| A Nightmare on Elm Street | |
|---|---|
| |
| "How much would you pay for the Ginsu glove?" - Ronin Fox | |
| Riffed by | Ronin Fox Trax |
| Riffers | Ronin Fox |
| Series | A Nightmare on Elm Street (Series) |
| Date Released | June 15, 2008 |
A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American horror film, written and directed by Wes Craven, and the first film in the A Nightmare on Elm Street Series. The film stars Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Robert England and features Johnny Depp in his feature film debut. Set in a fictional Midwestern town called Springwood, the plot revolves around a group of teenagers who are terrorized by Freddy Krueger, a terrifying man who appears in nightmares that cause real-life death. The film was a massive success and a cultural phenominon for the 80s. The franchise, and the character of Freddy Krueger became powerful pop culture icons.
Ronin Fox Trax released their riff in June of 2008, before the announcement of iRiffs. The riff was added to the iRiffs site in June of 2009 and is available through iRiffs and Gumroad. This marked the start of the "Freddy vs Ronin" project, as Ronin Fox Trax has since continued to riff the A Nightmare on Elm Street Series.
Synopsis and Preview
[Spoilers Begin]
Ronin Fox Trax A Nightmare on Elm Street
Tina Gray has a nightmare of being stalked and hunted inside a boiler room by a man covered in burns wearing a red and green sweater and a glove with blades attatched to the fingers. Just as the man catches up to her she wakes up. While she is unhurt, her nightgown has been slashed.
Tina tells her friends about the nightmare, and it reminds Nancy Thompson of a nursery rhyme she knew when she was a kid. Later that night there is a sleepover at Tina's because she doesn't want to spend the night alone. Going more into detail about the nightmare from before, Nancy realizes that she's had a nightmare about the same myserious man. Tina's boyfriend Rod shows up too, and the two go upstairs to have sex while Nancy and her boyfriend Glen go to sleep. After sex, Rod mentions that he's been having nightmares too.
Tina has another nightmare, being lured away from her house by the same mysterious stalker. This time the man catches her and attacks, and in the waking world Rod watches in shock as Tina is levetated over the bed and repeatedly slashed until she dies. Afraid he'll be blamed, Rod flees the scene. He is found and arrested the next day as he tries to contact Nancy and proclaim his innocence.
At school the next day, Nancy falls asleep during class and has a nightmare of the same figure who attacked Tina. She wakes herself before he can reach her by burning her arm on a pipe in the boiler room. When she wakes and leaves school in a panic she notices a real burn on her arm. Visiting Rod in jail, Nancy gets his full account of the murder, and realizes that everyone has been dreaming of the same man and that all of their dreams are dangerous. That night she convinces Glen to watch her while she sleeps and wake her up if she is having a nightmare. In her dream, Nancy watches as the man attacks Rod in his prison cell, strangling him with his sheets. Nancy awakes and she and Glen run to the police station, too late to save Rod. He's found hung in his cell, the police convinced he had committed suicide.
At Rod's funeral Nancy's divorced parents, Marge and police Lt. Don Thompson, discuss Nancy's state of mind. Marge is convinced she needs professional help and takes her to a sleep disorder clinic. There, Nancy is observed as she sleeps and is woken up while having a nightmare too intense for the doctors to explain. The nightmare was so intense some of Nancy's hair had turned white. Also, Nancy was somehow able to take the killer's hat out of the dream, and she produces it from under the sheets.
Nancy confronts her mother about the truth behind her dreams. Marge tries to convince Nancy that everything is all right, but Nancy uses the hat as proof of the danger, and she finds the name of the hat's owner written inside: Fred Krueger.
After installing bars and new locks on the windows and doors, Marge finally explains that Fred Krueger was an infamous child murderer that once lived in the town. After being arrested for murdering 20 children he was released on a technicality. Enraged, the parents of the neighboorhood tracked him down, trapped him in a boiler room and burned it down with Fred inside. Marge even shows Nancy the glove full of blades that she had taken from Fred's dead body.
Now convinced that Fred is real, and is killing people through dreams, Nancy and Glen try and make plans. Glen mentions how the Balinese culture views dreams, and that if they found a monster they would turn their back on it and take away its power. Nancy, instead, plans to pull Freddy out of the dream world the same way she took the hat. That night, as Nancy prepares several traps throughout her home, she is kept from meeting with Glen, as her mother has locked the door both ways and has hidden the key. She tries to call Glen, but his parents answer the phone and don't let her talk. They leave the phone off the hook so she can't try again. Glen falls asleep, and is pulled into his own bed. He dies in a giant geiser of blood.
The police are called to the scene, including Nancy's father. Nancy calls and tries to convince him of who is responsible, but he doesn't believe her. She begs her father to come over in 20 minutes to break down the door, and then goes to sleep to try and capture Fred.
In her dream, Nancy battles Fred and grabs hold of him in time for her alarm to go off and wake her up. In the real word, Fred attack again, and Nancy leads him through a proto-Home Alone maze of traps, finally setting him on fire. She calls from the windows and front door for help and finally her father and the rest of the nearby police break down the door. Nancy and Don follow flaming footsteps upstairs to find Fred killing Marge, still engulfed in flames. Don puts out the fire with the bedsheets and when he pulls them way they only see Marge's dead body, which sinks into the bed and vanishes.
Don leaves for purely dramitic purposes as Nancy speaks to thin air that she knows Fred is still there. As he reappears and threatens her, Nancy declares that she doesn't fear him and that she wants her friends back. Following Glen's advice from earlier, she turns her back to reclaim the power that she had given him. Fred lunges for Nancy, but vanishes into goofy lights.
Nancy leaves the room and emerges outside in a bright day. She is met by her mother, alive and well. She also sees all of her murdered friends, likewise unharmed, pulling up in a convertable. She runs to the car and joins her friends, only for the top to close over top of them with a color pattern that matches Fred's sweater. The car doors lock and the car drives away on its own, leaving Marge on the front porch of her house before Fred's arm breaks through the front door's window and pulls her inside.
[Spoilers End]
Cast and Crew
- Heather Langenkamp as Nancy Thompson
- Robert Englund as Fred Krueger
- John Saxon as Lt. Don Thompson
- Johnny Depp as Glen Lantz
- Ronee Blakley as Marge Thompson
- Amanda Wyss as Tina Gray
- Jsu Garcia as Rod Lane
- Joe Unger as Sgt. Garcia
- Charles Fleischer as Dr. King
Quotes
- "Burning the outside of your arm in a dream burns the inside of your arm in real life!" - Ronin Fox
- "Midwest!" - Ronin Fox (commenting on the appearance of palm trees.)
Notes
- The name "Freddy" is only spoken once in the film. All other references to the character use the name "Fred Krueger"
- This riff was the first to use the brand "Ronin Fox Trax" and the first time Ronin Fox riffed with a partner.
- DraCCu's riffing debut.
- The poster for this riff was used to represent Ronin Fox Trax when they were chosen as a finalist for Rifftrax's first iRiff contest.