November 16th, 1984
I remember seeing the early trailers and being put off by the original A Nightmare On Elm Street. The image of Freddy Krueger having long arms was ingrained into my thoughts. I just didn’t like it. But then I started reading early coverage in Fangoria and my thoughts changed. I figured the film might be good. So I started to anxiously wait for opening night.
Strangely enough, my Mother also wanted to see the movie. I’m not exactly sure why, but we made a date to go see the film together. She’s never been one for the theater (though she went quite a lot during the 1970s), and it surprised me. Still, I thought the idea of taking my Mother to a horror film would be good. She harbored an appreciation for the genre, so why not?
Finally, after weeks of trailers and perusing Fangoria, opening night arrived. It was snowy and very cold, but the two of us still ventured out. Thankfully, the weather was keeping the audiences at bay. There were a few people out, but the auditorium was relatively empty. Freddy had yet to make a big name for himself, so this wasn’t out of the normal. I enjoyed the small audience, though it would be the last time I ever saw A Nightmare On Elm Street (or any of its sequels) with only a few people in attendance.
Either way, the film finally started. I knew it had my Mother hooked from the beginning. During those opening scenes where we get to see Freddy building his glove, my Mother gasped when he opened up his hand and revealed the blades. She muttered: "Oh my God." I’ll never forget that, and wish I had experienced the same thing. Still, I knew she was in for a rollercoaster ride and sat back to enjoy the show.
I was a fan of Freddy from the start. I really enjoyed the character and knew that Wes Craven had hit another one out of the park. The audience reacted very well with screams and nervous laughter during the film. And that scene where Freddy has long arms? I thought it was played very well. It’s still not one of my favorite visages of the Dream Stalker, but it was far away from being as ridiculous as I had imagined.
After the film, my Mother gushed over it. She really liked it. Of course, I did, too. It was a fun car ride home even though the streets were icy and very dangerous. I can recall sliding a bit on the pavement as I left the theater parking lot. Thankfully, there were barely any souls out on this night. I still couldn’t believe that my Mother had returned to the movies! Strange things do happen.
The following Monday, at work, I ran into a fellow employee named Stanley. It appeared that he had gone to see the film over the weekend, too. And he loved it! He was gushing to anyone who would listen to him about Craven’s movie, and it put a smile on my face. It’s always good to see someone turned on to a movie, and Stanley was doing it in spades. He told me that he had gone to see it with his sister and Mother, too. I don’t believe I ever found out if they enjoyed it, but I have a good idea that they did. The original is a classic and I’ve ran across very few people who don’t like it.
Before the film left the theater, I managed to get back to see it a few more times. My enjoyment of it arose with each viewing, and so did the audiences. Word of mouth had spread about Freddy, and I honestly hadn’t seen anything like it since the original Friday The 13th had debuted. I knew that Jason was going to be in for a run for his money, because there was no way that New Line wasn’t going to churn out a sequel.
Months later, A Nightmare On Elm Street appeared on VHS. I can remember being in the local mom ‘n’ pop video store when they brought out their first copy. The man behind the counter, a jolly giant by the name of Henry, told me he had loved watching it. I ensured him that I felt the same way and rented the film. It was good revisiting it at home, and introducing the wife to Freddy Krueger. She really liked it, too.
Though my allegiance to Jason Voorhees was still cemented, I understood that Freddy was going to come on like gangbusters. If nothing else, reaction to the Dream Stalker was more promising than that for the Sultan of Slaughter. To be honest, A Nightmare On Elm Street is the more dominant film between the two (though I still list Friday The 13th as my favorite slasher). I’ve never truly considered the A Nightmare On Elm Street series to be slasher films, but that’s just me. Does it really matter? It’s a darned good film, either way. You’ll get no complaints from me.
And then the rumors of a sequel started. Fangoria began to push the new Freddy on us with numerous articles and photos, and I was elated. Did the sequel live up to the hype? I’ll be back with a report on A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge before too long. Until then, just remember that if you don’t wake up screaming, you won’t wake up at all...
Written by Trever Palmer
I remember seeing the early trailers and being put off by the original A Nightmare On Elm Street. The image of Freddy Krueger having long arms was ingrained into my thoughts. I just didn’t like it. But then I started reading early coverage in Fangoria and my thoughts changed. I figured the film might be good. So I started to anxiously wait for opening night.
Strangely enough, my Mother also wanted to see the movie. I’m not exactly sure why, but we made a date to go see the film together. She’s never been one for the theater (though she went quite a lot during the 1970s), and it surprised me. Still, I thought the idea of taking my Mother to a horror film would be good. She harbored an appreciation for the genre, so why not?
Finally, after weeks of trailers and perusing Fangoria, opening night arrived. It was snowy and very cold, but the two of us still ventured out. Thankfully, the weather was keeping the audiences at bay. There were a few people out, but the auditorium was relatively empty. Freddy had yet to make a big name for himself, so this wasn’t out of the normal. I enjoyed the small audience, though it would be the last time I ever saw A Nightmare On Elm Street (or any of its sequels) with only a few people in attendance.
Either way, the film finally started. I knew it had my Mother hooked from the beginning. During those opening scenes where we get to see Freddy building his glove, my Mother gasped when he opened up his hand and revealed the blades. She muttered: "Oh my God." I’ll never forget that, and wish I had experienced the same thing. Still, I knew she was in for a rollercoaster ride and sat back to enjoy the show.I was a fan of Freddy from the start. I really enjoyed the character and knew that Wes Craven had hit another one out of the park. The audience reacted very well with screams and nervous laughter during the film. And that scene where Freddy has long arms? I thought it was played very well. It’s still not one of my favorite visages of the Dream Stalker, but it was far away from being as ridiculous as I had imagined.
After the film, my Mother gushed over it. She really liked it. Of course, I did, too. It was a fun car ride home even though the streets were icy and very dangerous. I can recall sliding a bit on the pavement as I left the theater parking lot. Thankfully, there were barely any souls out on this night. I still couldn’t believe that my Mother had returned to the movies! Strange things do happen.
The following Monday, at work, I ran into a fellow employee named Stanley. It appeared that he had gone to see the film over the weekend, too. And he loved it! He was gushing to anyone who would listen to him about Craven’s movie, and it put a smile on my face. It’s always good to see someone turned on to a movie, and Stanley was doing it in spades. He told me that he had gone to see it with his sister and Mother, too. I don’t believe I ever found out if they enjoyed it, but I have a good idea that they did. The original is a classic and I’ve ran across very few people who don’t like it.
Before the film left the theater, I managed to get back to see it a few more times. My enjoyment of it arose with each viewing, and so did the audiences. Word of mouth had spread about Freddy, and I honestly hadn’t seen anything like it since the original Friday The 13th had debuted. I knew that Jason was going to be in for a run for his money, because there was no way that New Line wasn’t going to churn out a sequel.
Months later, A Nightmare On Elm Street appeared on VHS. I can remember being in the local mom ‘n’ pop video store when they brought out their first copy. The man behind the counter, a jolly giant by the name of Henry, told me he had loved watching it. I ensured him that I felt the same way and rented the film. It was good revisiting it at home, and introducing the wife to Freddy Krueger. She really liked it, too.
Though my allegiance to Jason Voorhees was still cemented, I understood that Freddy was going to come on like gangbusters. If nothing else, reaction to the Dream Stalker was more promising than that for the Sultan of Slaughter. To be honest, A Nightmare On Elm Street is the more dominant film between the two (though I still list Friday The 13th as my favorite slasher). I’ve never truly considered the A Nightmare On Elm Street series to be slasher films, but that’s just me. Does it really matter? It’s a darned good film, either way. You’ll get no complaints from me.
And then the rumors of a sequel started. Fangoria began to push the new Freddy on us with numerous articles and photos, and I was elated. Did the sequel live up to the hype? I’ll be back with a report on A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge before too long. Until then, just remember that if you don’t wake up screaming, you won’t wake up at all...
Written by Trever Palmer
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