horror / USA / 1984 / 91′
# fear / cult classics / 80’s
age limit: 18 +
20.09 (Wednesday) / at 9:15 p.m. / Sala Widowiskowa / ADMISSION IS FREE

Whatever you do… don’t fall asleep!
Nancy, a young girl, is tormented by nightmares in which she’s chased by Freddy Krueger, a horrible character from the past, who’s used by mothers to creep out their children. Soon enough, one of Nancy’s friends dies in her sleep disembowelled by an invisible killer. The danger becomes more and more palpable when her friends start to die one after another.
Wes Craven took his inspiration for this classic horror from various sources. The idea for the plot was born when he read a series of articles describing mysterious deaths of refugees from the south-eastern Asia. A group of them came to the US fleeing from Pol Pot’s regime and during three years from their arrival some of them died in similar circumstances. Young seemingly healthy people tormented by a nightmare so realistic that they would deprive themselves of sleep for as long as they could, and when they finally had to fall asleep, they would wake up screaming and die. The doctors were baffled, they couldn’t find an explanation. The phenomenon was later named sudden unexpected nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS).
Freddy Krueger is a blend of two people that Craven encountered in his life. The name was taken from a bully who persecuted the director at school, and the clothes – some of the most recognizable in the horror canon – were inspired by a homeless man who was staring at young Wes through his window.
“A Nightmare on Elm Street” is a cult classic slasher which consolidated Craven’s position as one of the masters of horror. The film was such a success that it became a category in and of itself: there are eight full-length sequels, a TV programme, novels and comic books. This bloody (almost 2000 litres of fake blood used) film keeps you on the edge of your seat from the beginning until the end. And even longer. Remember: whatever you do… don’t fall asleep!

direction: Wes Craven
script: Wes Craven
direction of photography: Jacques Haitkin
editing: Patrick McMahon, Rick Shaine
music: Charles Bernstein
cast: Robert Englung, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Johnny Depp
language: English
subtitles: Polish