379. Life Is Beautiful (1997)

    8.0
    Review
    August 15, 20200

    3055. My Cousin Vinny (1992)

    Popular Posts
    7.1
    January 24, 2022

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8
    January 23, 2022

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9
    January 22, 2022

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    7.4
    January 21, 2022

    3624. One Chance (2013)

    6.3
    January 20, 2022

    3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)

    7.5
    January 19, 2022

    3622. The Polka King (2017)

    6.0
    January 18, 2022

    3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)

    © 2022 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.