A Nightmare On Elm Street Essay, Research Paper

?The original A Nightmare on Elm Street was

inspired by an extraordinary series of

unnoticed stories in the Los Angeles Times. A

young immigrant male, early 20?s, usually

from Southeast Asia, a son, would have a

severe nightmare where he would wake up

screaming. The next day, he would tell his

family it was the worst nightmare he?d ever

had, and he had been terribly shaken by it.

The next night when he went to sleep?he

died. Six months later I looked in the paper

and there was a very similar story. I clipped it

out and put it with the other one. Then the third

appeared about a year and a half from the first

one, this time in Northern California. And the

elements were the basis for the film. The rest

is horror history.??Wes Craven, Director of A

Nightmare on Elm Street.At a time when the stalker movie had run its

course to all ends and the image of mute,

staggering, vicious killers had been etched

into society?s consciousness to the point of

exhaustion, a new kid entered the block. The

year was 1984 and it was time for a new villain

to enter into the horror genre. It was a villain

that was agile, intelligent, almost invincible,

yet viscous, and by all means deadly. A

Nightmare on Elm Street introduced the

distinctive presence of Fred Krueger to the

horror industry and to the audience. Freddy

Krueger took the center stage and with him a

new era of horror films began. This horribly

scarred man who wore a ragged slouch hat,

dirty red-and-green striped sweater, and a

glove outfitted with knives at the fingers

reinvented the stalker genre like no other film

had. Fred Krueger breathed new life into the

dying horror genre of the early 1980?s. This

paper will enter the realm of the ideas in the

movie, such as the psychological horror it held

for the viewer, as well as the use of reality

within the film. Not knowing what was real and

what was a dream made for A Nightmare on

Elm Street to be a successful horror movie.Horror films are designed to frighten the

audience and engage them in their worst

fears, while captivating and entertaining at the

same time. Horror films often center on the

darker side of life, on what is forbidden and

strange. These films play with society?s fears,

its nightmare?s and vulnerability, the terror of

the unknown, the fear of death, the loss of

identity, and the fear of sexuality. Horror films

are generally set in spooky old mansions, fog-

ridden areas, or dark locales with unknown

human, supernatural or grotesque creatures

lurking about. These creatures can range from

vampires, madmen, devils, unfriendly ghosts,

monsters, mad scientists, demons, zombies,

evil spirits, satanic villains, the possessed,

werewolves and freaks to the unseen and

even the mere presence of evil.Within the genre of horror films falls the sub-

genre of teen slasher/stalker films. These

teen slasher/stalker films take the horror

genre film characteristics into account,

however they add more to the formula. More

violence, sadism, brutality, and graphic blood

and gore are used to increase the terror factor.

Sexuality and gratuitous nudity are also key

characteristic of many of these films, including

this one. Imitations and numerous sequels

are also a common characteristic of teen

slasher/stalker films as well, as Craven came

back with six sequels.A Nightmare on Elm Street and all the

following six sequels fall into its own sub-

genre of the teen slasher/stalker ideas and it

is known as the Nightmare on Elm Street

Series. This series of films adds a new

dimension to the typical teen slasher/stalker

film, depth of character and story. The

characters are not there only to be killed, but

rather they have distinct personalities. They

are independent and intelligent, particularly

the female lead characters. The killer, Fred

Krueger, not only murders his victims violently,

but he displays a great amount of wit,

sarcasm and intelligence while doing it.As the Nightmare on Elm Street movies

progress, the audience gradually gains

knowledge of each of the characters individual

personalities. The storyline takes on a greater

depth as well. The story goes beyond the

simple gore and focuses more on the

psychological terror that lies within and scares

society the most. The line between nightmare

and reality becomes blurred and the terror is

allowed to build up, which results in a

tremendous amount of suspense for the

viewer.Horror films developed over a century ago

have come from a number of different

sources: folktales, witchcraft, fables, myths,

and ghost stories. The first horror movie was

made by Georges Melies, titled The Devil?s

Castle (1896). Another of the early influential

films was The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919).

The shadowy, dream-nightmarish quality of

this film was brought to Hollywood in the

1920?s and continued on into the horror films

of the 1930?s. Horror entered into the Dracula

and Frankenstein era during the early 1930?s.

The studios took stories of European

vampires and mad scientists and created

some of the most iconic beings ever known

on the screen. Dracula films and sequels

were less successful than many of the

Frankenstein sequels. Many of the films in the

horror genre from the mid 1930?s to the

1950?s were B-grade films, inferior sequels,

or low budget gimmick films. During the

1950?s most of the films were cheaply made,

mostly drive-in teenage oriented films. To

counter the popularity of television,

experiments with 3-Dimensional films were

made. These low budget films helped to keep

the horror genre alive when the larger

Hollywood studios turned away. Horror films

branched out in all different directions in the

1960?s and afterward. Film censorship was

on the decline and directors began to portray

horror in ordinary circumstances and

seemingly innocent settings. Alfred Hitchcock

brought out his most horrific film, Psycho, at

the start of the decade, which changed the

face of horror films. In 1968, the MPAA created

a new ratings system with G, M, R, X ratings in

part to the violent themes of horror films. In the

1970?s the horror genre was subjected to far

more violence as well as blood and gore.

Murderous films, in which the victims were

stalked and killed by mortal or immortal

psychopaths, also became popular during

this decade, with films like The Texas

Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Halloween

(1978). This trend carried through to the

1980?s as well with films like A Nightmare on

Elm Street and Friday the 13th , with the

sequels to these films carrying them

throughout the rest of the decade and into the

1990?s. During the 1990?s Wes Craven, the

writer and director of the original Nightmare on

Elm Street, has been credited with bringing

the horror genre back to life with films such as

Scream. The characters in these films are

now aware of the history of the slasher horror

film and know all the rules. ?They survive the

movie based on their ability to outguess the

twists of the formulas in which they are

trapped? (Mast, Kawin, 553).Nowadays, with all the horror movies out, the

characters have more of an understanding as

to what is happening to them in the films. As

stated above, knowing the ?rules? of horror

movies gives them a better jump as to what

may happen to them during the movie.The horror genre, as well as slasher/stalker

genre, and The Nightmare on Elm Street

genre, have been influenced by

Expressionism, rendering inner states as

aspects of the outer world. ?Masks, madness,

and shadows come together in the

Expressionist horror film, where the

threatening figure is often uncontrollably

destructive, sexually aggressive, masked or in

heavy makeup, and acting out some culturally

repressed impulse? (Kawin, 94).A Nightmare on Elm Street was written and

directed by Wes Craven. The movie was

released in 1984 and challenged the typical

slasher genre film of the time in many

aspects. The movie begins with the haunting

children?s song, ?One, two Freddy?s coming

for you?Three, four, better lock your

door?Five, six grab your crucifix?Seven,

eight, gonna stay up late?Nine, ten never

sleep again.? As a teenage girl wanders

around a dark boiler room in only her

nightgown, as a screeching is heard as

knives are scratched against the pipes. A

badly burned man wearing a dirty hat and

striped sweater with knives for finger grabs

her from behind and she then wakes up

screaming in her bed, it was only a dream.

Not long after this, the same girl is in another

dream where she is being chased by the

same man, Freddy Kreuger. As the man

catches her in the dream, reality shows her

being thrown around the room in a state of

unconsciousness and stabbed repeatedly by

an attacker that can only be seen in her

dream. The combination of reality into the

movie makes for a more nerve-racking

experience for the viewer. The movie portrays

that people get caught in their dreams, and

what happens to them in that dream will be

reality when they awake. Another dream has a

girl being burnt by Freddy and as she wakes

up, she looks at her arm and there is a large

burn mark from the happenings of her dream.The film is already different from the typical

slasher/stalker films in that the terror is taking

place in both the dream state, as well as in

reality. The basic plot resembles other horror

films in that a scary, strange entity is stalking

teens in order to kill them. The setting is dark

and spooky with a foggy appearance. As in

many horror films a character who is thought

to be one of the main characters is killed off

early on and that is where the similarities end.

The plot of this film gives a reason as to why

Fred Krueger is after these teenagers. The

parents of these teens who live on Elm Street

had gotten together, captured him and burned

him alive because he had gotten out of jail,

charged with murdering children, on a

technicality. Now as his revenge he must kill

the children of all the parents that were

involved in his murder, by stalking them in

their dreams. By making Freddy Krueger the

result of a dark secret in the neighborhood,

the motivation is much deeper than the

average horror film. Although Freddy is a

horrible villain, his crimes existed in the past.

The teenager?s parents are now responsible

for the reawakening of the terror because they

committed an act just as horrible and as a

result, their children must now pay for their

sins.The nightmare world is connected to reality,

which effects the visual style of the film. This

allows for anything to happen, there are no

limitations. While other villains are restricted

to real world laws of physics, Freddy Krueger

can do anything when looking for people in

their dreams. There are no physical

limitations as to what he can do and this

allows the filmmakers to do things in terms of

effects that had not been done before, such as

when Freddy pushes through the wall and

knocks the crucifix over Tina?s bed onto the

floor. Weaving the reality sequences with the

dream sequences so that the audience did

not know which was which also had an impact

on the visual style of the film. Some of the

dreams appeared so realistic that when it was

cut to reality or switched back into a nightmare

it added even more surprise to the where the

story was.The characters in this film are also very

different from the typical characters in

murderous horror films. These characters

have personalities and are intelligent, unlike

many that have no idea what is going on

around them. Nancy, the female lead

character, is a particularly strong character in

the film. She is not about to let herself be

killed by Freddy. She fights back by trying to

stay awake while she continues drinking

coffee and taking caffeine pills. She also

discovers ways to go into the dream state and

learn about it without being killed. She even

manages to find a possible way to bring

Freddy into reality from a dream and sets him

up to be killed. Nancy redefines the role of a

victim in this genre of film. She does not just

run from the attacker to get away, nor does

she try and hide from him. Rather she goes

into the killers world by announcing that she?s

there by screaming out ?Krueger, I?m here.?Freddy Krueger also redefines the typical role

of a killer in this film. The typical stalker was

one that never spoke, was unimaginative, and

vicious, that captured their victim by chasing

them down to a dead end. While Krueger is

scary and dangerous, it is his wit and

intelligence that really come through. He has a

brain and knows how to use it, he uses all the

tricks of the trade to lure his victims to him and

is very cunning while he does it. He uses

sarcasm and plays with the minds of the

victims, for example when Krueger transforms

himself into a high school girl hall monitor and

asks Nancy where her hall pass is. This is not

the typical image one would have of a killer but

this lets the audience know that he is lurking

about just waiting to make his move.The film also deals with certain thematic

concerns, such as the role of parents and the

police in society. The parents in this movie are

not interested in what their children are telling

them. Nancy?s mother, who is an alcoholic,

won?t believe her when Nancy tells her about

Freddy. Nancy?s father, a police officer, doesn?t

show up to help Nancy when she brings

Freddy out of her dream into reality, even

though he said he would be there. Nancy

believes that something might happen to Rod

while he is in jail and she asks the police to

check on him. The police don?t check up on

Rod and when they hear screaming from his

cell, they find him murdered by who else,

Freddy Kreuger. The parents feel that there is

no problem because they think that they

solved the problem by killing Krueger

themselves. The parents won?t listen to their

kids, which is a common theme in many

movies.A Nightmare on Elm Street adds to the horror

genre, by bringing into light the psychological

aspect of horror, which can be much scarier

than blood and gore. It brought a new

perspective to the typical horror movie and

allowed for serious character development.

Therefore, it became possible to battle the

killer, Fred Kreuger, as it became an issue of

the mind, not over who was bigger or stronger.

The movie gave motives for the plot and made

it interesting and intelligent. It also made a

connection between what society fears and

the reality of what those fears really are.In a time when the horror film had become

little more than a mindless game of cat and

mouse, with excessive amounts of blood and

gore, Wes Craven brought hope to the genre.

A Nightmare on Elm Street intelligently probed

into the audience?s fear of nightmares and

combines that with the fear of being trapped

within a nightmare in order to create a very

intelligent thought-provoking movie that

helped to redefine the horror genre. Craven?s

use of reality within the film made the movie

one of the most popular early horror films. He

used a psychological terror to scare the

viewers, as well as keeping everyone in the

dark during the movie as telling the difference

between dreams and reality became nearly

impossible.”There is an ancient entity that is evil and

storytellers over the centuries have giving in

different names. In our time, one of the names

given it was Freddy Krueger. Yes, Freddy died

in the last film and he’s still dead. Just

because you stop Freddy doesn’t mean you

stop evil, you just free it up. I think that?s an

important lesson.?

-Brown, Gene. Movie Time, A Chronology of Hollywood and the Movie

Industry from Its Beginnings to the Present. Macmillan Company, 1995.

-Kawin, Bruce. How Movies Work, University of California Press, 1992.

-Mast, Gerald and Bruce Kawin. A Short History of the Movies, Seventh Edition,

Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

-Stocker, Carol. Will the Nightmare on Elm Street Continue. St. Louis Post, Dec,

1997.

-Wilmington, Mike. Horror Films that Scared us over the Years. Chicago Tribune, Oct, 1997