Case study - 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' (1984)

Introduction
The purpose of this case study is to further identify the unique characteristics of Japanese directed horror in the medium of film. In order to achieve this, I will first be analysing the 1984 American directed horror film 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' using a select number of objectives to identify the characteristic differences between Japanese and American directed horror films. In order for the reader to understand the story, this paper will first outline the plot. Focusing on inspirational/mythological sources, this paper intends to discover what (if any) inspired the ideas behind this title, what (if any) real life events/occurrences have been influenced by this title and has there been any remakes/interpretations of this film?
Finally, this paper will be looking at the positives and the negatives of each objective in order to bring forth conclusive results.

The objectives are:

• Folklore - is the narrative influenced, inspired or based on regional tales/stories? 
• Real life - are there any examples of people acting out certain elements found in this film?
• Remakes - is there a remake or modern interpretation based on this film?
• Conclusion - what were the collected findings from this case study?

Plot:

http://zuts.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/a-nightmare-on-elm-street-poster-original.jpg

Fredrick Charles 'Freddy' Krueger is the central antagonist of the 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' franchise. Looking back on the history of the character, Freddy's mother was a nun by the name of Sister Mary Helena (a.k.a Amanda Krueger). Trapped inside a hospital for the criminally insane, Amanda was raped and tortured on numerous occasions by the one hundred inmates within the hospital. Amanda Krueger was found just barely alive, clinging onto life, only now she was pregnant. Several months later she gave birth to a son, Fredrick Charles Krueger whom was then given up fro adoption. Freddy was placed in the care of Mr. Underwood, an alcoholic who abused him emotionally and physically as a child. Once Freddy reached puberty, signs of psychotic behaviour/tendencies began to surface and as a result he was isolated and ridiculed by his fellow students.

http://starsmedia.ign.com/stars/image/article/924/924779/freddy-krueger-20081028050947272-000.jpg

Reaching his later teenage years, signs of sadism begin to accumulate within Freddy's actions and thoughts. Carrying out the act of self-mutilation, Freddy learned what he called 'the secret of pain'. With this new found knowledge Freddy murdered his adoptive father, gaining the revenge he wanted after all the years of physical and mental abuse. Reaching adulthood, free of the shackles of abuse and oppression from his adoptive father, Freddy began to court a woman named Loretta. The couple married and birthed a daughter Kathryn. Now a family, the Kruegers moved into 1428 Elm Street, the original childhood home of Freddy. As Kathryn began to grow up, several children from the neighbourhood began disappearing, only to be found dead some time later.

http://starsmedia.ign.com/stars/image/article/924/924779/freddy-krueger-20081028050951600-000.jpg

Krueger's wife Loretta stumbled upon a secret room in the basement of the Krueger family home. This room contained a viusal gateway into Freddy's mind, filled with numerous implements of torture, multiple schematics of his iconic glove and various newspaper clippings reporting on the missing children of Springwood. Freddy discovers that his wife has stumbled upon his secret room of death. Although Loretta promises "she won't tell", Freddy kills her in front of their daughter, telling Kathryn that he killed her mother "for snooping in daddy's special work". Continuing on with his murderous double-life, Freddy used the boiler room at the power plant where he worked to hide and erase any proof of his actions. The series of child disappearances and murders were reported as unsolved by the police of Springwood, resulting in Freddy being named the "Springwood Slasher" by the local newspapers.

http://starsmedia.ign.com/stars/image/article/924/924779/freddy-krueger-20081028050959288-000.jpg

Freddy was finally arrested for the series of murders of the missing children of Springwood in 1966. Due to a faulty search warrant, all the evidence held against Krueger was deemed inadmissible, leading to his release in 1968. Freddy's mother committed suicide in the place where she was raped following her son's trial. Freddy's daughter was put into foster care following his arrest and was adopted some time after. On the night of Krueger's release, the parents of Springwood took justice into their own hands, trapping him in the boiler room of power plant and burning him alive. Just before Freddy's life is extinguished, he is confronted by three Dream Demons whom have searched the lands of the living for the most evil being, the most evil soul and provide that being with the ability to twist and alter the dreams of others by making them a reality.

http://starsmedia.ign.com/stars/image/article/924/924779/freddy-krueger-20081028051003631-000.jpg

Freddy is provided with an offer to "be forever" and accepts, the only downside being that his appearance (including his outfit) at his time of death will be eternal. In order to cover up the existence of Krueger's infamy, a local family by the name of the Thompson's moved into the residence at 1428 Elm Street. Freddy's daughter Kathryn was adopted by the Burroughs family, whom took her away from the memory of her past by moving out of Springwood and having her records personal records sealed and hidden. With his new demonic powers, Freddy Krueger now stalks the children of Springwood where their parents cannot protect them, in their dreams.

Folklore:

http://grizzlybomb.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Halloween-Round-up-freddy-krueger-shadow.jpg

Freddy Krueger, once human now a 'Dream Demon', how did such a story come to be and where did it come from?
“In the middle of the night they heard these horrendous screams and crashes, and they ran in and he’s thrashing on the bed. They ran to him and by the time they got to him he was dead. They did an autopsy on him and there was nothing physically wrong with him. And I just thought: “My God”. (Craven, n.d.)
According to several interviews with the creator of A Nightmare On Elm Street franchise, the storyline and character behind the film series were inspired by real-life events. Wes Craven tells us that the inspiration for the character of Freddy Krueger came from a vagrant with a disfigured appearance whom used to frighten him during his childhood years as highlighted by Hoyos (2010), "Freddy Krueger may not have been a real person, but his nature was embodied in two people from Craven's life as a child; a school bully by the name of Krueger and a gruff homeless man from Craven's town would eventually serve as the inspiration for Freddy Krueger"

http://wpc.556e.edgecastcdn.net/80556E/img.news/NEtkH03HCnwWwA_1_1.jpg

Kenber (2009) follows an interview with Craven wherein the creator confirms the source of inspiration for Krueger's character, "Mick Garris later asked how Wes came about creating Fred Krueger, and of where this character came from. Wes said the character came about when he came across this homeless guy with a bowler hat, shuffling his way slowly down the sidewalk, his face a mask of nasty scars. It creeped Craven out a lot, and this stayed with him long after this man had vanished. The name Fred came from a kid who Wes said used to beat him up at school. However, Wes said he later got his revenge on Fred with the help of a bayonet. Krueger was at one time going to based on a janitor Craven remembered from school which frightened him and his classmates. Wes was also adamant that Freddy not have a mask since that had already been done to death in the

"Halloween" and "Friday The 13^th" movies." 

http://moviefarm.co.uk/images/2010/10/nightmare_on_elm_street2.jpg

The idea behind the film series itself was again, based on inspired events from Wes Craven's earlier years/past in which he discovered a series of reports detailing Cambodian refugees dying in their sleep as a result of nightmares, “it was based on newspaper articles printed in the La Times during the 70’s. The articles explained the story of a group of refugees who fled Genocide in Cambodia and then suffered disturbing nightmares. They refused to sleep. But once they fell asleep, they died. It was a phenomenon now known as Asian Death Syndrome, or “Brugada syndrome”. The Brugada syndrome is a genetic disease that causes irregular ECG’s that can lead to sudden cardiac death. Another influences is the song “Dream Weaver” by Gary Wright." (Soundcolourvibration, 2012)
This paper has identified the inspirational sources for the central character and the storyline behind Wes Craven's 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' franchise came from experiences over the course of the director's life.

Real-life:

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00447/news-graphics-2007-_447417a.jpg

Besides the previously mentioned inspirational sources for the central character and the narrative of this film, this paper has recognised one particular real-life occurrence inspired by this film. This occurrence was an act of violence, carried out by a man whom attacked his own best friend, whilst he slept, using a recreated version of Freddy Krueger's bladed glove, "a maniac who modelled himself on movie serial killer Freddy Krueger and carried out a savage slash attack was jailed for life yesterday. Crazed Jason Moore made a glove with 5in blades just like the film psycho - and tried to butcher a friend as he slept off a booze binge. The twisted horror film addict, 37, later dialled 999 and told them: "I almost stabbed him to death. I tried to stab his heart." (Chaytor, 2007)
Willis (2007) of The Telegraph continues this report further, "The court heard that Moore had spent hours crafting various recreations of his weapon, the final version of which featured four curved steel blades - each as sharp as a cut-throat razor - attached to a leather gardening glove. He had watched Nightmare on Elm Street 20 times, including just before the attack. In the film the serial killer Krueger is able to attack people in their dreams."
No other such acts of violence have been made since, although this paper recognises copycat elements inspired by this film, as well as the film itself such as; the icon knife-fingered glove, the perpetrator attacked his friend whilst he slept and the fact that he had claimed to have watched the film twenty times.

Remakes:

http://www.hdwallpapers.in/walls/2010_a_nightmare_on_elm_street_movie-normal.jpg

 The 2010 remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street classic was met with less than positive reviews and praise from the franchise's creator, "Wes Craven isn't happy about the forthcoming Nightmare on Elm Street remake. IGN spoke to the horror legend -- who directed the original movie -- and he revealed that he has had "no contact" with Platinum Dunes about the project, and that he feels genuinely "hurt" by what's happened." (Parfitt, 2009)
Asked if he will return to bring back the character of Freddy and ultimately the franchise, Craven had this to say, "No! I have no ownership in it. The original people I did it with are all gone. If you have no control or ownership when it comes to those things, and its being taken over by other people, you tend to lose interest. There are much more creative situations that I can get myself into, rather than a situation where I would be working for someone else who is exploiting something I created. It wouldn't be a very happy situation." (Orange, 2011)

http://antifilmschoolsite.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/nightmare-on-elm-street-2010-freddy-krueger-jackie-earl-haley-movie-wallpaper.jpg

It is clear that that the director does not want to further damage the reputation of his creation by trying to put a modern spin on it, thus, preserving it's classic memory. As far as reviews go, Ben Child (2010) of The Guardian sums this film up effectively, "The sad thing, for me, about A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010 is that it doesn't even attempt to update the original in any sort of meaningful fashion. The collision of dreams and wakefulness is a huge repository for interesting ideas – see Richard Linklater's Waking Life or even Christopher Nolan's forthcoming Inception. Yet all Bayer can concoct is a series of increasingly unimaginative deaths, which are far less scary in CGI than they were in the 80s original."

Conclusion:

http://hotdogcinema.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/nightmare-on-elm-street-1984_0-30-59-171.jpg

Plot - this paper recognises that this is a very well structured and detailed plot, major positives are given on the fact that the creator of the franchise, Wes Craven followed inspirational sources from real life occurrences and did not steal or plagiarise others' works. The negative here is the fact that this film does not clearly underpin the full history of Freddy Krueger's character, the relevance of Elm Street and how Freddy gained his supernatural powers. The fact that these elements/factors are answered in later titles of the franchise, it does not allow the audience to create their own ideas, interpretations or answers.

Folklore - There are many real life interpretations, religious views as well as cultural beliefs into demons, however, Wes Craven has highlighted the fact that most of his inspirational sources were real life based, therefore, further study into these interpretations/opinions/reports of demonic encounters/tales is irrelevant and solidifies the fact that folklore is not used in the development of this film. Other than conventional and characteristic elements, this film highlights the fact that Western directors make little attempt to project cultural factors and thus, fail to display prowess for their cultural roots/origins.

Real-life - This paper recognises the fact that horror films can inspire acts of violence, however, Jason Moore claimed he had no idea why he did what he did. The aim of this paper is to identify the unique characteristics between American and Japanese directed horror films, therefore, an identified characteristic here would be the fact that Western directed horror films may be responsible for inspiring acts of violence.

Remakes - Lacking in both imagination and the glamour of the 1984 original, this paper recognises that the remake of this film was not only a flop, but the original director of the 1984 classic had no say in its creation or production. This paper also recognises the fact that Western directed horror films tend to fall short in terms of review and vision, some have been successful and high in critical acclaim, but in terms of the 2010 remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street, this factor is more evident.

Resources:

Anon,. n.d. The Legend Of Fred Krueger. [ONLINE] Available at: http://lairofhorror.tripod.com/kruegerlair/legend.html. [Accessed 04 April 2013].

Anon,. n.d. Serial killers and notorious murders in the Serial Killer Calendar. [ONLINE] Available at: http://serialkillercalendar.com/fredkruger.html. [Accessed 04 April 2013].

Chaytor, R. 2007. THE REAL FREDDY KRUEGER - Mirror Online. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/the-real-freddy-krueger-463959. [Accessed 04 April 2013].

Child, B. 2010. You review: A Nightmare on Elm Street | Ben Child | Film | guardian.co.uk . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2010/may/10/you-review-nightmare-elm-street. [Accessed 05 April 2013].

Houston, T. 2011. That’s So Meta: Writing A Story About Writing A Story | LitReactor. [ONLINE] Available at: http://litreactor.com/columns/thats-so-meta-writing-a-story-about-writing-a-story. [Accessed 04 April 2013].

Hoyos, B. D. 2010. Is Freddy Krueger Real? The True Story Which Inspired A Nightmare Before Elm Street. [ONLINE] Available at: http://meetbrandon.hubpages.com/hub/Is-Freddy-Krueger-Real-The-Incredible-True-Stories-Which-Inspired-The-Nightmare-Before-Elm-Street. [Accessed 04 April 2013].

Ingriselli, S. 2012. Wes Craven: A Nightmare on Elm Street Based on True Story. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.geekmagazine.org/2012/10/31/wes-craven-a-nightmare-on-elm-street-was-based-on-a-true-story/. [Accessed 04 April 2013].

Kenber, B. 2009. Wes Craven Does Live Commentary on His Original Nightmare on Elm Street - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://voices.yahoo.com/wes-craven-does-live-commentary-his-original-nightmare-2978279.html?cat=40. [Accessed 04 April 2013].

Orange, B. A. 2011. EXCLUSIVE: Wes Craven Won't Ever Go Back to Elm Street or Freddy Krueger - MovieWeb.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.movieweb.com/news/exclusive-wes-craven-wont-ever-go-back-to-elm-street-or-freddy-krueger. [Accessed 05 April 2013].

Parfitt, O. 2009. Craven's Elm Street Nightmare - IGN. [ONLINE] Available at: http://uk.ign.com/articles/2009/06/09/cravens-elm-street-nightmare. [Accessed 05 April 2013].

Soundcolourvibration. 2012. Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Wes Craven | Movement Nu 29 | Sound Colour Vibration (Music | Art | Film | Technology | Science | Culture). [ONLINE] Available at: http://soundcolourvibration.com/2012/06/02/nightmare-on-elm-street/. [Accessed 04 April 2013].

Willis, P. 2007. 'Freddy Krueger' knife man jailed - Telegraph. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1547604/Freddy-Krueger-knife-man-jailed.html. [Accessed 05 April 2013].