Nightmare On Elm Street (EOTWS)

End Of The Week Shorts #28 extract: Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

A Nightmare On Elm Street is a pretty good movie - but, more so, a classic cult horror full of iconic imagery. Looking past this, and the sometimes awkward writing and mediocre acting, there is trouble beneath the surface of this movie. 

In essence, we can think of Nightmare On Elm Street to be much like (though, the book and the movies would come out at a later date) Stephen King's It with dreams being the dark place from which personal horrors reflecting ones of confrontation with evil archetypes (who mirror parents and internal anxieties) emerge. With a lot of potential subtext to play around with, seeing Craven's on-off direction mainly focus on spectacle and gore is somewhat disappointing as this movie lacks in both the narrative and character departments. 

Ultimately, A Nightmare On Elm Street is part fun and, as a consequence of a lack of concentration, part pretentious. Nonetheless, an engaging watch.