Freddy Krueger is the Messiah.
Oh, my Lord, how I love this film. A Nightmare on Elm Street has got to be my favorite movie of all time. Maybe that marks me as an idiot; I don't care. It doesn't get better than Freddy.
My reasons for loving Elm Street are threefold: its general attitude of 80's horror, pop culture's introduction to Freddy Krueger, and and the awesome magnificence that is Johnny Depp. We shall tackle said reasons one by one.
My friends, society reached its peak when the 1980's slasher flick was born. The 80's version of the genre had a certain je ne sais quois, namely, godawful early computerized special effects. This was the pinnacle of technology. Elm Street was not alone in its realization that bad effects were box-office gold; pick up a copy of the original Children of the Corn to see the most terrifying little colored dots that the world has ever known. The eighties were a scary time, no pun intended, but they were also very, very wonderful.
Second on our list is Mr. Freddy Krueger. This was his first appearance, obviously, and at this point in his career he was still playing for screams, not laughs. Freddy didn't have much of a character in the original film; his sense of humor, bizarre killing style, and trademark quips would not come until much later (for the most part). Robert Englund is one of the single coolest people alive, and a pop culture icon to boot. How much do I love Freddy? For this year's Celebrity Dress-up Day at our school's homecoming, I found a black leather glove, a big ripped-up hat, and a red and green sweater. Even in rural South Dakota, people instantly recognized who I was supposed to be. Krueger is God.
Lastly, but oh, Lord, not least, we have Johnny Depp. Johnny fucking Depp. This was before any idiot with a crush on Keira Knightley knew who Johnny was. This is vintage Depp, a 21-year-old nobody in his first movie role. Pre-21 Jump Street, pre-Crybaby Johnny. He's even got "Introducing" in front of his name in the opening credits. This is my personal mecca. From his Bizarro World haircut to the fact that he shows more midriff than Pavarotti in a tube top, Johnny was the definitive stupid-yet-somehow-cool actor. Even now, when people ask me inane things like "Who's your favorite celebrity crush?" and "If you had a time machine, which celebrity would you meet and when?", I always answer "Johnny Depp circa A Nightmare on Elm Street." (And unfortunately, I've actually been asked both those questions fairly recently. I'm a teenage girl, and it's yearbook season. God, I hate high school.) Enough, though, with the unabashed idol-worship. Johnny Depp kicks ass. You already know that. And nobody, nobody does a death scene like him. If you've never seen this film, you must, if only for the pleasure of watching the greatest onscreen murder of EVER.
About the actual link itself, it's basically just a nice article from the venerable X-Entertainment. It's a review/plot summary (with pictures!) written by somebody who clearly knows how to treat the perfection that is A Nightmare on Elm Street. The author gets kind of lazy by the end, skipping over a good number of the key plot points in the second half of the movie, but it's a great story nonetheless.
Oh, my Lord, how I love this film. A Nightmare on Elm Street has got to be my favorite movie of all time. Maybe that marks me as an idiot; I don't care. It doesn't get better than Freddy.
My reasons for loving Elm Street are threefold: its general attitude of 80's horror, pop culture's introduction to Freddy Krueger, and and the awesome magnificence that is Johnny Depp. We shall tackle said reasons one by one.
My friends, society reached its peak when the 1980's slasher flick was born. The 80's version of the genre had a certain je ne sais quois, namely, godawful early computerized special effects. This was the pinnacle of technology. Elm Street was not alone in its realization that bad effects were box-office gold; pick up a copy of the original Children of the Corn to see the most terrifying little colored dots that the world has ever known. The eighties were a scary time, no pun intended, but they were also very, very wonderful.
Second on our list is Mr. Freddy Krueger. This was his first appearance, obviously, and at this point in his career he was still playing for screams, not laughs. Freddy didn't have much of a character in the original film; his sense of humor, bizarre killing style, and trademark quips would not come until much later (for the most part). Robert Englund is one of the single coolest people alive, and a pop culture icon to boot. How much do I love Freddy? For this year's Celebrity Dress-up Day at our school's homecoming, I found a black leather glove, a big ripped-up hat, and a red and green sweater. Even in rural South Dakota, people instantly recognized who I was supposed to be. Krueger is God.
Lastly, but oh, Lord, not least, we have Johnny Depp. Johnny fucking Depp. This was before any idiot with a crush on Keira Knightley knew who Johnny was. This is vintage Depp, a 21-year-old nobody in his first movie role. Pre-21 Jump Street, pre-Crybaby Johnny. He's even got "Introducing" in front of his name in the opening credits. This is my personal mecca. From his Bizarro World haircut to the fact that he shows more midriff than Pavarotti in a tube top, Johnny was the definitive stupid-yet-somehow-cool actor. Even now, when people ask me inane things like "Who's your favorite celebrity crush?" and "If you had a time machine, which celebrity would you meet and when?", I always answer "Johnny Depp circa A Nightmare on Elm Street." (And unfortunately, I've actually been asked both those questions fairly recently. I'm a teenage girl, and it's yearbook season. God, I hate high school.) Enough, though, with the unabashed idol-worship. Johnny Depp kicks ass. You already know that. And nobody, nobody does a death scene like him. If you've never seen this film, you must, if only for the pleasure of watching the greatest onscreen murder of EVER.
About the actual link itself, it's basically just a nice article from the venerable X-Entertainment. It's a review/plot summary (with pictures!) written by somebody who clearly knows how to treat the perfection that is A Nightmare on Elm Street. The author gets kind of lazy by the end, skipping over a good number of the key plot points in the second half of the movie, but it's a great story nonetheless.
posted by Allison at
8:57 PM
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