I worked as a usher/projectionist when this came out and I saw it the night before it opened in a empty theater after hours……to this day it was the scariest theatrical experience of my life. R.I.P. Wes Craven
@@quinnzykir no, I started the movie because all 5 reels were spliced together into one big reel back then and I watched it in the theater by myself with the lights out
I'm so pleased you enjoyed Nancy. She doesn't get the love other, newer final girls get, but she's top tier. She can barely tell her dreams from reality, her friends were picked off one by one, she was being gaslighted by her parents, and she wasn't safe awake or asleep, but she rallied, used her brains, and gave that demon a reckoning. A million kudos to her.
In my experience people generally recognize him from other genre classics Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee and the early/proto slasher Black Christmas. Of course he had a much larger and deeper and career, and those are probably just the circles I travel in. (I’m also not trying to tell you something you don’t already know, I’m just piggybacking off your comment)
Wes Craven said he cast John Saxon , as he needed a known actor in the cast . As almost all the others were unknown at the time . Except for Ronee Blakley who played the mom .
There's even this obscure horror-themed comedy he appeared in, "My Mom's a Werewolf" with Susan Blakely (Lords of Flatbush, Over the Top) / John Schuck (Star Trek 4&6, Dick Tracy) / Katrina Caspary (Mac and Me) / the late, pre-Simpsons Marcia Wallace. #RIPJohnSaxon
Our local arthouse theater (Circle Cinema in Tulsa) had a special midnight screening of this on the 30th anniversary, which just happened to coincide with Robert Englund being in town for a convention, and the actress that plays Nancy, Heather Langenkamp, is from the area and came in to do a Q&A after the screening together. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had in a theater.
After seeing your reaction, there's no doubt in my mind that you would definitely like the 3rd movie, the one where Wes Craven came back (as a screenwriter only) after they kind of messed up the 2nd. But as a filmmaker, you need to see "Wes Craven's New Nightmare", where he came back again to the franchise and put a new twist on it.
@@The-Xclusiveeeee I fking love 4 LOL I adore the MTV vibe/atmosphere, dope visuals, practical effects and it got a lot of my favorite dream sequences/kills.
somebody already pointed out that Evil Dead wasn't made by Wes Craven but I'd like to mention: at one point in this movie Nancy watches The Evil Dead to help stay awake, and actual director Sam Raimi was so flattered by the shoutout that he returned the favor in Evil Dead II, where at one point you can see Freddy's glove hanging over a door.
FYI: Wes Craven came upon an article about the death of a Southeast Asian young man who died in his sleep. The healthy man would not sleep for fear of dying and secretly kept a coffee pot in his room despite his family’s concern. His parents eventually found him die from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS used to be known as SUDS/SUNDS). The syndrome is rare in most areas worldwide but occurs in populations that are culturally and genetically distinct. It was first noted in 1977 among southeast Asian Hmong refugees in the United States and Canada. The young man’s death sparked an idea that bloomed into the Nightmare on Elm Street series and gave us the iconic Freddy Krueger.
This was the first thing that popped into my head right around 5:50 . A lot of 80's slashers had a predominately white cast yet the story here was inspired by members of the Asian community.
The white suburb is used in slasher films because slasher films of the 80's are essentially Gothic horror stories. It starts in a sheltered, seemingly innocent setting. Then something evil invades it, typically something related to a dark deed done in the setting's past. Very archetypal and very psychologically effective. It's not really a race thing, though. The suburbs just tended to be very white between the 50s and the 90s. Cities tended to be more diverse, but no one really thinks of cities as sheltered in the way you need for a Gothic style story. If you did a Gothic story set in the present, it would be more like the Are You Afraid of the Dark remake from 2019. Fairly diverse, but still the sheltered setting of a small town/suburb.
Sam Raimi was the director on the Evil Dead films, not Wes Craven. That said, I can definitely see the connection with how they handle their sets. RIP Wes Craven.
It makes a kind of sense that on the surface 80s suburbia was/is seen as the pinnacle of living safely. A perfect backdrop for horror writers to break it down.
Watching you get got by basically every jump scare in the movie was a special treat. There's something about the timing of them in Nightmare that's just impeccable. Agree in Nancy. She's the best final girl.
I think we forget how unique this idea was. A character who kills you in your sleep. The possibilities and set-pieces are endless for that as well since they're all dream sequences. Genius!
This franchise is near and dear to my heart. I was taken advantage of as a child and, so, to find a movie of kids taking out a character like this really helped me cope with what had happened to me. I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching Freddy get his ass kicked.
Nancy is such an underrated final girl, all people talk about are Laurie & Sidney but Nancy is right up there with them. She’s resilient, she always FOUGHT and she always stood her ground.
The bed sequence is still one of the coolest bits of practical vfx. It just works so well and taps into something primally terrifying. And then to film the set or a model more likely upside down and just bucket blood out of the bed like that was genius. It's so over the top and gratuitous.
One of the "Nightmare" sequels you may find particularly interesting is "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" (1994). This film takes place in the "real world" and Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, and Wes Craven all play fictionalized versions of themselves as they are stalked by Freddy while Craven is writing a script for a new "Nightmare" film and trying to talk Langenkamp into starring in it, reprising her role as Nancy from the first film.
New Nightmare is the 7th film within the franchise - and it best viewed after the other 6 films (due to the many references from all of the other films and the many cameos of various actors within the franchise in New Nightmare as well) in my opinion. It was meta before the Scream franchise was...
I remember New Nightmare getting totally slated when it came out by reviewers. I suspect they just did not get what the film was doing. I loved it and was the only the 2nd Nightmare I saw at the cinema.
Man I'm glad I got to relive this Horror with you! Yeah, this was Johnny Depp's first film role! Depp's first 4 movies are absolute BANGERS if you haven't seen them. We're talking Private Resort, Platoon, and Cry Baby! Also, Vecna in Stranger Things was actually played by the actor who played #1/Henry (albeit in heavy prosthetics), however, Robert Englund is in Stranger Things 4 as Victor Creel, the blinded man in the asylum. Always love these reactions man! You always bring a smile to my face!
With this film Wes Craven really changed the horror industry in a lot of really interesting ways. It was a big deal. The third one, Dream Warriors, is my favorite out of all of them because it gives you some history, and it's before Freddy got a little more cheesy. That one and A New Nightmare (which is I think like number seven or eight) is really great. That one, because it deconstructs the entire myth that was has built over the years. Robert Englund was the person who tells us the story of Vecna in Stranger Things (in a way, trying not to do a spoiler here and still correct the misconception.), so that is the connection there. It's interesting to see Robert Englund play a victim rather than the bad guy, it really messes with your expectations if you grew up watching him in these. The song Nancy's singing "one, two, Freddy's coming for you..." is not only terrifying, but becomes kind of signature of the whole series. It's kind of hard to overstate the impact Wes Craven had on the horror industry, as I said before. His first film, The People Under the Stairs is terrifying and completely different way... and talking about an entirely different setting, you had mentioned the white suburbs here, People Under the Stairs is set in the 80s ghetto, so it's an entirely other vibe. It makes some interesting social commentary under the surface, back in the period when a lot of horror was the only place we saw social commentary like that, like Night of the aliving Dead and other early horror films. He's one of the few filmmakers way back then who was actually showing things like predatory rents, and making it so the white people are the bad guys and not so the Black characters, which was pretty revolutionary back then when Black characters were often caricatures of real people. The Black people were the heroes in it, or at least one of them was, which is kind of cool. He was ahead of his time. RIP Wes Craven,and thank you.
James to get the full experience, you need to just watch 3 and then wes craven’s new nightmare. Honorable mention to part 4 which is one of the most popular of the series and has great practical effects.
"Glenn got turned into spaghetti sauce." 🤣🤣🤣 The blood fountain is a fantastic vfx sequence. Upside down or gimble mounted sets are always great for an effects shot.
My favorite horror ever. I could've sworn you covered it already but I'm glad you enjoyed it. Nancy is my second favorite final girl of all-time (only behind Sidney from Scream).
I'd love to see your reaction to _Wes Craven's New Nightmare._ I think it's right up your alley, more than the intervening sequels. Without saying too much, it's very meta.
Nancy and Laurie (Halloween OG) are the epitome of old school scary movie bad asses. I enjoy watching your reactions, especially on the artistic aspects of shooting movies.
Film artists such as Wes Craven and John Carpenter are great! You noticed a lot of great things like the lighting, angles, and the cinematic that made these films look and feel so real! It would've been awesome to see these guys and some actors from their films collaborate on a horror series together.
A couple random facts, Heather Langenkamp went on to start working in makeup effects in 2004, she's worked on the Dawn of the Dead remake and Cabin in the Woods. Also, Nancy's teacher is Lin Shaye, she was the medium in the Insidious movies but my favorite role of hers is the super tanned lady in There's Something About Mary!
It's a fun little wink-wink when you remember Wes Craven's Scream, where the boyfriend comes through the bedroom window, and also looks a lot like Johnny Depp. I was always a Friday the 13th or Halloween guy, but still have to respect this as one of the scariest and most original horror films we have ever gotten!
Idk what it was but out of all those horror icons Freddy was my fave. he was the only one that actually scared me while giving me normal fear of basements and boiler rooms as a kid, but made me laugh too : P his glove was also wicked rad cmon : D
Man, Freddy Krueger is my all time favorite horror icon. So glad you’re reacting to this. He has so much personality and his gimmick is actually creative and effective, with style at that.
Same, I've first seen A Nightmare On Elm Street back in 2003 I was 8 years old back then now I'm 27 he is my favourite Horror Icon 2nd favourite Horror Icon would be Jason Voorhees from Friday The 13th
Nancy is frikkin' awesome, takes no shit from anyone including Freddy. And "who is he" is John Saxon, great character actor who's been in everything from Enter the Dragon to Criminal minds.
Wes went full Craven with this one. Lol. It's a classic. For a good part of the 80s/90s, hearing a creepy trailer announcer even say his name gave me chills.
Man I am SO here for you doing horror reactions. Been watching your stuff for over a year at this point and I'm an absolute horror fanatic, this is gonna be so sick!
This movie has some of the best behind the scenes of all time, so fun to see how they did everything, on a shoestring budget too. Wes really was a master, you should check it out (never sleep again is an amazing documentary about the whole franchise once you watch them all too)
ANOES is my favourite horror movie. I watching it when I was 11 years old. And now am hooked on horror. Thank you so much for this reaction. I needed it
Not if you've heard of this show but it's on Netflix called the Movies that Made Us. It goes behind the scenes of many popular 80s and 90s movies. In depth behind scenes talks with people who worked on the films from all departments. There is an episode on Nightmare on Elm Street. It's a great episode especially when they talk about all the real world effects they were able to pull off.
I had a blast watching all the sets in this one...which moment was your favorite? Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema RE-Watching THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) Friday/Saturday! Enjoy the day!
The latex wall set. This movie was made around the time that latex became available to the general public and it was a really innovative special effect at very low cost.
Johnny Depp bed blender ( room set on a gimble) You should def watch part 3 (only one that compares to part 1 IMO). Fantastic movie and practical effects
I remember watching this movie at my friends house when I was a kid back in the 80's. I was so scared and had to walk home in the dark. I ran home as fast as I could.
The father has a great screen presence. He's a veteran actor, John Saxon. He also knows martial arts and was in some Bruce Lee movies. You probably know him from Enter the Dragon as Roper
The rotating room they used for Tina's death where stuff that' son the ground is actually nailed and is on the ceiling, and vice versa is the same room they use for Glen's death. The blood is pouring down from the ceiling and spreading across the floor, but they digitally reversed it to get that iconic splash shot. The tub scene, she's over a tank but when she's brought below, they were in a pool with tarp over it so you can't tell how deep they are. and the wall stretching over Nancy that whole wall panel was replaced with spandex.
The People Under the Stairs by Wes Craven is a criminally underrated movie and perfect for October i hope you can check that one out too, it's a lot of fun!!
The teacher is talking about Hamlet before Nancy goes to sleep. After she is asleep, a student continues reading a passage from Hamlet about dreams. The whole quote is: "O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space - were it not that I have bad dreams."
Wes Craven read a news article about a kid that died in their sleep without any noticeable cause of death. When he was a kid he looked out his window and saw a man standing outside his house. He hid, then looked again and the man was staring at him. He also read that orange and red cause the human eye the most discomfort.
Found these movies VERY scary in my teens .... Nightmare on Elmstreet , Friday the 13TH & Halloween , Evil Dead 1 & 2 .... And the Classic "Brain Dead" :P
This is a classic James soooo glad you are reviewing it! Wes said in an interview once he got the inspiration from Freddy from seeing a homeless man outside of his apartment window. He was just staring at him, and his brother and it freaked him out. He chose the colors red and green for his sweater because that is supposedly the hardest colors for the human eye to conceptualize. It's really interesting. He's definitely a director's director.
Although the sequals went very slapstick tongue-in -cheek, this remains one of the most unsettling horrors I've seen, dated in effects sure but its imagery, atmosphere and concept are truly terrifying. And that opening segment where he makes the glove will never not be unsettling.
IDK if this was mentioned already, but a couple other notable actors that show up in this film are the sleep doctor played by Charles Fleischer (most famous role is probably the voice of Roger Rabbit) and the english teacher played by Lin Shaye (been in a ton of movies, shows, etc, and most notable in recent years as Elise Rainier, the psychic in the Insidious franchise).
Lin Shaye is also the sister of Robert - the head of New Line Cinema; who also appeared in Critters, Detroit Rock City, and was in a handful of Farrelly Bros. comedies - including Dumb & Dumber.
Was never a fan of horror movies growing up but as I get older I find a little comedy in them just to get me through them. Love the reactions as always !
Tina and Glenns deaths were filmed on the same set just decorated differently, and yes it was filmed on a rotating set. Originally Glenn's death ended with the bed regurgitating him but they made them cut it from the scene.
The effects in this movie are so unique and awesome. The girl who played Nancy is from my home state Oklahoma. We don’t have a lot of famous people from here besides country singers. This was Johnny Depps first film. He came to LA I believe it was to be a musician and he had a band. He became friends with young Nick Cage and he is the one who got him the audition. He hadn’t been interested in acting at the time just wanted a paycheck. Then he got the role on tv show 21 jump street and went from there.
I never saw this movie when I was really young, but just the concept of Freddy, his abilities, and his face appearing all over the place back in the 80's were enough to freak me out. At one point when I was about 7-8 years old I got hit in the head with a rock and needed to go to the emergency room to get stitches. I ended up falling asleep in the waiting room and I had a crazy dream about Freddy chasing me. He eventually caught me and as he started digging into my brain with his claws I woke up on a table and a Doctor was stitching up my head! It was incredibly freaky and it took me a while to calm down. I honestly thought Freddy actually got me. Lol
My sister and I used to watch horror movies together every weekend when we were kids. (In hindsight, our parents probably shouldn't have let us watch that stuff so young, but oh well, lmao.) Freddy was always one of our favorite villains. I think partly because we were already fans of Robert Englund from his role as Willie in the miniseries V (1983). Willie could not be more different from Freddy lmao. And you're right, Nancy is a certified BAMF.
When I was 6 or 7 years old, I was having a sleepover at my 5 year old friend Sean's house when his single mom came home with a VHS Movie for us to watch called A Nightmare On Elm Street. We put down the Star Wars toys and began watching the movie, by 5 mins in I was in love with Sean's Mom for letting us watch horror movies!
made dinner tonight to prepare for this episode. chicken alfredo! this is one of the best movies ever and i cant wait to see your reaction. i might actually join patreon if you decide to do the whole series
To me the use of the suburbs was Craven taking what people at the time felt was the perfect safe neighborhood thought safe from outside dangers and then putting a danger within. Also it was a way to turn that whole idea on its ear by as the movie going along realizing that perfect life and perfect family wasn’t so perfect. Mommy and daddy killed a serial killer, mommy and daddy as a result are separated, mommy is an alcoholic. Freddy Krueger is the deep dark secret that the adults refuse to talk about, the shameful stain on their perfect lives.
That rotating room, when the blood is pouring out, at the end of the scene you can see the blood falling sideways. It's because the room tipped unexpectedly, but they liked the effect so much they kept the shot. I think a camera man or tech almost lost a limb when it happened. There's a cool documentary where they talk about it, but I don't remember what it's called.
Wes Craven based this movie on several articles he read in newspapers over a several year period. The articles were about men who were afraid to sleep because they were afraid they would die in their sleep. Some of them actually died after receiving treatment for insomina. As for Freddy himself he's consisted of two sources. His looks were based off of a neighborhood bum that used to walk the streets when Wes Craven was little. The man wore a dirty red and green sweater, a brown fedora and a coat. The name "Freddy Krueger" apparently was the name of the school bully that used to torment Wes Craven.
my favorite part of the movie as a kid was the hall monitor wearingFreddy'ssweater "Hey Nancy **shows glove and sinister smile** no running in the hallway"
he thing I love about We's Craven was that he took elements that were based on real life. Freddy's look was based on a drunk creepy walking at an Alley and the guy scared the shit out of him as the guy opened his eyes more and he let out a smile. Also Freddy Krueger was named after a bully who use to beat the hell out of Wes Craven. Also Wes was a college professor before he became a director and the street that he worked on was called Elm St and that was also the name of the street John F. Kennedy was Shot and the nightmares where people die in their nightmares was based on a series of men from Cambodia who returned from the Vietnam War were having horrifying severe nightmares. One of those stories that Wes Craven read in the newspaper really caught his attention and that was about a young man who was having severe nightmares he was telling his family about it his family didn't listen they ignored him and they gave them sleeping pills. He refused to take the sleeping pills. He was able to avoid sleep for 3 days he did everything possible to stay up. It became clear that something was after him then one day the family watched a movie on TV. The guy fell asleep and the family felt relief that he fell asleep. They put him in his bed and about an hour later they heard terrifying screams and before they get to him the guy is completely dead. And that is how Nightmare on Elm Street came to be
Some fun facts regarding Heather Langenkamp (Nancy). First, according to a documentary I really enjoy about this series, she asked to keep the telephone receiver with the tongue sticking out of it (one assumes as a souvenir). Second, she wound up marrying a make-up/effects artist named David Anderson. They co-own and run a make-up effects studio together have for many years. If you enjoyed this, I would strongly recommend watching the 3rd one, its the only one more or less in the same continuity with the same feel as the first. The others have their own reason most horror movie fans would have for watching. If you are interested in more Wes Craven, he did another movie shortly after this called The Serpent and the Rainbow which is just amazing to watch (and fucked up). New Line Cinema produced this movie, its first real theatrical success. For a long time it has been called "The house that Freddy built" as the franchise helped New Line stay in business. They were also the company that agreed to do a certain movie trilogy the way the director (Peter Jackson) wanted to do it. In an odd way, the 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' series is kind of responsible for us getting the Lord of the Rings movies that we got. On a final note, 2 other related things to watch. Wes Craven's 'A New Nightmare' I am certain you would enjoy. Finally, if you watch all of them or decide you don't watch them, I would still strongly recommend a documentary called 'Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy'. Lots of behind the scenes about each movie, history of New Line, etc. Great to watch.
Skemming through the comments I didn't see anyone mention Lin Shaye. She was the teacher that said, "You'll need a hall pass." after Nancy's outburst during her encounter with Freddy. She has also gone to appear in several horror films such as James Wan's Insidious series.
This was definitely the shit when it first came out. All of these effects were fairly new, and it was such a unique concept at the time.. It was great. Great reaction. Thanks for the memory..
I worked as a usher/projectionist when this came out and I saw it the night before it opened in a empty theater after hours……to this day it was the scariest theatrical experience of my life. R.I.P. Wes Craven
You are a damn legend lmfao, that sounds like an awesome experience. Clearly haven’t forgotten it!
Thats awesome
We’re you in the booth. Because that would be awesome
Insidious 2010 was same for me:)
@@quinnzykir no, I started the movie because all 5 reels were spliced together into one big reel back then and I watched it in the theater by myself with the lights out
I'm so pleased you enjoyed Nancy. She doesn't get the love other, newer final girls get, but she's top tier. She can barely tell her dreams from reality, her friends were picked off one by one, she was being gaslighted by her parents, and she wasn't safe awake or asleep, but she rallied, used her brains, and gave that demon a reckoning. A million kudos to her.
Wes Craven is a certified legend of Horror. He understood really what scares people and this masterpiece is proof of it
Facts.
"That guy" is John Saxon who played in a lot of cool movies (especially in B movies and Italian genre movies).
In my experience people generally recognize him from other genre classics Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee and the early/proto slasher Black Christmas. Of course he had a much larger and deeper and career, and those are probably just the circles I travel in.
(I’m also not trying to tell you something you don’t already know, I’m just piggybacking off your comment)
Saxon is in a ton of great (terrible 😅) stuff. Always enjoy seeing him in anything.
Wes Craven said he cast John Saxon , as he needed a known actor in the cast . As almost all the others were unknown at the time . Except for Ronee Blakley who played the mom .
Bruh ,Saxon was in Enter the dragon with Bruce Lee.
There's even this obscure horror-themed comedy he appeared in, "My Mom's a Werewolf" with Susan Blakely (Lords of Flatbush, Over the Top) / John Schuck (Star Trek 4&6, Dick Tracy) / Katrina Caspary (Mac and Me) / the late, pre-Simpsons Marcia Wallace. #RIPJohnSaxon
"The practical effects in this film are excellent" - said moments before the infamous bloody bed scene XD
Our local arthouse theater (Circle Cinema in Tulsa) had a special midnight screening of this on the 30th anniversary, which just happened to coincide with Robert Englund being in town for a convention, and the actress that plays Nancy, Heather Langenkamp, is from the area and came in to do a Q&A after the screening together. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had in a theater.
That’s so sick. If I had know at the time I would have been there, I’m from the Tulsa area as well.
After seeing your reaction, there's no doubt in my mind that you would definitely like the 3rd movie, the one where Wes Craven came back (as a screenwriter only) after they kind of messed up the 2nd. But as a filmmaker, you need to see "Wes Craven's New Nightmare", where he came back again to the franchise and put a new twist on it.
1, 3 and 7 are by far the best....2 and 4 are just ok though.. passable lol
@@The-Xclusiveeeee I fking love 4 LOL
I adore the MTV vibe/atmosphere, dope visuals, practical effects and it got a lot of my favorite dream sequences/kills.
@@tricko8000 Yeah i think i have only seen 4 twice i remember liking it, just not loving it, maybe time for a re-watch as it's Spooky season!
2nd one sucked! 3 is amazing. 4 is where they really went into comedy
Agreed! New nightmare was very meta 👍🏻👍🏻
somebody already pointed out that Evil Dead wasn't made by Wes Craven but I'd like to mention: at one point in this movie Nancy watches The Evil Dead to help stay awake, and actual director Sam Raimi was so flattered by the shoutout that he returned the favor in Evil Dead II, where at one point you can see Freddy's glove hanging over a door.
FYI: Wes Craven came upon an article about the death of a Southeast Asian young man who died in his sleep. The healthy man would not sleep for fear of dying and secretly kept a coffee pot in his room despite his family’s concern. His parents eventually found him die from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS used to be known as SUDS/SUNDS). The syndrome is rare in most areas worldwide but occurs in populations that are culturally and genetically distinct. It was first noted in 1977 among southeast Asian Hmong refugees in the United States and Canada. The young man’s death sparked an idea that bloomed into the Nightmare on Elm Street series and gave us the iconic Freddy Krueger.
This was the first thing that popped into my head right around 5:50 . A lot of 80's slashers had a predominately white cast yet the story here was inspired by members of the Asian community.
It was three men who died in terror back to back.
The white suburb is used in slasher films because slasher films of the 80's are essentially Gothic horror stories. It starts in a sheltered, seemingly innocent setting. Then something evil invades it, typically something related to a dark deed done in the setting's past. Very archetypal and very psychologically effective. It's not really a race thing, though. The suburbs just tended to be very white between the 50s and the 90s. Cities tended to be more diverse, but no one really thinks of cities as sheltered in the way you need for a Gothic style story. If you did a Gothic story set in the present, it would be more like the Are You Afraid of the Dark remake from 2019. Fairly diverse, but still the sheltered setting of a small town/suburb.
Cracked did an interesting video years ago talking about how horror stories change based on societal fears and the change in our environment.
it was also playing a bit into so-called "white flight" where people were fleeing urban centers, then they find out the suburbs aren't safe either...
@@jonesey251 no
@@jonesey251 bro, stop! 😂
@@jonesey251 I've watched various horror documentaries and yes you're right in some areas of U.S. in the 80s.
Sam Raimi was the director on the Evil Dead films, not Wes Craven.
That said, I can definitely see the connection with how they handle their sets. RIP Wes Craven.
It makes a kind of sense that on the surface 80s suburbia was/is seen as the pinnacle of living safely. A perfect backdrop for horror writers to break it down.
Watching you get got by basically every jump scare in the movie was a special treat. There's something about the timing of them in Nightmare that's just impeccable.
Agree in Nancy. She's the best final girl.
I love when Nancy tackles Freddy outside. She's a beast.
I'm impressed that you noticed the surrealist elements of some of the dream sequences. They scared me more than the slasher elements.
I think we forget how unique this idea was. A character who kills you in your sleep. The possibilities and set-pieces are endless for that as well since they're all dream sequences. Genius!
I think Nancy is my fav Final Girl. I love she turns from a convincing normal teen to a fighter. I feel like she's underrated.
Nancy would make quick work of Leatherface, Michael and Jason!
This franchise is near and dear to my heart. I was taken advantage of as a child and, so, to find a movie of kids taking out a character like this really helped me cope with what had happened to me. I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching Freddy get his ass kicked.
I get the same feeling at the end of Death Proof.
Nancy is such an underrated final girl, all people talk about are Laurie & Sidney but Nancy is right up there with them. She’s resilient, she always FOUGHT and she always stood her ground.
The bed sequence is still one of the coolest bits of practical vfx. It just works so well and taps into something primally terrifying. And then to film the set or a model more likely upside down and just bucket blood out of the bed like that was genius. It's so over the top and gratuitous.
One of the "Nightmare" sequels you may find particularly interesting is "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" (1994). This film takes place in the "real world" and Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, and Wes Craven all play fictionalized versions of themselves as they are stalked by Freddy while Craven is writing a script for a new "Nightmare" film and trying to talk Langenkamp into starring in it, reprising her role as Nancy from the first film.
New Nightmare is the 7th film within the franchise - and it best viewed after the other 6 films (due to the many references from all of the other films and the many cameos of various actors within the franchise in New Nightmare as well) in my opinion. It was meta before the Scream franchise was...
It was a great way to add something new to the series and became my favourite apart from the original.
I remember New Nightmare getting totally slated when it came out by reviewers. I suspect they just did not get what the film was doing. I loved it and was the only the 2nd Nightmare I saw at the cinema.
I feel like you’d be really blown away by hellraiser. The effects are insane.
100% agree ... Nancy is my Fav "Final-Girl" of all Horrorfilms. She is awesome
Fun fact: that wall stunt at 7:30 wasn’t CGI, one of the crew members got dressed as Freddy and pressed his face against a rubber wall they made.
yep. They actually used CGI for this scene in the remake and it looks terrible. The original effect holds up incredibly well.
The section of wall was spandex which was a fairly new material at the time.
Man I'm glad I got to relive this Horror with you! Yeah, this was Johnny Depp's first film role! Depp's first 4 movies are absolute BANGERS if you haven't seen them. We're talking Private Resort, Platoon, and Cry Baby!
Also, Vecna in Stranger Things was actually played by the actor who played #1/Henry (albeit in heavy prosthetics), however, Robert Englund is in Stranger Things 4 as Victor Creel, the blinded man in the asylum.
Always love these reactions man! You always bring a smile to my face!
With this film Wes Craven really changed the horror industry in a lot of really interesting ways. It was a big deal. The third one, Dream Warriors, is my favorite out of all of them because it gives you some history, and it's before Freddy got a little more cheesy. That one and A New Nightmare (which is I think like number seven or eight) is really great. That one, because it deconstructs the entire myth that was has built over the years.
Robert Englund was the person who tells us the story of Vecna in Stranger Things (in a way, trying not to do a spoiler here and still correct the misconception.), so that is the connection there. It's interesting to see Robert Englund play a victim rather than the bad guy, it really messes with your expectations if you grew up watching him in these. The song Nancy's singing "one, two, Freddy's coming for you..." is not only terrifying, but becomes kind of signature of the whole series.
It's kind of hard to overstate the impact Wes Craven had on the horror industry, as I said before. His first film, The People Under the Stairs is terrifying and completely different way... and talking about an entirely different setting, you had mentioned the white suburbs here, People Under the Stairs is set in the 80s ghetto, so it's an entirely other vibe. It makes some interesting social commentary under the surface, back in the period when a lot of horror was the only place we saw social commentary like that, like Night of the aliving Dead and other early horror films. He's one of the few filmmakers way back then who was actually showing things like predatory rents, and making it so the white people are the bad guys and not so the Black characters, which was pretty revolutionary back then when Black characters were often caricatures of real people. The Black people were the heroes in it, or at least one of them was, which is kind of cool. He was ahead of his time. RIP Wes Craven,and thank you.
The People Under the Stairs is my favorite Wes Craven film and I adore the commentary in it on gentrification and predatory landlords. Its great
one of my first horror films i saw as a kid , still love it to this day
James to get the full experience, you need to just watch 3 and then wes craven’s new nightmare. Honorable mention to part 4 which is one of the most popular of the series and has great practical effects.
"Glenn got turned into spaghetti sauce." 🤣🤣🤣
The blood fountain is a fantastic vfx sequence. Upside down or gimble mounted sets are always great for an effects shot.
Dreamscape with a young Dennis Quaid is a fun dream movie.
Love your reactions and commentary!
the guy you are talking about was also in Enter The Dragon with Bruce Lee
5:50 I think the white middle class suburban setting is supposed to be a normally safe environment, so that the horror aspect feels more jarring.
Yup! Similar to Scream too!
My favorite horror ever. I could've sworn you covered it already but I'm glad you enjoyed it. Nancy is my second favorite final girl of all-time (only behind Sidney from Scream).
One of the best but underrated imo is the girl in the movie You’re Next. She was the wrong one to mess with!
The classroom scene where the bodie is being dragged still freaks me out to this day.
I'd love to see your reaction to _Wes Craven's New Nightmare._ I think it's right up your alley, more than the intervening sequels. Without saying too much, it's very meta.
Nightmare on elm street 3 is the best one IMO... My fav anyways!!
Outstanding reaction sir. This is my favorite horror franchise, villain and final girl of all time. RIP to Wes Craven, the master of horror. 🙏😪
Heather Langenkamp, who played Nancy, is now a practical effects artist and has worked on many films, including Cabin in the Woods!
Nancy and Laurie (Halloween OG) are the epitome of old school scary movie bad asses. I enjoy watching your reactions, especially on the artistic aspects of shooting movies.
1…2…Freddy’s coming for you
3…4…Better lock your door
5…6…Grab your crucifix
7…8…Gonna stay up late
9…10…Never sleep again
Fun fact, the rotating room was 100% used in Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo
Film artists such as Wes Craven and John Carpenter are great! You noticed a lot of great things like the lighting, angles, and the cinematic that made these films look and feel so real!
It would've been awesome to see these guys and some actors from their films collaborate on a horror series together.
John Saxon who played Nancys dad was in a million movies but is probably known best from this movie and Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee
A couple random facts, Heather Langenkamp went on to start working in makeup effects in 2004, she's worked on the Dawn of the Dead remake and Cabin in the Woods. Also, Nancy's teacher is Lin Shaye, she was the medium in the Insidious movies but my favorite role of hers is the super tanned lady in There's Something About Mary!
You can ski Nightmare on Elm Street 2, and go to 3.
It's a fun little wink-wink when you remember Wes Craven's Scream, where the boyfriend comes through the bedroom window, and also looks a lot like Johnny Depp.
I was always a Friday the 13th or Halloween guy, but still have to respect this as one of the scariest and most original horror films we have ever gotten!
Also in Scream, Wes Craven himself makes a cameo as the school janitor (and he is even wearing a Freddy red & green sweater and Freddy hat).
Idk what it was but out of all those horror icons Freddy was my fave. he was the only one that actually scared me while giving me normal fear of basements and boiler rooms as a kid, but made me laugh too : P his glove was also wicked rad cmon : D
He gave me insomnia lol Although my fave of all time and kinda crushed on him a lil lol
We have always feared our nightmares... for them to manifest into real horror is the ultimate fear. Great review James
Man, Freddy Krueger is my all time favorite horror icon. So glad you’re reacting to this. He has so much personality and his gimmick is actually creative and effective, with style at that.
Same, I've first seen A Nightmare On Elm Street back in 2003 I was 8 years old back then now I'm 27 he is my favourite Horror Icon 2nd favourite Horror Icon would be Jason Voorhees from Friday The 13th
The first Terminator was mine:)
Nancy is frikkin' awesome, takes no shit from anyone including Freddy. And "who is he" is John Saxon, great character actor who's been in everything from Enter the Dragon to Criminal minds.
This is one of the first horror movies I ever saw as a young kid. It STILL creeps me out when I watch it alone with all the lights out.
Saw this in the theater when it came out. It was terrifying for its time. Scared the crap out of me.
my mom introduced me to this movies when i was really young as they where his favourite halloween movies, they still hold a nice place on my heart
Wes went full Craven with this one. Lol. It's a classic. For a good part of the 80s/90s, hearing a creepy trailer announcer even say his name gave me chills.
Man I am SO here for you doing horror reactions. Been watching your stuff for over a year at this point and I'm an absolute horror fanatic, this is gonna be so sick!
The actor you were asking about is John Saxon. He was in a lot of genre movies, starting in 1954 and concluding in 2017. He died in 2020, age 82.
This movie has some of the best behind the scenes of all time, so fun to see how they did everything, on a shoestring budget too. Wes really was a master, you should check it out (never sleep again is an amazing documentary about the whole franchise once you watch them all too)
ANOES is my favourite horror movie. I watching it when I was 11 years old. And now am hooked on horror. Thank you so much for this reaction. I needed it
Fun Fact: The Sleep doctor / scientist at 16:50 is the voice of Roger Rabbit.
Not if you've heard of this show but it's on Netflix called the Movies that Made Us. It goes behind the scenes of many popular 80s and 90s movies. In depth behind scenes talks with people who worked on the films from all departments. There is an episode on Nightmare on Elm Street. It's a great episode especially when they talk about all the real world effects they were able to pull off.
I had a blast watching all the sets in this one...which moment was your favorite?
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RE-Watching THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) Friday/Saturday! Enjoy the day!
The latex wall set. This movie was made around the time that latex became available to the general public and it was a really innovative special effect at very low cost.
Mine is the palm trees that do not grow in Ohio
Johnny Depp bed blender ( room set on a gimble)
You should def watch part 3 (only one that compares to part 1 IMO). Fantastic movie and practical effects
"I'm your boyfriend now, Nancy." Love that scene. Creepy AF! And hilarious at the same time.
Johnny Depp's first film 😉
I remember watching this movie at my friends house when I was a kid back in the 80's. I was so scared and had to walk home in the dark. I ran home as fast as I could.
The father has a great screen presence. He's a veteran actor, John Saxon. He also knows martial arts and was in some Bruce Lee movies. You probably know him from Enter the Dragon as Roper
This Soundtrack has No Chill!
Love your reactions.
Nancy is an incredible FINAL GIRL 🖤
The rotating room they used for Tina's death where stuff that' son the ground is actually nailed and is on the ceiling, and vice versa is the same room they use for Glen's death. The blood is pouring down from the ceiling and spreading across the floor, but they digitally reversed it to get that iconic splash shot. The tub scene, she's over a tank but when she's brought below, they were in a pool with tarp over it so you can't tell how deep they are. and the wall stretching over Nancy that whole wall panel was replaced with spandex.
Tina’s boyfriend was also suspended from the ceiling for the shot of him reaching out to her.
The People Under the Stairs by Wes Craven is a criminally underrated movie and perfect for October i hope you can check that one out too, it's a lot of fun!!
The teacher is talking about Hamlet before Nancy goes to sleep. After she is asleep, a student continues reading a passage from Hamlet about dreams. The whole quote is: "O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space - were it not that I have bad dreams."
Wes Craven read a news article about a kid that died in their sleep without any noticeable cause of death. When he was a kid he looked out his window and saw a man standing outside his house. He hid, then looked again and the man was staring at him. He also read that orange and red cause the human eye the most discomfort.
Found these movies VERY scary in my teens .... Nightmare on Elmstreet , Friday the 13TH & Halloween , Evil Dead 1 & 2 .... And the Classic "Brain Dead" :P
Oh my gosh 😳❤️💯 yo !!! This one is such an epic classic 🥲 excited to see ur reaction to this !
This is a classic James soooo glad you are reviewing it! Wes said in an interview once he got the inspiration from Freddy from seeing a homeless man outside of his apartment window. He was just staring at him, and his brother and it freaked him out. He chose the colors red and green for his sweater because that is supposedly the hardest colors for the human eye to conceptualize. It's really interesting. He's definitely a director's director.
Although the sequals went very slapstick tongue-in -cheek, this remains one of the most unsettling horrors I've seen, dated in effects sure but its imagery, atmosphere and concept are truly terrifying. And that opening segment where he makes the glove will never not be unsettling.
The best description I’ve ever heard about Freddy was after he cuts off his fingers, “I don’t care about my own body, so what will I do to yours?”
IDK if this was mentioned already, but a couple other notable actors that show up in this film are the sleep doctor played by Charles Fleischer (most famous role is probably the voice of Roger Rabbit) and the english teacher played by Lin Shaye (been in a ton of movies, shows, etc, and most notable in recent years as Elise Rainier, the psychic in the Insidious franchise).
Lin Shaye is also the sister of Robert - the head of New Line Cinema; who also appeared in Critters, Detroit Rock City, and was in a handful of Farrelly Bros. comedies - including Dumb & Dumber.
loving your work, as always, stay awesome and stay genuine... much love and sleep well
Was never a fan of horror movies growing up but as I get older I find a little comedy in them just to get me through them. Love the reactions as always !
No...No no no this is not happening...a "Filmmaker" watching nightmare 13 for the first time...i love your videos man an keep up the good work :)
Tina and Glenns deaths were filmed on the same set just decorated differently, and yes it was filmed on a rotating set.
Originally Glenn's death ended with the bed regurgitating him but they made them cut it from the scene.
The effects in this movie are so unique and awesome. The girl who played Nancy is from my home state Oklahoma. We don’t have a lot of famous people from here besides country singers. This was Johnny Depps first film. He came to LA I believe it was to be a musician and he had a band. He became friends with young Nick Cage and he is the one who got him the audition. He hadn’t been interested in acting at the time just wanted a paycheck. Then he got the role on tv show 21 jump street and went from there.
Awesome Work Bro, Thanks 👍👍👍 Greetings from Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮🇺🇸🇫🇮🇺🇸🇫🇮🇺🇸
Always homie!
@@JamesVSCinema 👍👍😎
The father is played by John Saxon. He was in Enter the Dragon and lots of tv shows in the 80s. Good actor.
You will LOVE New Nightmare. Its around writing, acting, Hollywood, very clever.
I never saw this movie when I was really young, but just the concept of Freddy, his abilities, and his face appearing all over the place back in the 80's were enough to freak me out. At one point when I was about 7-8 years old I got hit in the head with a rock and needed to go to the emergency room to get stitches. I ended up falling asleep in the waiting room and I had a crazy dream about Freddy chasing me. He eventually caught me and as he started digging into my brain with his claws I woke up on a table and a Doctor was stitching up my head! It was incredibly freaky and it took me a while to calm down. I honestly thought Freddy actually got me. Lol
My sister and I used to watch horror movies together every weekend when we were kids. (In hindsight, our parents probably shouldn't have let us watch that stuff so young, but oh well, lmao.) Freddy was always one of our favorite villains. I think partly because we were already fans of Robert Englund from his role as Willie in the miniseries V (1983). Willie could not be more different from Freddy lmao. And you're right, Nancy is a certified BAMF.
Ive wanted to see you react to this for so long!
When I was 6 or 7 years old, I was having a sleepover at my 5 year old friend Sean's house when his single mom came home with a VHS Movie for us to watch called A Nightmare On Elm Street. We put down the Star Wars toys and began watching the movie, by 5 mins in I was in love with Sean's Mom for letting us watch horror movies!
made dinner tonight to prepare for this episode. chicken alfredo! this is one of the best movies ever and i cant wait to see your reaction. i might actually join patreon if you decide to do the whole series
To me the use of the suburbs was Craven taking what people at the time felt was the perfect safe neighborhood thought safe from outside dangers and then putting a danger within.
Also it was a way to turn that whole idea on its ear by as the movie going along realizing that perfect life and perfect family wasn’t so perfect. Mommy and daddy killed a serial killer, mommy and daddy as a result are separated, mommy is an alcoholic. Freddy Krueger is the deep dark secret that the adults refuse to talk about, the shameful stain on their perfect lives.
I saw this in 85/86 when i was way to young. I was 7 and loved it...
That rotating room, when the blood is pouring out, at the end of the scene you can see the blood falling sideways. It's because the room tipped unexpectedly, but they liked the effect so much they kept the shot. I think a camera man or tech almost lost a limb when it happened. There's a cool documentary where they talk about it, but I don't remember what it's called.
Wes Craven based this movie on several articles he read in newspapers over a several year period.
The articles were about men who were afraid to sleep because they were afraid they would die in their sleep. Some of them actually died after receiving treatment for insomina. As for Freddy himself he's consisted of two sources. His looks were based off of a neighborhood bum that used to walk the streets when Wes Craven was little.
The man wore a dirty red and green sweater, a brown fedora and a coat. The name "Freddy Krueger" apparently was the name of the school bully that used to torment Wes Craven.
my favorite part of the movie as a kid was the hall monitor wearingFreddy'ssweater "Hey Nancy **shows glove and sinister smile** no running in the hallway"
he thing I love about We's Craven was that he took elements that were based on real life. Freddy's look was based on a drunk creepy walking at an Alley and the guy scared the shit out of him as the guy opened his eyes more and he let out a smile. Also Freddy Krueger was named after a bully who use to beat the hell out of Wes Craven. Also Wes was a college professor before he became a director and the street that he worked on was called Elm St and that was also the name of the street John F. Kennedy was Shot and the nightmares where people die in their nightmares was based on a series of men from Cambodia who returned from the Vietnam War were having horrifying severe nightmares. One of those stories that Wes Craven read in the newspaper really caught his attention and that was about a young man who was having severe nightmares he was telling his family about it his family didn't listen they ignored him and they gave them sleeping pills. He refused to take the sleeping pills. He was able to avoid sleep for 3 days he did everything possible to stay up. It became clear that something was after him then one day the family watched a movie on TV. The guy fell asleep and the family felt relief that he fell asleep. They put him in his bed and about an hour later they heard terrifying screams and before they get to him the guy is completely dead. And that is how Nightmare on Elm Street came to be
In Glenn's death scene how the blood came out of the bed was an Accident when the Rotating room started to spin out of control
Some fun facts regarding Heather Langenkamp (Nancy). First, according to a documentary I really enjoy about this series, she asked to keep the telephone receiver with the tongue sticking out of it (one assumes as a souvenir). Second, she wound up marrying a make-up/effects artist named David Anderson. They co-own and run a make-up effects studio together have for many years.
If you enjoyed this, I would strongly recommend watching the 3rd one, its the only one more or less in the same continuity with the same feel as the first. The others have their own reason most horror movie fans would have for watching. If you are interested in more Wes Craven, he did another movie shortly after this called The Serpent and the Rainbow which is just amazing to watch (and fucked up).
New Line Cinema produced this movie, its first real theatrical success. For a long time it has been called "The house that Freddy built" as the franchise helped New Line stay in business. They were also the company that agreed to do a certain movie trilogy the way the director (Peter Jackson) wanted to do it. In an odd way, the 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' series is kind of responsible for us getting the Lord of the Rings movies that we got.
On a final note, 2 other related things to watch. Wes Craven's 'A New Nightmare' I am certain you would enjoy. Finally, if you watch all of them or decide you don't watch them, I would still strongly recommend a documentary called 'Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy'. Lots of behind the scenes about each movie, history of New Line, etc. Great to watch.
5:40 Looks like someone has a Ryan Hollinger video on The Town That Dreaded Sundown to watch.
Skemming through the comments I didn't see anyone mention Lin Shaye. She was the teacher that said, "You'll need a hall pass." after Nancy's outburst during her encounter with Freddy.
She has also gone to appear in several horror films such as James Wan's Insidious series.
So happy to see you react to my all time favorite horror movie!!!
This was definitely the shit when it first came out. All of these effects were fairly new, and it was such a unique concept at the time.. It was great. Great reaction. Thanks for the memory..