The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
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A Nightmare on Elm Street
Horror · 1984
Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter, Nancy Thompson, traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger, who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen, must devise a plan to lure the monster out of the realm of nightmares and into the real world...
Movie details
A Nightmare on Elm Street
“If Nancy doesn't wake up screaming, she won't wake up at all.”
1984 Horror 1h 31m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
7.4 / 10
290.4K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
94 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
76 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
7.3 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter, Nancy Thompson, traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger, who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen, must devise a plan to lure the monster out of the realm of nightmares and into the real world...
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over A Nightmare on Elm Street?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Ghostland
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Terrifier 3
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Malignant
Horror · 2021
Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities with a mysterious tie to her past.
Mirrors
Horror · 2008
An ex-cop and his family are the target of an evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home.
Barbarian
Horror · 2022
In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway.
The Children
Horror · 2008
A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents.
Ginger Snaps
Horror · 2000
The story of two outcast sisters, Ginger and Brigitte, in the mindless suburban town of Bailey Downs. On the night of Ginger's first period, she is savagely attacked by a wild creature. Ginger's wounds miraculously heal but something is not quite right. Now Brigitte must save her sister and save herself.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Horror · 2003
After picking up a traumatized young hitchhiker, five friends find themselves stalked and hunted by a chainsaw-wielding killer and his family of equally psychopathic killers.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Horror · 1987
A psychiatrist, familiar with the knife-wielding dream demon Freddy Krueger, helps teens at a mental hospital battle the killer who is invading their dreams.
Saw
Horror · 2004
Two men wake up to find themselves shackled in a grimy, abandoned bathroom. As they struggle to comprehend their predicament, they discover a disturbing tape left behind by the sadistic mastermind known as Jigsaw. With a chilling voice and cryptic instructions, Jigsaw informs them that they must partake in a gruesome game in order to secure their freedom.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Wes Craven
Written by
Wes Craven
Heather Langenkamp
Nancy Thompson
Johnny Depp
Glen Lantz
Robert Englund
Fred Krueger
Amanda Wyss
Tina Gray
Jsu Garcia
Rod Lane
John Saxon
Lt. Donald Thompson
Ronee Blakley
Marge Thompson
Court is in session
Put A Nightmare on Elm Street on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.