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Horror master Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the most beloved franchises in the genre, and its famous slasher villain, Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), is equally beloved. Since it has remained undeniably popular in the 40 years since the first film's release, it is hard to believe that Craven had a difficult time trying to get the project picked up. All the major studios balked at the premise, claiming they didn't think audiences would find dreams scary enough. Luckily, New Line eventually gave the movie the greenlight, thus giving birth to one of horror's most iconic franchises.

Despite being made on a lower budget, the movie became a big success and catapulted Freddy into horror icon status. The surprise success of the movie paved the way for seven sequels, a crossover with fellow horror icon Jason Voorhees, a remake, a video game, a TV series, and countless merchandise.

It's hard to overstate just how significant Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street still is. The slasher classic has successfully infiltrated our popular subconscious, reaching a sinister gloved hand into the imaginations of generations of filmmakers and reshaping modern horror cinema. It's perhaps only with hindsight that the full extent of the 1984 movie's impact can be appreciated. But even with its iconic villain, inspired premise, and archetypal story, the original A Nightmare on Elm Street is much more than an artifact to be admired. It remains a thrilling spectacle albeit with some of its originality tarnished.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Director Wes CravenRelease Date November 9, 1984Studio(s) New Line CinemaWriters Wes CravenCast Paul Grenier, Leslie Hoffman, Don Hannah, Ash Adams, Brian Reise, Carol Pritikin, Shashawnee Hall, Donna Woodrum, David Andrews, Sandy Lipton, Ed Call, Jack Shea, Mimi Craven, Joe Unger, Joseph Whipp, Jsu Garcia, Ronee Blakley, Jeff Levine,...

Given that the sprawling final Twilight story Breaking Dawn is being split across two films, there are naturally a lot of roles to fill. One of them has an actor in place, as Rami Malek has told Entertainment Tonight that he’s signed on to play the vampire Benjamin.Despite his ordinary sounding name, Benjamin is Egyptian, and boasts the power to control the elements. Think Aang from The Last Airbender, except without the silly dance-fu stuff. A carefree yet confident type, he’s a member of the Egyptian coven that Bella and Edward call on to help them defend against the Volturi when the ancient clan decides to destroy the newly formed Cullen family (Edward, Bella and baby Renesmee).Malek was last seen playing Ahkmenrah in the Night At The Museum movies, and he’ll crop up next in Tom Hanks' next directing/starring job, Larry Crowne.Bill Condon...