A Nightmare on Elm Street

Teenagers in a quiet town begin dying in ways that look like suicides, and Nancy Thompson, a graduating senior, starts digging for an explanation. The clues point toward a burned child molester named Freddy Krueger, who was killed by angry parents years earlier. Freddy has returned, invading the dreams of the town youth and claiming their lives as revenge. The nightmare stalks them with impossible, surreal dangers, making sleep itself feel like a trap. Nancy teams up with her boyfriend Glen and others to understand what fuels Freddy and to find a way to resist him. The group seeks a plan that might force Freddy from the dream world, without letting fear govern every night. The era it kicked off.

Directed by Wes Craven, the 1984 horror classic sprang from Craven's own screenplay rather than a literary adaptation. It stars Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, John Saxon, and a young Johnny Depp, signaling his distinct brand of terror for many viewers.

Freddy Krueger became one of horror's most recognizable villains, merging a burned face and a glove with a dream born killer. The film reshaped the slasher playbook and sparked a long running franchise, parodies, and countless homages that keep waking nightmares in the cultural conversation.

Critics praised its atmosphere and inventive dream sequences while noting Craven's sharp subtext about fear and adolescence. The film exploits the line between waking danger and inner dread, turning sleep into a battleground for survival and exposing the vulnerabilities of a town under threat. Its influence echoes in later horror.

Box office details are not provided in the data set here. Still, the film earned a strong reputation and grew into a foundational piece of 80s horror cinema, influencing audiences and shaping genre trends well beyond its initial release worldwide.