An analysis of the opening scene of 'A Nightmare On Elm Street'

1. A Nightmare On Elm Street.
The 1984 version, of course.
With Freddy the ultimate supercrip.

2. The Opening.
If that doesn’t work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn_DjzN8410

3. The Opening.
• The main focus of the opening is the girl, as
she features through most of it.
• The opening shows her being chased by
Freddy through a factory. She then wakes up
and finds that the cuts she gained in her
dream have followed her into the real world.

4. The Credits.
• The first credits are shown in white writing below
a box showing the film. This is so that only a little
of the scene is shown, adding to the mystery of
the opening (as my mum pointed out to me, that
jumper and the claws wouldn’t immediately have
people going ARGH FREDDY when it first came
out…).
• The rest of the credits are shown in white writing,
as that makes them stand out against the black
background.
• The long shot of the girl in the black corridor
allows time for the credits to show.

5. • The red is significant here, as red is a colour associated with
danger, violence and blood; themes important to the film.
• However, the red can also be a representation of Freddy
himself, as his jumper is red.
• The writing is quite child-like and jagged, which is in keeping with
the film, as childhood memories and childhood are important to
the film.

6. The bit with Freddy. (I have no idea
how to split this one up)
• The close ups of Freddy in the beginning don’t
give too much away in the first few minutes of
the film. The only parts of him that are shown in
this clip in detail are his hands (and glove-claw-
things), showing that these things are going to be
important to the rest of the film. It also gives the
scene suspense and mystery, because we don’t
see very much of him, and most of the scare
comes in not knowing what’s coming after you
(this is carried on in the film – once you see
Freddy, he suddenly becomes less scary and more
laughable).

7. Editing/Transitions.
• Once the title credit is shown, the cuts are
quite long, which is reminiscent of a
nightmare you can’t get out of. The first scene
is meant to be a nightmare, and the long clips
reflect the feeling of being trapped in a
dream. This sets a tone for the audience.

8. Camera Angles.
• There are a few close-ups of the girl, to show her fear
and facial expressions.
• The long shot in the corridor helps to give a sense of
isolation for the character, which is an important
theme for the film. It also gives the sense of being very
small in a very large place; with nowhere to hide and
not knowing where to go.
• The rest of the shots are mainly midshots of the girl,
but there are mostly things obstructing the view of her.
This shows her running, but also the obstructions add
to the mystery of the piece and carry on the theme of
not showing everything. It could also represent that
somebody is watching her from behind the
obstructions.

9. Mise-En-Scene
• The white dress the girl is wearing symbolises the
innocence of the girl, as white is a colour associated with
purity and innocence, and the nighty is something you’d
associate with a child wearing. This ties in with the child-
like writing in the title credits.
• The lamb that pops up and scares the girl can be seen as a
visual metaphor of the girl. She can be seen as the ‘lamb to
the slaughter’. Lambs can’t stop themselves from going to
the slaughter, just like the people in the film can’t stop
themselves falling asleep and being killed by Freddy.
• The lighting is quite dark, keeping in with the horror genre,
as you can’t see everything. This also keeps in with the
‘nightmare’ feel, and unsettles the audience.
• The crucifix is an important prop, as it establishes the blurry
lines between dreams and reality. She is holding the crucifix
when she is awake, showing that she thinks it will protect
her when she is asleep in her dream, and also that she feels
the danger is very real. This can be seen as a scare tactic for
the audience, to make them feel like the danger is real.

10. • I think it’s a very effective opening, as it
establishes the main focus of the film: dreams. It
establishes some of the characters, and gives very
little away about the killer. It shows just enough
to make the audience interested (such as the
claws, or the rips in the dress being carried
through to the real world), but not so much that
most of the film is given away. It also uses the
imagery of the lamb to be a metaphor, but also
establishes a ‘dream’ feel, as in dreams, there are
often weird images.

11. In Comparison To Our Film.
• This has an aspect which is similar to ours, in that it does not just
have one event happening in it. We also have a darker aspect to
ours (theirs was the dream, ours is the ritual), and we also use
dark lighting (for one part, at least).
• We also use the close up shots of objects, although NOEM uses
it to keep the mystery of Freddy under wraps, whereas we use it
to establish setting and create suspense.
• Our film, and NOEM, both have an opening sequence where
somebody is attacked. In our film, the murderer succeeds, but in
NOEM, it is only the beginning. We show a whole killing to show
what Jess is capable of (whilst still retaining some mystery),
whilst NOEM shows that Freddy likes to toy with his victims. This
also separates the kind of murderers we have set up: ours wants
to get it over and done with, with no physical contact; Freddy
likes to toy with his victims.
• Both have supernatural themes to them, although I’d say ours is
more in your face, as it involves rituals and all that. Freddy is
supernatural, because he’s in dreams and stuff, but it’s less in
your face.