100 Greatest Horror Movies Of All Time

8. A Nightmare On Elm Street

Nightmare on Elm Street Robert Englund Freddy Krueger
New Line Cinema/Warner Bros

One, two, Freddy’s coming for you...

Born in the reign of 80s slasher villains, Freddy Krueger has long since been an icon of classic horror, whether for his infamous one-liners or the (quite literally) nightmarish methods of killing his victims. Whilst he might have fallen into trash territory thirty long years since his initial release, there was a time when Robert Englund’s burned dream demon was one of the scariest creatures on screen. And it all started with A Nightmare On Elm Street.

Blending together seamless reality with surrealist horror, this film follows four teenagers as they’re hunted down through their dreams by the sadistic Krueger, and dying whilst asleep befalls the same fate in the waking world too. One of Wes Craven’s finest works, he effortlessly walks the line between reality and fiction, before smashing the two together in fantastically gory fashion.

A Nightmare On Elm Street really is one of the best horror efforts of a generation - an original monster, an incredible premise, and terrifying effects coming together to create something that we’ve never really seen since, despite plenty of effort. Sleeping has never been so scary.

[AM]

Advertisement
In this post: 
Horror
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

WhatCulture's former COO, veteran writer and editor.

Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.

Contributor

Writer. Mumbler. Only person on the internet who liked Spider-Man 3

Content Producer/Presenter
Content Producer/Presenter

Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.

Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.

Contributor
Contributor

Horror film junkie, burrito connoisseur, and serial cat stroker. WhatCulture's least favourite ginger.