A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Wes Craven
Writer:
Wes Craven
Cast:
Heather Langenkamp (Nancy Thompson), Johnny Depp (Glen Lantz), Robert England (Fred Kruger), John Saxon (Lt. Thompson), Ronee Blakley (Marge Thompson), Amanda Wyss (Tina Gray), Jsu Garcia (Rod Lane), and Charles Fleischer (Dr. King).
Opening Credits:
Wes Craven was an amazing master of horror. From the Elm Street films to Scream (1996), Shocker (1989), all these films i mentioned were all great movies. The characters in just these films alone were all memorable on screen. They played on our fears, especially when everything is set and done these films had left a mark in our hearts. Robert England as Freddy, the dynamic Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi) in the Shocker film. The greatness of Neve Campbell in the Scream films. She was smart, and her quick thinking got her out of a blood shed, time, and time again. But all in all these are Wes Craven films.
The whole make-up that is Elm Street is if you think of it, an awesome concept. the child killer went, and came back after death to avenge himself. Even after death Freddy continued to lay waste upon any who came into contact with him. The build up of this antagonist really made a difference on film. The horror, blood, and driven story brought Freddy to duel with another killer, and his name is only heard in camp Crystal Lake. Jason was a big part of the early 80's, in fact his story is even more complex than his Elm Street counter part. His work is still full of bloodshed, his butcher knife and blood filled clothes are all part of his character. It was horror, and it made a whole lot of sense, even back in the day.
Elm Street even went to the TV medium; Freddy's Nightmares (1988-89) which was a huge success for the franchise. The killer with the claws has become something more. A toy, a anti-hero with a cause. The Freddy character was even bigger when England played Willie the alien from the epic V film that went on to a series. (1984-85). So the character of Freddy became a franchise, a marketing tool used to bring in audiences for his next film. The Freddy's Nightmares was only 44 episodes, two seasons. I guess folks had enough of the whole Freddy thing, but even then the iconic killer with a mouth wasn't out; He still had more to do. The main reason i call him an anti-hero, because in the theaters, audiences actually clap for him. His antics are laughable enough, and enjoyed enough to call him the anti-hero, he deserves it.
Review:
Normally i would start with a sequence in the film, but in the case of A Nightmare on Elm Street i have so much to discuss, and complain about, the sequence would've not done it justice. First let me dig right in with the overall complaint. I was doing my internet research for trivia for this film, found a lot, loved it. But, i had come across something that really ticked me off. Hollywood is doing yet another remake. Yes it's in development, another Nightmare on Elm Street film; That bothers me because lets go back in time to 2010. There was a reboot, and yes Jackie Earle Haley played the iconic character, Fred Krueger. The film industry went ahead and slapped Wes Craven in the face. Using new faces, with the same story done in a different way. The feel was different, and it definitely conveyed badly; No Robert England in the film don't do it. The message was out, Hollywood doesn't care. The budget for the 1984 Wes Craven film was 1,800,000, opening weekend 1,271,000, and a gross of 26,505,000 in the United States. Freddy's revenge made 30,000,000 out of a 3,000,000 budget. The Dream Warrior film did 4,500,000 and a gross 44,793,200 in the US. But these numbers are all based on the economy of that year, remember it was the 80's. The 2010 remake did 90,559,655 gross world wide with a 32,902,299 opening weekend in the US. The official budget was around 35,000,000. Add marketing in that budget, and this movie would've gotten lost in transition.
The 1984 film has a dated element, which is understandable because it was made at a different time. They didn't have the large budgets like we have today. The movies relied on acting, story, those elements that make up Nightmare on Elm Street. In fact it was Freddy (Robert England) that made that series fun, and horrific to watch. The story of a man who was killed by parents, people that work for a living, real stuff. Then being burned alive would have a huge impact on the character we all know and love. Saying know and love and being burned alive doesn't sound good, in fact it sounds horrible.
The moments on screen are amazing, the screams were chilling. They're strong enough to resonate. In fact even now folks know who Freddy is. But it was Robert England that captured those moments that we all know and love. Horror films don't get the credit they truly deserve, because it usually takes one or two to make everyone listen, and when it happens, everything happens like it should, despite the year, the horror film will deliver.
Today's market is very different. The Conjuring (2013) and so many other films started to make big box office standoff's. Another example would be an earlier film, in fact it was 1973, The Exorcist. It had grossed 357,500,000 world wide. Horror movies sometimes make there mark, but when they do the big producers and Hollywood want more so they plan horrible re-boots, sequels, and side stories. To me these folks just need to stay put, and move right along. The audiences make or break your film, not the critics or even Hollywood.
Hollywood types should just leave things alone. The 1984 film is a classic, and studios should've never decided to reboot,and unfortunately it would be twice this time around. The first one didn't work so why continue on that path. Let's take a look at the scene Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) is in, remember the bath scene? Freddy pops his claws, knifes out of the water, yet she doesn't really notice until it's in her face, she had fallen asleep. Enough for the evil bad guy to kill you. That scene was perfect in every way. It made you feel hopeless, because the bathroom is a personal endeavor which was violated, and became a bit more. The bad guy went to far. In today's version of Elm Street they would've change everything to PG-13; Instead of the writers getting a clear vision of what's happening, they get a washed out version.
Leave the film as is, because that's what it deserves. They're going to make it almost like the Crow (1994). remember the remakes, and the mess there. The horrible thing is that they're re-making that film as well. The Crow is in Pre-production; The actor Jason Momoa will play Eric Draven. The only thing they have right now is Momoa. Let me continue before i go off on the whole Crow thing, another great character, turned sour because of the studios. So with out going into a spiral here, let me just say that if you want a wonderful tale, done the right way, see the 1984 version. It was written, directed by a master that we all know and miss, Wes Craven. (Aug 2, 1939- August 30, 2015)
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