Nightmare on Elm Street Essay

889 Words4 Pages
Historical Movie Analysis \ (Nightmare on Elm Street) Our bodies elicit reactions of tension and anxiety because horror films draw on a number of different methods to make them do so. They are filled with graphic murders that show the most obvious source of fear itself. The genre horror has a play on cultural taboo which constructs an underlying stress among the audience. The demographic of horror films was established as a young to middle class market because the genre refocused the content in the movies. It draws upon unsettling teen issues throughout history. Wes Cravens a Nightmare on Elm Street made in 1984 is the epitome of teen fear in the 1980s and even today. As children begin to reach teenage years, social structures become aware to them in which they will define themselves. Since this is the case with the insecurities of culture, many films such as this one persistently draw on this kind of pressure. Craven puts serious effort into isolating his teen cast in this horror film. Since the teens are unable to find protection from adults and even the police it sets the stage leaving them very vulnerable to the films anxiety. A nightmare on Elm Street specifically shows this because of the way Cravens movies are made and the way he portrays the teen fear. When Nancy becomes under attack by Freddy Krueger she phones the police outside her window. The police reassured her that everything is fine which makes her totally isolated from any kind of help. Krueger gets to his victims through their dream which is the even scarier part for these teens. There are role reversals throughout the movie as well such as Nancy’s relationship with her mother. Her mother is the one who becomes vulnerable while Nancy should be able to feel secure around her but that is not the case. For a lot of teens this instance in these movies resonates with life in
Open Document