‘A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET’ … Does Freddy still scare almost 30 years later?

A Nightmare on Elm Street, one of Wes Craven’s most successful and popular films, is nearing its 30th anniversary. It was back in the mid-1980s when Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) dared to go to sleep and face the violent power of Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). In 2012, the film still holds up as one of the finest examples of the slasher flick, even if some of the acting seems forced and the scares have dulled.

Though Elm Street is never mentioned, Craven’s film is perfectly titled. The movie is a satirical look at suburbia and how teenagers can get themselves in trouble with the adults. The formula has been performed time and time again in the cinematic realm. Because Craven adds the element of dreams and fantasies, the younger actors truly get lost in their own world. Their screams and cries for help fall upon deaf ears, while the clueless adults try to bring order to the growing mayhem.

The central character is Nancy, a good girl who is sucked into a deadly struggle with Krueger, the bogeyman of the neighborhood. One of the surprising qualities of the film is how much goes unexplained. There’s one scene that comes later in the film that describes how Krueger became this monster, but there’s very little explanation of how he entered the dream world and began terrorizing the teenagers of the town.

Johnny Depp turns in his first movie performance, but it doesn’t last for long. Much like Halloween, which saw a young Jamie Lee Curtis outlasting Michael Myers, A Nightmare on Elm Street stacks up the victims before Nancy is able to finally escape.

The acting from Englund is iconic and memorable. Amanda Wyss also does a favorable job as Nancy’s friend, Tina. Langenkamp’s performance, although rightfully pathetic, doesn’t hold up well. Her line deliveries are manufactured, and the emotions she’s forced to show all seem like an acting class for newcomers. She probably seemed to work well back in the 1980s, obviously influencing the filmmakers with her innocence, but as the horror genre has evolved, so too has our appreciation for effective and believable central performances.

Craven’s writing is acceptable, even if overly simplistic. There’s not much that happens in the film, but it seems to fit the overall narrative just fine. He throws a few mysteries at us (including a lamb), but everything is straightforward good vs. evil. The soundtrack is typical 1980s horror: blaring electronic music that is simultaneously catchy and annoying.

The most memorable aspect of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and why it sustains as a seminal horror film, is how unflinchingly dedicated everything and everyone is to the villain. The movie may have lost some of its luster, but there’s no denying that Krueger still scares. His scarred face, red-and-green sweater, sharp claws and grating cackle earns him a spot among the best (and worst) of cinematic villains, including Michael Myers, Jason and Ghostface.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• A Nightmare on Elm Street

• 1984

• Written and directed by Wes Craven

• Starring Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Johnny Depp, Amanda Wyss and John Saxon

• Running time: 91 minutes

• Rated R

• Rating: