Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp and Robert Englund in the Wes Craven movie ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’

A month of cinema reviews set to a darker, eerie mood brings us to the work of Wes Craven, originally from Cleveland, Ohio. We head back to four decades, to the celebrated youth horror film directed and written by Craven. The film’s premise of defining the boundary line between dreams and reality proves rather intriguing. Today we review A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), a favorite of blog supporter Airport Friend that would spawn numerous sequels and a remake 26-years later.

(From left, Amanda Wyss as Christina ‘Tina’ Gray, Heather Langenkamp as Nancy Thompson and Johnny Depp as Glen Lantz in the Wes Craven movie A Nightmare on Elm Street).

The movie itself introduces the audience and a handful of teenage students living on Elm Street to Tina Gray having experienced nightmares in her sleep one autumn night. Gray, as portrayed by Amanda Wyss, raises the occasion to a pair of her friends, Nancy Thompson and Glen Lantz as portrayed by Heather Langenkamp and Johnny Depp, respectively. Besides the fact that Tina Gray was not the only one with nightmares while sleeping, we in the audience come to learn that Thompson and Lantz have been dating.

(From left, John Saxon as Lieutenant Donald ‘Don’ Thompson and Jsu Garcia as Rod Lane in the Wes Craven movie A Nightmare on Elm Street).

Rod Lane, Tina Gray’s boyfriend as portrayed by Jsu Garcia, witnesses an inexplicable assault on Gray that he felt powerless to stop. Nancy Thompson’s father, police Lieutenant Donald ‘Don’ Thompson as portrayed by John Saxon, catches the case. When considering that Lane had been present when Gray had been assaulted, he delt the need to arrest Gray.

(From left, Ronee Blakley as Marge Thompson and Heather Langenkamp as Nancy Thompson in the Wes Craven movie A Nightmare on Elm Street).

Meanwhile, Nancy Thompson continues to suffer from the nightmares in her dreams, bringing physical manifestations of her dream into the physical world. We formally learn about the nature of who Freddy Kruger was, and what he represented, owing to these dreams.

(Robert Englund as Fred ‘Freddy’ Krueger in the Wes Craven movie A Nightmare on Elm Street).

Marge Thompson, the mother of Nancy and wife of police lieutenant Don, meanwhile was portrayed by Ronee Blakley. That Nancy felt closer to the reality of Freddy Krueger more clearly than her parents, at least more than her parents cared to admit. The tensions of needing to sleep coupled led to serious problems for Nancy. With the plans Marge and Don Thompson had for Nancy coupled with the plans Freddy had for the kids, a compelling tale of horrific serial killing becomes clear.

(From left, actor Nick Corri, actress Amanda Wyss, director Wes Craven, actress Heather Langenkamp and actor Johnny Depp on the set of the Wes Craven movie A Nightmare on Elm Street).

The means that Wes Craven brought us in spelling out the motivations and rationale behind Freddy Kruger proved entertaining, thrilling and ghastly of the variety of thriller that this film offers. As I feel the movie establishes the world it exists in so well, I grant A Nightmare on Elm Street as directed and written by Wes Craven 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Judge Reinhold in the Amy Heckerling movie ‘Fast Times at Ridgmont High’

With school back in session across much of North America by now, let’s look at a favorite of Daycare Friend, a fan and friend of the blog. The Amy Heckerling feature-length directorial debut Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) featured Cameron Crowe as movie screenwriter and author of the 1981 book Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

(From left, Amanda Wyss as Lisa and Judge Reinhold as Brad Hamilton in the Amy Heckerling movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High).

Ridgemont High School is a fictional high school based in San Fernando Valley in the County of Los Angeles, California. We are introduced to senior Brad Hamilton with his plans for the school year. Portrayed by Judge Reinhold, we learn that Hamilton hopes to pay off his used car based on work at All-American Burger on his way to breaking up with Lisa, his girlfriend as portrayed by Amanda Wyss. Things don’t exactly go as planned, with the paths the stories of these two taking a point of the movie.

(From left, Phoebe Cates as Linda Barrett and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Stacy Hamilton in the Amy Heckerling movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High).

While we are learning about Brad and Lisa, we meet Brad’s freshman sister Stacy, a 15-year-old virgin. Stacy Hamilton’s older friend, Linda Barrett, works alongside Stacy at a pizza restaurant in Ridgemont Mall. Based on exaggeration of her own intimate exploits, Linda leads Stacy into an intimate relationship with a stereo salesman named Ron Johnson. Johnson is more than a decade older than Stacy, with this plot point setting up much of the movie’s storylines that follow. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates and D.W. Brown portray Stacy Hamilton, Linda Barrett and Ron Johnson, respectively.

(From left, Brian Backer as Mark ‘Rat’ Ratner and Robert Romanus as Mike Damone in the Amy Heckerling movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High).

We then meet smooth-talking Mike Damone and his shy yet friendly pal Mark ‘Rat’ Ratner, as portrayed by Robert Romanus and Brian Backer, respectively. Ratner works in the mall across the walkway as a ticket taker in the movie theater, while Damone proves more at ease with communicating with others. Their relationships to the two ladies, along with Brad Hamilton’s fate later in the movie, also become points to engage with through the course of Fast Times at Ridgemont High. That the emotional costs of intimacy are raised in the mixture of contexts are, ultimately, addressed in a compelling manner for the target audience of this movie.

(From left, Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli and Ray Walston as Mr. Hand in the Amy Heckerling movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High).

Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli provides a particularly enthusiastic example of comic relief for what proves to be a fair mixture of cinematic comedy and drama. Spicoli is an epically carefree surfer that runs afoul of history teacher Mr. Hand, with Mr. Hand being portrayed by Ray Walston. Beyond reinforcing the notion that events are happening at school, Spicoli’s interactions with Charles Jefferson’s little brother while damaging Charles’ car, along with the aftermath for the Lincoln High School football team, is humorous. Forest Whitaker and Stanley Davis Jr. portrayed Charles Jefferson and his brother, respectively.

(From left, Scott Thomson as Arnold and Forest Whitaker as Charles Jefferson in the Amy Heckerling movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High).

The primary relationship questions for the movie are addressed by the movie’s end. Some measure of humor is offered in small biographies given to a handful of main characters at the end of the movie. That Brooke Shields, Ozzy Osbourne and Van Halen are invoked only adds to the relevance of the movie to its place in time.

(Director Amy Heckerling and actor Sean Penn on site of the Amy Heckerling movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High).

Overall, I found Fast Times at Ridgemont High to be entertaining and on point with the message and sensibilities for the time it was made. The coming-of-age viewpoints for multiple personality types were less stereotypical than I’ve seen in movies from this era, which added to my enjoyment. I give Fast Times at Ridgemont High as directed by Amy Heckerling 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, August 31, 2022