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It’s hard to say which is more frightening — the idea of a murderer with no flesh (traditionally speaking) and fingerblades, or the idea that he only attacks in dreams.
Wes Craven again took a basic horror outline and reworked it into something incredibly original and panic-inducing by providing details that were so easy for the young mind to latch onto. A striped sweater, bubble baths, a certain sinister laugh … oh, and the idea that “nighty night” really refers to the big sleep instead of a night’s worth.
1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (OG, y’all) has a simple horror hook with an added bonus. It not only plays on the whole “if you die in your dreams, you die for real” myth but also common nightmare elements like the inability to escape in “normal time” or a classroom turning to hell. Sure, Freddy’s the killer, technically, but sleep — a normal human function — is the real enemy, the gateway bad guy.
I met Freddy Krueger for the first time when I was seven or eight years old. Too young to meet a child murderer, even on screen. Then again, what is the appropriate age for meeting murderers no matter their penchant? I’ll admit, I had Freddy nightmares on and off for years afterward, and I still don’t watch the Elm Street series for fun. And it certainly wasn’t the acting that scared me all the way back when.
Speaking of which, Elm Street did provide the first time I met Johnny Depp on the big screen, so there’s that.
The most memorable after the jump, provided you’re not heading to bed…
The Most Memorable Scenes:
Had to go with both of these. I didn’t take a bath for two years because of the first. As for the second? Well, I’m not entirely sure that teeny jersey doesn’t warrant at least a little bit of a bloodbath.
The Mixmaster’s Horror Movie Countdown
October 1: Halloween
October 2: Antichrist
October 3: Student Bodies
October 4: Poltergeist
October 5: Jaws
October 6: Suspiria
October 7: Scream
October 8: The Fly
October 9: Dead Alive
October 10: Drag Me to Hell
October 11: Se7en
October 12: Rosemary’s Baby
October 13: Friday the 13th
October 14: The Thing
October 15: Audition
October 16 and 17: The Exorcist and The Exorcist III
October 18: The Omen
October 19: Paranormal Activity
October 20: Changeling
October 21: Hellraiser
October 22: 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later
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