It only took me over a year, but I'm finally cracking down and reviewing everything Nightmare on Elm Street.
Film opens with a man( who we now know as Freddy Krueger) crafting brass tubing and steak knives together to make a razored glove.
Cut to a girl named Tina being chased through a boiler room. We only get glimpses of Freddy or views of him in the shadows, building up the suspense for his reveal.
Freddy, still with his face concealed, pops up behind Tina, scaring her awake. This was ground breaking in the horror genre; a killer that can only get to you while you sleep.
The next day, we meet Tina's friends: Nancy Thompson, played by Heather Langenkamp, Rod Lane, played by Nick Corri, and Glen Lantz, Johnny Depp in one of his earliest roles.
Rod, by the way, woke up with a hard-on that morning and it had Tina's name written all over it.
All four spend the night at Tina's because her mom is away. Tina and Rod end up having sex, sealing their faiths, as horror movie history has shown.
Freddy presses against the wall above a sleeping Nancy. In reality, it was a man pressing against a huge sheet of spandex.
Tina goes outside and gets chased by Freddy, finally getting a clear view of his face.
She manages to get back to the house and meets her end in a death scene that still holds up today as one of the best.
Nancy's divorced parents are introduced at the police station in the next scene. Her father is a police lieutenant played by John Saxon, who also played a lieutenant ten years prior in Black Christmas.
Nancy's mother is played by Ronee Blakley, her occupation is never revealed, but I'm guessing she doesn't work as the movie shows her descending into alcoholism.
Lt. Thompson uses Nancy as bait, arresting Rod when he stops Nancy on her way to school the next day.
Nancy's English teacher is played by Lin Shaye, sister of producer Robert Shaye. She's become a character actor since, mainly in comedies and horror films, most recently, the Insidious series.
Nancy doses off, "waking" to a body bagged Tina calling out her name. A trip to the boiler room later and Nancy wakes herself up by burning her arm on a pipe.
Later that day, she visits Rod and puts together that they've all been having nightmares about Freddy.
Back at home, Nancy falls asleep in the tub and gets dragged down into the water. She breaks free right before her mother breaks in.
That same night, Freddy kills Rod by making it look like he hung himself.
Some time after Rod's funeral, Nancy goes to a sleep disorder clinic with her mother. The doctor played by the voice of Roger Rabbit, Charles Fleischer.
After being attacked again the dream world, Nancy wakes with a streak of white in her hair and she also pulled Freddy's hat through with her.
Nancy's mother bars all the windows of the house and begins heavily drinking. She finally tells Nancy why Freddy is after her.
Freddy Krueger was a child murderer, he was caught but released on a technicality, so Nancy's parents and others got together and burned Freddy alive. The only logical thing to do.
That night, Nancy devises a plan to bring Freddy into the real world, but she needs Glen's help, but he fails, falling asleep and dying in an eruption of blood.
Realizing that she's alone in this, Nancy booby traps the house, sets an alarm on her watch, and goes to sleep to face Freddy.
An ultra-violent Three Stooges act ensues when Nancy pulls Freddy through to the real world. She smashes a vase on his head, rigs a sledgehammer to hit him in the gut, and sets him on fire.
While Nancy's dad breaks into the house, Freddy gets revenge on Nancy's mom.
Freddy tries to attack Nancy again, but he is powerless now, as Nancy no longer fears him.
She walks out of the house and her mother is right behind her, she gets in a car with her previously dead friends. The top of the convertible is Freddy-colored and the car drives off on it's own.
Freddy's arm snatches momma Thompson through the front door window and cue the credits.
Freddy Krueger will be back in Nightmare 2: Freddy's Revenge!
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