10 Classic Halloween Movies To Watch This October 2021
3. A Nightmare On Elm Street
Because of the inferior sequels and appalling reboot, it's easy to forget how clever A Nightmare On Elm Street is. The premise is genius: a teenager called Nancy discovers that a demon called Freddy Kruger is entering people's dreams and killing them in their sleep.
This fedora-wearing maniac is different from other classic killers like Leatherface or Jason Voorhees because you can't run away from him. Nancy knows that Freddy can slaughter her if she nods off, even for a few seconds. Since she has to sleep at some point, Nancy realises that there is NOTHING she can do to escape her tormentor.
It goes without saying that Robert Englund steals the show with his wicked and charismatic performance as the wise-cracking murderer. However, his incredible take on the character shouldn't take away from the rest of the movie. Cinematographer, Jacques Haitkin, uses methodical, tight camera shots to highlight Nancy's horror, played brilliantly by Heather Langenkamp. The creativity of the kills were lightyears ahead of other slashers at the time, and the film is great at using misdirection so Nancy (as well as the viewers) can't tell when the main character is in a dream or not.