‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ (1984): A Slasher with Style
How some wit gave the ‘80s slashers a second wind.
Sleep. The living death. A state where we drift away from reality and into the corners of our minds. A place where we and we alone are present.
But what if someone were to try to reach out to you during your most vulnerable time? What if you were attacked while the clutches of slumber embraced you?
Wes Craven answered this unnerving question with his 1984 film, ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’, A film that started a legacy of terror that clawed its way throughout the rest of the ‘80s, and which remains lodged within the dreams of viewers today.
Now, does it hold up?
A string of deaths terrorizes a small town and as Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) loses her friends one by one, she must uncover the dark secrets of the town and discover the true identity of a killer (Robert Englund) haunting her dreams.
What I like about the story is how it’s one part horror and one part mystery. It’s much less a whodunit story as it is a why and how mystery. As the film progresses, so does…
