The friend, at whose place I'm staying the last couple of days, caught the flu. And, because of that, he and I ended up watching a couple of movies and series on his beamer. Or should I say on his bedroom wall? The projection literally filled his whole wall and I felt like being in the front row of a cinema but then without popcorn and without people distracting me from my viewing experience.
Today, I will write about one of the films that we watched yesterday night, namely the 80s horror classic 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'.
The younger readers amongst you might now its director, Wes Craven, from the Scream movies (1996 to 2011). Those of you who are 30 or older - or interested in movies from last century - might now other classics by Craven, like The Hills Have Eyes (1977) or The People under the Stairs (1991). All of the aforementioned titles are very entertaining horror movies but - in the end - A Nightmare on Elm Street tops them all.
Here's my personal story surrounding this film:
I am pretty sure that I watched A Nightmare on Elm Street before the first Scream movie came out, pre 1996. But, I can't remember how old I was exactly. This is the little memory that I have of it though:
I must have been 9 or 10, when a somewhat older girl at school talked about this scary movie called A Nightmare on Elm Street. A movie about a guy with knives instead of hands, killing kids. I didn't even know what 'elm' meant back then. I asked my parents about it, who told me that it was a tree. Back then, I wasn't into horror yet. Something that changed a year or two later.
Long story short, the title intrigued me and the fact that an older girl from my school had already seen it, impressed me. I never forgot about it. It sounded like a perfect campfire story to scare kids.
Back to yesterday
While watching this film yesterday, my friend slept through part of the movie, as he wasn't feeling well at all. I checked on him a couple of times, to see if he was alright and not being killed in his sleep, like the characters in the movie. My eyes felt very heavy too and I had to shut them a couple of times, but never longer than a handful of seconds in a row. Luckily, both of us survived and made it through the end of the movie.
I must say that, even over 30 years since its release, the quality of its special effects are top notch! It has aged extremely well and I'm sure people can still enjoy this movie 30 years in the future
Let me conclude, by saying that this is one of my very favorite slashers and probably one of my top 10 horror films. Although I don't really have a top 10. I believe there are around 10 Nightmare on Elm Street movies by now and - while I have probably seen at least 5 or 6 of them - this first one easily beats them all.
Here's a high quality trailer:
As always, feel free to share your (Nightmare on Elm Street) story with me. And, if you ever get to watch it again, make sure you don't fall asleep. No matter what, don't fall asleep!
Earlier movie recommendations:
House by the Cemetery (1981 The Beyond (1981) City of the Living Dead (1980)
Sorcerer (1977)
The Birds (1963)
Suspiria (1977)
Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)
Nightcrawler (2014)
Ghost Story (1953)
Alice in the Cities (1974)
Altered States (1980)
Wake in Fright (1973)
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