Sika’s 100 Greatest Movies of All Time! 36. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
36. A Nightmare on Elm Street
Plot: Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) is having nightmares about a frightening, badly-scarred figure who wears a glove with razor-sharp “finger knives”. She soon discovers that her friends are having similar dreams.
When the kids begin to die, Nancy realizes that she must stay awake to survive. When she discovers the identity of the dream killer is Fred Krueger (Robert Englund) and his connection with the children of Elm Street, she plots to draw him out into the real world.
If Nancy Doesn’t Wake Up Screaming She Won’t Wake Up At All… (tagline)
Also Starring: John Saxon, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Johnny Depp
Written and Directed by: Wes Craven
Length: 91 min
Budget: $1,800,000
Gross Revenue: $10,777,659 (USA)
Favorite Quote:
Children: 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.
Review: I LOVE THIS MOVIE!! I also love Freddy Kruger and I love the movie’s poster above.
To be honest, I had originally placed Home Alone in this spot. Yeah, I’m ashamed, I don’t know what I was thinking.. but I think I redeemed myself quite quickly by replacing it with my all-time favorite scary movie.
Robert Englund is great as Fred Krueger, the nightmare killer. It amuses me to read about him in the media here in Sweden, because they always emphasize his Swedish ancestry. Yes, it’s the proudness of the Swedes, we take anyone with a Swedish relative who back in the 18th Century or whenever, crossed the Atlantic.
Anyway, I find the Swedification of foreign celebrities really tacky, especially when it’s not me doing it… Here’s a link to a great post I wrote last year about it all!!
I actually like the entire Nightmare-saga, but the sequels in a different way. The first one is truly scary, while the rest of them are less scary but yet entertaining.
The only real flaw of this masterpiece is actor John Saxon who plays Nancy’s father. I’m actually planning a remake of my own, casting John Saxon again and have Freddy Krueger kill him off immediately.
Nerdiest Movie Trivia:
Johnny Depp accompanied his friend Jackie Earle Haley who was auditioning for the film. Instead of Haley being cast, Depp was spotted by Wes Craven, who asked if he would like to read for a part. Depp was cast, Haley wasn’t, but he would go on to play Freddy in the remake A Nightmare on Elm Street, 26 years later.
ALTERNATIVE POSTERS
PREVIOUS ON THE LIST: 37. Monty Python’s Life Of Brian (1979)
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