A Nightmare On Elm Street

A Nightmare On Elm Street Directed by Wes Craven is the best slasher film of all time because it gave us Freddy Krueger, Tina, and Nancy. Also a bunch of human emotions like being afraid, laughing so hard, and just loving the hell out of it. These three characters I mentioned are the most iconic characters who are apart of the franchise.

The movie is in every horror lovers go to film list, and in everyone's top five horror movies list because Johnny Depp is in it. That's a no brainer. Just kidding, he is a nice touch, but it's Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, and Amanda Wyss for me. When I interviewed Mimi Craven who was once married to Wes Craven at the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival in 2019 Mimi stated, "Wes scripts were always smart and funny. I think the best horror films have a very large sense of humor." I agree, not to mention it was made for 1. 3 million dollars and every cent is up on that screen.

The brilliance of horror and comedy playing together so well by Robert Englund transformed what horror could be at that time and in the future. When our adrenaline is pumping so hard from the fear of the film our emotions then change when we get a chuckle of laughter because there was a funny line in the film. The laughter that we needed so that we didn't pee our pants from the fright of going to bed alone and in the dark after watching.

The plot of not being able to go to sleep because a killer can get you at any moment concept is epic, isn't it? Scary too! Especially hearing the 1, 2, Freddy's coming for you song. That can give the most hardcore criminal chills up their spine. We sure needed laughter in this film though after seeing Freddy's killer glove for the first time and knowing it can tear through shirts, and sheets just as much as flesh. Haha! I am going to prove to you why A Nightmare On Elm Street is the most iconic and best horror film ever, not only from my perspective but from the perspective of a couple of the actresses who are apart of the film. Heather Langenkamp and Amanda Wyss.

Nancy Thompson played by Heather Langenkamp is the perfect final girl. Sweet, seems unlikely to survive, but proves us all so wrong when she outlives her friends Glen, and Tina, and also her Mother Marge who is also a victim of Freddy's evil. Nancy discovers that if she eliminates her fear of Freddy she can then beat him.

A Nightmare On Elm Street gave hope to all the innocent and sweet girls or virgins who aren't "hardcore" that they can too beat evil and survive a horror flick. The film changed the horror game by giving Nancy which was played wonderfully by Heather the lead role. To me, Nancy inspired roles like Sidney in "Scream".

I got to interview Heather Langenkamp at the New Jersey Horror Con 2019. Check out the interview here. When I asked Heather why does she believe the film has stood the test of time until this day Heather mentioned that she believes that it was the timing of the film release. I agree because as Heather points out in our interview people have not been well versed back in the 80s with this type of horror movie. It blew everyone's mind away.

That opening scene alone we didn't imagine watching it that this person we couldn't see at first (Freddy) was making a glove with knives. This was one of the first horror movies we got to see not just in the theater but at home with the invention of the VCR. You could take this film home and watch it dozens of times and not just wait for a tv showcase of it. People began to just love and admire Freddy, and dress up like him for Halloween. Until this day the Freddy fandom rules. Fear and love are powerful feelings. Add in a touch of laughter it is just the best dose of horror medicine.

LaKisa Renee interviewed Amanda Wyss at the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival 2019. Check out the interview by clicking here. In the interview, Amanda explains her iconic death scene and how it was shot. She expresses how she feels to be apart of the film and how it made an impact. Amanda talks about working with Wes Craven and Robert Englund. The boiler room behind the scenes knowledge comes out. Amanda Wyss feels the film is the best film ever and stood the test of time because it was an amazing script.

Wes Craven's script was one of the first to show a generation of horror film latch-key kids having to survive in the real world with only one parent or other different yet relatable home situations teenagers can identify to while watching the film. For example, Tina Gray's mom didn't handle the divorce well, so she began drinking heavily and having different men coming through the home. Tina lacked confidence so she was acting out sexually. Wyss also feels the film can touch your heart because it is sad and all good horror films are sad. This legendary film does leave us with questions at the end such as was it a dream? Are they all still alive? What happened? The cliffhanger got us all. Not one movie can top that cliffhanger. Freddy wins!

"Robert Englund brought to life a real-life boogieman"

-Amanda Wyss

In conclusion, it is without a doubt that A Nightmare On Elm Street is the best horror film of all time because of the characters, the storyline, the timing, the impact, and the emotions it allowed us to feel. This film changed the horror genre on many levels and Freddy reigns King villain forever.