My Favorite Horror Movie: Wes Craven’s 1984 Classic ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’

My favorite horror movie is Wes Craven’s 1984 classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. Why is A Nightmare on Elm Street my favorite horror film? Does it have to do with the fact that it’s a Wes Craven film or because it was one of the first horror films I ever saw? The answer is: all of the above.

First Time

A Nightmare on Elm Street was the first horror film I ever saw and I remember sitting in my older sister’s room with my cousin and my sister, getting ready to watch it. My sister had mentioned that Johnny Depp was in it when he was younger I didn’t believe her. Needless to say, I was wrong about that part… but I loved the film. I loved everything about it, to the make up effects on Robert Englund to the blood that comes shooting up out of Glen’s bed.  Of course, the infamous hand coming up in the bath between Nancy’s legs. After that I was hooked.

Simplistic

I began to watch more horror films. The ones from the ’80s will always be my favorite for the simple fact that they didn’t rely on computers for the special effects; they did things by hand, for the most part. Nightmare on Elm Street didn’t have a huge budget and Craven worked with what he had. He had great shots like the opening in the boiler room. The shot when Freddy is running up the stairs on fire is a great one as well. Another one of my favorite shots is when Nancy and Glen are on the bridge talking. It’s just a simple long shot but it looks so beautiful and really gives that feeling that Nancy is alone on this journey.

Final Thoughts

I feel like A Nightmare on Elm Street Street will always be on at least my top 10 because it was one of the first horror films I ever saw and that’s special. It’s like your first kiss; everyone remembers who their first kiss was and everyone remembers their first horror film.