Essay About Horror History And Horror Genre

A Nightmare on Elm Street
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A Nightmare on Elm Street
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“The original A Nightmare on Elm Street was
inspired by an extraordinary series of
unnoticed stories in the Los Angeles Times. A
young immigrant male, early 20s, usually
from Southeast Asia, a son, would have a
severe nightmare where he would wake up
screaming. The next day, he would tell his
family it was the worst nightmare hed ever
had, and he had been terribly shaken by it.
The next night when he went to sleep–he
died. Six months later I looked in the paper
and there was a very similar story. I clipped it
out and put it with the other one. Then the third
appeared about a year and a half from the first
one, this time in Northern California. And the
elements were the basis for the film. The rest
is horror history.”–Wes Craven, Director of A
Nightmare on Elm Street.
At a time when the stalker movie had run its
course to all ends and the image of mute,
staggering, vicious killers had been etched
into societys consciousness to the point of
exhaustion, a new kid entered the block. The
year was 1984 and it was time for a new villain
to enter into the horror genre. It was a villain
that was agile, intelligent, almost invincible,
yet viscous, and by all means deadly. A
Nightmare on Elm Street introduced the
distinctive presence of Fred Krueger to the
horror industry and to the audience. Freddy
Krueger took the center stage and with him a
new era of horror films began. This horribly
scarred man who wore a ragged slouch hat,
dirty red-and-green striped sweater, and a
glove outfitted with knives at the fingers
reinvented the stalker genre like no other film
had. Fred Krueger breathed new life into the
dying horror genre of the early 1980s. This
paper will enter the realm of the ideas in the
movie, such as the psychological horror it held
for the viewer, as well as the use of reality
within the film. Not knowing what was real and
what was a dream made for A Nightmare on
Elm Street to be a successful horror movie.
Horror films are designed to frighten the
audience and engage them in their worst
fears, while captivating and entertaining at the
same time. Horror films often center on the
darker side of life, on what is forbidden and
strange. These films play with societys fears,
its nightmares and vulnerability, the terror of
the unknown, the fear of death, the loss of
identity, and the fear of sexuality. Horror films
are generally set in spooky old mansions, fog-
ridden areas, or dark locales with unknown
human, supernatural or grotesque creatures
lurking about. These creatures can range from
vampires, madmen, devils, unfriendly ghosts,
monsters, mad scientists, demons, zombies,
evil spirits, satanic villains, the possessed,
werewolves and freaks to the unseen and
even the mere presence of evil.
Within the genre of horror films falls the sub-
genre of teen slasher/stalker films. These
teen slasher/stalker films take the horror
genre film characteristics into account,
however they add more to the formula. More
violence, sadism, brutality, and graphic blood
and gore are used to increase the terror factor.
Sexuality and gratuitous nudity are also key
characteristic of many of these films, including
this one. Imitations and numerous sequels
are also a common characteristic of teen
slasher/stalker films as well, as Craven came
back with six sequels.
A Nightmare on Elm Street and all the
following six sequels fall into its own sub-
genre of the teen slasher/stalker ideas and it
is known as the Nightmare on Elm Street
Series. This series of films adds a new
dimension to the typical teen slasher/stalker
film, depth of character and story. The
characters