10 Greatest 'I'm Dead And I Know It' Moments In Slasher Horror Movies

9. Tina Gray - A Nightmare On Elm Street

The Prowler Sherry
New Line Cinema

One of the things that Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street does so brilliantly, is how it establishes the concept of the movie (and subsequent franchise) in just a matter of minutes.

As the film opens, the audience is instantly in the dream of Amanda Wyss' Tina Gray. There, we get our first look at the series' infamous boiler room setting, our first tease of Freddy Krueger, and see a panicked would-be victim - Tina - awaken to find four slashes on her nightgown; indicating how the actions of her dream had somehow pierced through to the real world.

It's when Tina awakens from her nightmare that she realises that something awful is soon to happen - as reflected by how she immediately reaches for a cross upon waking in a cold sweat.

From here, Tina would detail her experience to her friends - including the series' main protagonist Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) - which in itself was enough to give Freddy the strength to then torment these friends in their respective dreams.

As for Tina, she would be killed off shortly after regaling her pals with this tale; becoming the first on-screen victim of Freddy.

 
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