Made on a budget of just $1.5 million by a small Hollywood company called New Line Cinema, A nightmare On Elm Street opened in 1984 with very little advance hype and was originally perceived by both the public and critics as just another low budget slasher. The ads warned you not to sleep, and within a few days, word of mouth recommendation had sent the film’s box office takings through the roof. Combining all the elements of traditional horror with impressive special effects, A Nightmare On Elm Street tells the story of a group of suburban teenagers who discover that they all share a common nightmare. One by one as they sleep, they are killed by a disfigured killer who waits for them in their darkest nightmares. With all her friends ending up dead, Nancy Thompson decides top fight back before it’s too late. After barely escaping with her life, Nancy learns from her parents that the killer is called Freddy Kruegar, a real life child killer who was burned to death by a group of vigilante parents. Now he has returned to avenge himself on those parents who originally destroyed him, but this concept was basically put on hold by part 6, at which point he has killed every child in town.
Nancy realises that she must rely on her own wits to survive, and she enters Freddy’s lair, the boiler room, to bring him out into the waking world so that he can be destroyed... During the production of the original, there were many problems, including lack of money, last-minute script changes and a short shooting schedule. What makes A Nightmare On Elm Street stand out from the others was Robert Englund’s Freddy Kruegar - Audiences remembered the nightmarish figure of Freddy - greasy red and green sweater, battered hat pulled down over his horribly burned features and a glove fitted with razor sharp blades. Freddy Kruegar quickly became the second best movie bogeyman overnight.
Nightmare Pictures
A Nightmare On Elm Street
A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2
A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 3
A Nightmare On Elm Street 4
A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 5
A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 6
A Nightmare On Elm Street 7
Posters
“Freddy is an entity that has been around for a very long time. He stands for something ancient and probably goes back to the very roots of mankind. In each age storytellers try to grab on to those elements that are mysterious and hidden and ineffable and give them shape and give them names. In my case, I called it Freddy” - Wes Craven.
“Originally they wanted a very big man to play Freddy, and I don’t think he was going to talk at all. I had a hiatus between TV shows and this was the only project that would fill the time for me. I also wanted to work with Wes Craven. I was breaking up with my wife when I went to meet Wes, and I was in a sort of punk stage then : I had gel in my hair and pencilled circles under my eyes and I just sat there staring at him. I guess I rang a bell or something, because he went with me. You have to remember that we make them for little or no money. We worked a hard six weeks on that first one. I had a day and a half off a week, which gave my skin a chance to breathe and heal from the make up.” - Robert Englund
Critics called the film ‘ a high octane shocker’, ‘a state of the art horror’ and said that it was ‘destined for horror history’. They were right, and it has grossed over $30,000,000.