Halloween Diary - A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) (5/5)

 

The image above is so burned in my mind always from "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984), as when I was a kid, this Freddy Krueger chased me down alleys in some darkened urban hell during a nightmare. But Tina in the body bag was the very scene, among so many, that imprinted itself as the definitive image from the film I retained all throughout the late 80s, early 90s. Over the last three years, I have watched "A Nightmare on Elm Street" so many times. Prior to about 2019, I hadn't watched the film at all in seven years. I have more than made up for that. I think Monday night's viewing is the fourth this year alone. It has become one of my go-to films for any time of the year, but especially in the summer. I love watching the Nightmare movies now in the summer. I really wasn't watching the Nightmare films in October prior to last year when my daughter wanted to go through them with me. My daughter was very interested in my nightmare from childhood, and so I shared with her how Freddy, with long, extending arms and gloved razor-blade fingers hand, was pursuing me, with me barely able to keep just enough pace and distance from him in order to survive. I'd wake up, take a deep breath, and stare at the ceiling. That wouldn't be the case with most of the other Freddy Krueger appearances in future films after the 1984 film.

My daughter asked me about the ending. For years, this was the irritant that would always bother me. It was shifty enough so that Fred could return for New Line Cinema, but with Nancy telling her nightmare boogeyman she no longer believed in him, nor would she give him the energy he needs to destroy her, she doesn't necessarily leave the very nightmare. A sunny morning for school, with her friends once again seemingly alive and well, only for Freddy to re-emerge, making sure we understand that the dreamworld and reality are no longer so easy to discern; Nancy didn't just leave the darkness of her house into the light of a brand new world. This is the ending I prefer to accept. Maybe it is the easiest to swallow. I just don't think this is the ending Wes wanted. It was sort of a "here you go, Shaye, it's the best I can do" from Wes. That's how I see it, anyways. 

I particularly enjoyed the little snarky remarks from Nancy to her alcoholic, miserable mom. The bad marriage between Nancy's parents is definitely a sticking point for the film. These two are just at a crossroads. Nancy, though, is a little spitfire. She's often treated as this sweet, tiny little innocent, but I think she has a mouth on her. "Screw your pass". When Nancy leans into her mom's constant drunk, I crack up. Oh, and I just noticed the "dogs playing poker" on the wall in the basement for the first time. All these years, and I'm just now seeing that. Shame on me! If anyone is going to outlast Freddy, it is the resilient Nancy. She's been an icon all these years for a reason.

5 - Love

4 - Really Like

3 - Like

2 - Meh 

1 - Nah