Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) by Arth J — 09 Dec 2018

Craven's imaginative mythological world is the apt wake up call for the legacy we pass on.

A Nightmare On Elm Street.

Craven's imaginative mythological world is the apt wake up call for the legacy we pass on. The concept is admirable since it fiddles with relationship between subsequent generations and the torch that is passed on by the elders to the young ones. And as much as beautifully it is weaved out, the procedure that it follows is raw horror extracted from old school textbook genre that still works. It is a smartly crafted conflict whose solution, which seems impossible to eradicate, is simply smart and on that note of closure that it achieves by making a full circle, lies the real trick.

The structure of the script too is familiar with a series of unnerving death sequences followed by going deep into the root and analyse a thesis out for a loud finale. And yes, the final act is loud but until then you have bought Craven's theories and are being whirled around this chaotic and literal bloodbath. Another major strength of it, is tricky camera work. The narration keeps the surrounding under the shades in order to easily fabricate this hallucinating dream or nightmare on screen with decent editing. Unfortunately, the performance objective is short handed and is a friction to this smooth narration.

It also lacks creativity on displaying the death sequences with innovative and intriguing ideas especially its execution, it could have been more practical along with the art designing. Despite of such setbacks, Craven's passion on making alive this and his dream is what drives this film to the end with a satisfying and enthralling experience where even the thrills aren't taken for granted. A Nightmare On Elm Street may not be the ultimate horror experience but its three dimensional characters are undeniably immortal for their moving and effective background track that is inspiring.