Opening analysis of A Nightmare on Elm Street By Emily Humphreys

1. Macro and
Micro Analysis of the
opening of A Nightmare
on Elm Street (1984)
BY EMILY HUMPHREYS

2. Macro Analysis

3. Macro Analysis - Genre/purpose
 For this movie the genre of the movie would be horror.
 As a sub-genre it would be a slasher-indie horror movie.
 The start of the film, like the other openings I have analysed, is used to create a starting
atmosphere to set the tone of the movie, while also giving enough information to the
viewers that they want to see where the story leads. This is created by leaving the opening
unanswered and on a cliffhanger of, is the girls dreams real or not.

4. Macro Analysis - Audience
 The primary audience for this film would be 15-24 year old's. This is as the genre is horror, the sub-genre being a
slasher-indie horror movie. This would attract a younger audience, who would go and see the movie for the in
anticipation for the rush that comes with the jump scares and gore, which links to the 'slasher' quality of the film.
Additionally, more of a male dominated audience would watch this as these quality's of seeking an adrenaline rush
appeal more to the stereotypical masculine image that men are seen to have. Lastly, as the film is centered around
young students, this would make the student population want to see the movies as they will be able to see them
selves represented in a new movie.
 The secondary audience would still be aimed at males, but I think the age range would be between 35-45. This is
as the older generation of horror fans that grew up when the 'classics' where out would have wanted to relive the
nostalgia of watching horror films when they there younger, as well as being able to see how they compare to the
ones they traditionally watched.
 For the socio-economic grouping, I think my primary audience would be in category E, as this tends to be younger
and unemployed students who don’t have an income (but would get the money for tickets off of their parents).
For my secondary audience, I think they would be in the C category of either 1 or 2, as they tend to have a stable
income, who can afford to use expendable money on tickets to the movies.
 Linking to Rubicam's 4 C's, my primary audience would be the 'mainstreamer', as they want to know what the
latest movies are and stay on trend with what's happening in todays culture, where as for my secondary audience, I
think they would be the 'succeeder', as they are the ones with stable jobs and enough money to go, do, and see
that ever they want.

5. Macro Analysis – Generic convention
and characteristics
 Similarly to the Evil Dead's opening, A Nightmare on Elm Street also uses the generic horror
convention of isolation. This is shown primarily by the fact that this is all happening in her
head, which is revealed at the end of the opening, as this shows the audience that she is alone
and helpless to her fears.
 A characteristic of the film also centers around religion, as the white clothes ,which connotes
irreproachability, and the crucifix, implying purity, show us the contrast between the female
protagonist, Tina and the villain, Krueger.
 Another convention is the 'good vs evil' trope, as implied with not only the actions of the
characters but also the clothes they wear (darker clothes=evil, white clothes=purity). This is
used, like the religious aspects of the film, to show us the contrast between the two main
characters, Tina and Krueger.
 Lastly, 'curiosity kills', is also a theme in the opening as Tina continues to travel further into
the abandoned factory setting and then be 'killed'. This happens as it is in her dreams, but
leaves us wondering if its real as she also has slashes in her night gown, which also implies
that if we are going to find out what's happening more people will die.

6. Macro Analysis – Narrative structure
 For narrative, the opening would have to follow a non-linear structure. This is because
at the start we can see Krueger create his weapon, that of a glove with knives for
fingers. This then leads onto Tina's dream sequence. Arguably, another reading is that
the clip of Krueger creating the glove was part of the nightmare, as they don’t have to
have a solid structure. As this is followed by the titles, I think the more accepted and
wildly aggreged upon theory of the two is that is non-linear (which links to the magic
bullet theory).
 Overall, the opening tries to follow the traditional beginning middle and end structure,
but with Krueger's glove creation at the start, is seems as if the beginning and middle
blended into one, that being the dream sequence, and the ending was when Tina
woke up.

7. Macro Analysis – Todorov's narrative
theory
 As this is the opening of the film and not the whole thing, it was slightly harder to adapt Todorov's narrative
theory to what I was looking at. With this being said I think I have found a way that this applies:
1. Equilibrium – From the beginning to when Tina wakes up, the clip is hinting to us that we are in a
nightmare, with subtle clues such as the white ethereal backdrop in the hallway, to the sheep, which is a link to
the saying 'counting sheep'. These elements show the audience early on the fantasy aspects of this established
world, but at the same time creates a normalcy as we don’t know that this isn't the intended route for the whole
film. Ultimately this means that until Tina wakes up the audience cant dispute if what's happening is real or not,
which leads into the recognition stage (for Tina and the audience)
2. Recognition – I have then gone onto recognition, as the 'disruption' (The conflict that breaks the normality)
collectively shows elements in the recognition stage. This is as the main conflict in the film, that being if
Krueger is real or not, isn't understood not to be in the form of a dream until she realises she has cuts on her
nightgown. The protagonists realises the problem and the scene ends as a cliff hanger.
3. 'Attempt to repair' and 'New Equilibrium' cant be applied as this is what progresses the movie further than
the opening, as the audience will soon realise it isn't just a case of reality vs imagination.

8. Micro Analysis – Location
 One of the first recognisable locations that the audience can see, is the long
glowing hallway in the wide shot that appears after the Krueger-glove-creation
scene. This is as the location those scenes are set in doesn’t make it clear
where 'it' actually is. This empty hallway is used to emphasis the characters
isolation and imply to the audience that Tina has only one way to go (which
also adds to the unpredictability of a dream/nightmare).
 The next location that we can clearly see is an abandoned warehouse or
factory, which is the main setting for Tina's nightmare. This provides her with
an unfamiliar setting to be trapped in, and with the added hallways and
darkened paths, makes this location the most effective to cause tension (as we
wont be able to see what's coming as easily)
 For the final location, we are plunged into the life of Tina, as when she
awakens, we are now in her bedroom. The room itself is white, which
connotates purity like her nightdress, and is a brighter location in comparison
to the warehouse even in the 'darkness' of night. This adds a sense of
familiarity and comfort to the audience, as it is clear she was having a
nightmare, but also makes the cuts on her dress more threatening as we can
now understand that it may not all be in her head.

9. Micro Analysis – Lighting
 For the lighting the whole factory is dull and eerie, added to by the fact that scenes with
harsh light are made more dramatic by smoke from pipes around the setting. This creates
a stereotypical horror genre effect of keeping the unknown – unknown, as the contrast
between the light coming into the scene from outside and the shadows the light doesn’t
hit both make sure only the main female character can be seen.
 In the second shot, this is one of the first shots after the opening title sequence that uses
notable lighting choices. The light from the unnatural block of white, that lights the whole
walk way into the factory, is used as a way to tell the audience early on that something
isn't right in this film. Aided by the fact that the title of the film has the word 'nightmare'
in it, the white light gives the audience a clue at the beginning to see whether they can
work out if the scene is real or not.
 Looking at the third shot, there is a red glow that illuminates the factory and in this case
where the character of Freddie is living. The connotations of the red are a clear horror
convention to imply death, horror and blood, as well as linking to the red top Freddie
wares. This subtlety shows the audience that the female character is in danger, as there is
a contrast between the white moon light and the red glow from where Freddie seems to
be living.
 In the final shot, I've had to circle part of the shot, as the quality from a 1984 movie hasn’t
got the highest quality, but also because the lighting in the scene that I picked up on is
very subtle, but effective. There is a shadow of Freddie below the walkway that slowly
moves across the floor. I picked up on this as this is cleaver way of one, showing us that
Freddie is following the main character, but also that is would be very hard to catch
someone seconds later when your on a different floor, adding to the unlimited world of a
nightmare.

10. Micro Analysis - Costume
 For Tina, as contextually she is in a dream/nightmare, having her in a
nightgown makes the most narrative sense. With this in mind, this adds to
her vulnerability, as it leaves her more exposed and defenseless (As seen
when Freddie jumps up behind her or when she wakes up with cuts through
her nightdress, ruining it.
 For Krueger's costume, the stripped jumper can bee seen as symbolic, as the
red and black stripes connote death and blood, this also being a common
trope in horror movies as the darkness and gore elements can be seen
through aspects like low lighting and simply blood. This indicates to the
audience from the moment he's on screen that he's the 'villain' of the film.
Moreover, he also wares a hat, which conceals his face and characteristics
from the audience (by creating shadows to also create a sense of mystery
that he has something to hide) as he is covered in scars over his face.
 Also linking to props, Freddie's make-shift gloved weapon links to costume
as this is part of Krueger's key costume (that of the glove elements)
Implying he is, like the jumper, the villain, adding to the sense of danger,
violence and horror he creates in scenes for the audience.

11. Micro Analysis - Props
 Linking back to the last slide, I mentioned how Krueger has a 'make-shirt
gloved weapon'. I felt that this links to both categories of costume and props,
as the glove aspect belongs with costume and the weapon park links to props.
This is as the main aspect of a slasher film is centered around the bad guy
having as least one weapon, usually a knife or blade. Here, Krueger has five
attached to a workers glove, which adds to the sense of horror as we can see
early on what they can do (seen with in the first screen shot to the left).
 Another prop that is seen is Tina's crucifix, which is displayed above her bed.
This again shows the audience her purity, this time with her links to religion,
as she is comforted by god watching over her, which is also why she tightly
holds the prop when she's finally awake.
 Lastly, I wanted to mention the sheep that runs through the hallway after the
title sequence the sheep has been used at the beginning to imply to the
audience that the scene isn't real. If the title of the film wasn’t a give away, the
sheep connotes to us the childish act of counting sheep, which was a subtle
way to reminding the audience this is a nightmare through the use of a prop.

12. Micro Analysis – Movement of actors
 For the most part, the two main characters in the opening, Tina and
Krueger, both contain themselves to slow paced walking though out.
This does end up changing at the start and end of the scene though.
 At the start, Tina is trying to find her bearings around the new location
she has just emerged into from the ethereal light at the end of the
hallway. While she assesses her situation in a short-manic frenzy, which
ultimately ends at the moment seen in the first screen shot, she is
running around out of fear. This is again shown in the screen shot, as
the close up confirms she is running out of the fear of the unknown,
not because she is being chased after (at this moment anyway).
 Krueger, like I said, keeps most of his movement slow, as to watch his
'pray' from afar. This turns into sleuthing, as he keeps hidden while
keeping track of Tina. This builds up tension, as it prolongs the
meeting at the end of the nightmare scene for the audience, creating a
sense of anticipation.

13. Micro Analysis - sound
 The start of the opening uses diegetic sounds of an old, creaky and creepy factory, as this gives the audience
a sense of unease and danger, as they don’t know exactly where the sounds are coming from.
 This leads to the sounds (again, diegetic) of tools being used and hammers being hit, as we are shown
Krueger's process of creating his glove. This is key, as the sounds add to the feeling of danger which is shown
through the visuals, the knives and various hardware tools which could be used as a weapon. The use
of synchronous sounds also link here, as on screen the action of using knives and tools links to the sounds
being produced.
 When the title sequence is on the screen, we hear our first notable use of non-diegetic sound, as the title is
accompanied by high pitches harrowing screeches, which add to the uncertain and unsettling path of the film
for the audience.
 As the opening scene progresses, the white noise (as well as high pithed screeches) starts to increase the
further Tina gets into the factory. This creates tension for the audience as this technique is clearly used as a
way to build up to something. This ultimately leads to the use of the synchronous diegetic sounds of Tina's
screams and Krueger's animalistic 'Raw'.
 Again, synchronous sound is used when Tina runs away as the foot steps on screen match the sound effects
used, as this adds to the sense of being chased. These effects are continuously used to create jump scares,
seen when Kruger jumps up behind Tina, or to create a sense of anticipation and mystery for the audience,
like when the rips on Tina's nightgown are shown.

14. Micro Analysis – camera
 For camera shots, the opening uses a lot of close up shots as a way to show the audience
details that further the story, as well as highlighting key objects that can hold significance.
Shown in the first screen shot, the opening uses a lot of close up shots to show us the tools
used and the gloved-weapon Krueger is creating. This shows other weapons that could be
used in the slasher film, as well as emphasising the danger they hold. Other close ups are
focused on Tina's face, as she exerts her emotions as she reacts to her surroundings, as a
way for the audience to feel her emotions.
 Other shots used are 'over the shoulder' shots, as not only does this let us see the reactions
on Tina's face, but it also lets us see everything behind her. The continuous use of this acts
as a motif as it implies that something is behind her or following her, which we as the
audience know is true. This creates added tension as the audience will be waiting for a
jump-scare, another common stereotype of horror movies.
 The use of wide shots, which we can see in the third image (the establishing shot of the
opening) are also significant, as they emphasise the isolation of Tina's character. They also
highlight the fact that she is getting closer and closer to Freddie, as seen as she runs down
the hallway in the static wide shot, again in the third image. This is indicated as she runs
away from the white light.
 Lastly, other shots I think are used effectively, is the use of the mid-tracking-shots. This is
as they help the audience follow Tina's journey deeper into the factory, while effectively
still being able to highlight her apprehension of danger from being in a new location. They
also create tension for the audience, as we can only see what the character does, which
means we experience everything as they do.

15. Micro Analysis – Editing
 In terms of the pace, editing is used to create an ultimately bigger scare at the
end of opening, helped with the use of the editing pace. It is built up with static
shots changing into the tracking shots, and the pace matches this as the
cutting between shots gets quicker. The pace keeps building effectively, aided
with the quicker pace of the sounds used (while also linking to how Krueger
stays hidden until the reveal), to suddenly come back down when Tina wakes
up. This pace mimics the tension created while having a nightmare, which
ultimately dies out when you wake up, creating a realistic pace that adds a
sense of relatability to the horror elements presented.
 Looking at the text of the film company 'new line cinema', the switch between
the black and red not only relates to the connotations they give from being in a
horror movie context, but also link to the color of Krueger's jumper. This is used
as it almost acts as a warning to the audience of the horror, danger and gore
elements that will be in the film.
 The use of these colors are also used in the title sequence. The flashing of the
text also doesn't help distract from the fact that this movie will contain a lot
of horror, also implying the danger that surrounds the word 'nightmare' its self
will be the key aspect of the film.