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A Nightmare on Elm Street

Updated: 12/10/2025, 10:51:00 AM Wikipedia source

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and stars Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger, and Johnny Depp in his film debut. The film's plot concerns a group of teenagers who are targeted by Krueger, an undead child killer who murders teenagers through their dreams, as retribution against their parents who burned him alive. Craven filmed A Nightmare on Elm Street in Los Angeles on an estimated budget of $1.1 million. It was one of the first films produced by New Line Cinema, who by that point mostly distributed films, leading the company to become a successful mini-major film studio and earning it the nickname "The House that Freddy Built". The film is credited with carrying on many tropes found in low-budget horror films of the 1970s and 1980s, originating in John Carpenter's Halloween (1978), including the morality play that revolves around sexual promiscuity in teenagers resulting in their eventual death, leading to the term "slasher film". Critics and film historians state that the film's premise is the struggle to define the distinction between dreams and reality, manifested by the lives and dreams of the teens in the film. Later critics praise the film's ability to transgress "the boundaries between the imaginary and real", toying with audience perceptions. A Nightmare on Elm Street was released on November 9, 1984, and grossed $57.1 million worldwide. The film received critical acclaim upon its release, and has since been considered to be one of the greatest horror films ever made. In 2021, A Nightmare on Elm Street was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film spawned a franchise consisting of six sequels, a television series, a crossover with Friday the 13th, various other merchandise, and a remake of the same name. The film was followed by A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985).

Infobox

Directed by
Wes Craven
Written by
Wes Craven
Produced by
Robert Shaye
Starring
mw- John Saxon Ronee Blakley Heather Langenkamp Amanda Wyss Nick Corri Johnny Depp Robert Englund
Cinematography
Jacques Haitkin
Edited by
Patrick McMahon Rick Shaine
Music by
Charles Bernstein
Productioncompanies
New Line Cinema Media Home Entertainment Smart Egg Pictures
Distributed by
New Line Cinema
Release date
November 9, 1984 (1984-11-09)
Running time
91 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$1.1 million
Box office
$57.1 million

Tables

Professional ratings · Music
Source
Source
Review scores
Source
Review scores
Rating
AllMusic
AllMusic
Review scores
AllMusic
Review scores
Starburst Magazine
Starburst Magazine
Review scores
Starburst Magazine
Review scores
Review scores
Source
Rating
AllMusic
Starburst Magazine

References

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