Courtesy of New Line Cinema
Forty years after the fact, I remain fascinated by the journey of Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. The concept first came about as a cocktail blend of real-life horror and a terrifying personal encounter. Craven came across a news story of a boy who had died in his sleep after claiming that that exact thing would happen. Scared to dream, the boy kept a coffee pot in his room in an attempt to stay awake. For the demon that would haunt the nightmares of his story, Craven recalled a childhood occurrence of a man in a fedora who lurked outside his home, creeping closer and closer. From that, Freddy Krueger was born.
Despite what we know now, no one at the time thought A Nightmare on Elm Street would work. Even Craven’s friend/collaborator, Sean S. Cunningham (director of Friday the 13th), didn’t believe it would be scary. After all, audiences would know it was all just a dream. Everyone in Hollywood passed on the script…until Craven met Robert Shaye of New Line Cinema. The rest is history. Freddy has terrorized audiences for decades…including the star of one of modern horror’s most popular franchises.
First, What’s A Nightmare on Elm Street About?
Late one evening, teenager Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) and others arrive to spend the night with their friend Tina (Amanda Wyss). The terrified young woman believes someone is stalking her in her dreams and doesn’t want to spend the night alone. Nancy awakens to Tina’s screams, only to find her brutally murdered in bed. Tina’s boyfriend, Rod (Jsu Garcia), is the prime suspect. But Nancy doesn’t think so. Because the same figure that haunted Tina’s nightmares haunts hers as well. The kids of Elm Street are about to unveil a dark past covered up by their parents and discover that some nightmares never truly end.
Freddy Krueger, Nightmare Maker
While speaking with Dread’s own Josh Korngut, The Conjuring’s Vera Farmiga discussed the first horror films to scare her…As it turns out, it was the A Nightmare on Elm Street series. Namely, Freddy Krueger. “I wasn’t allowed to watch horror films,” Farmiga began. “So I had to sneak over to Missy Burner’s house, and we would go to the video store, rent a video, and it would always be one of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. And I was so terrified of Freddy Krueger. Talk about demonic forces that enter you, paralyzing you. I was so afraid a bunch of his finger knives would plunge into my chest. His hand knives were… I just knew he was going to come in at night and turn me into an appetizer.”
It may be a joke by Drew Barrymore’s character in Craven’s Scream that the first A Nightmare on Elm Street was scary while “the rest sucked”. Agree to disagree. But there’s no denying that Freddy (played devilishly by Robert Englund) inspires a primal fear in audiences. His burnt flesh. Those finger-knives. The fact that he’s a child-murderer from Hell. And the knowledge that the next time you fall asleep, you could die. He’s a slasher villain you can’t outrun, can’t hide from, can’t simply behead and be done with. It doesn’t get much scarier than that.
There are quite a few studio execs still kicking themselves over passing on Craven’s classic, I would imagine. Freddy has found himself on the Mount Rushmore of horror icons. He’s one of the most frightening cinematic killers to ever be concocted. Vera, myself, and so many others found their childhood nightmares stalked by his presence. With all but the seventh film, New Nightmare, back on HBO Max, a new generation of teens can now discover what has made Freddy eternal.
Categorized: News
