Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep. It’s a creepy warning taken from A Nightmare on Elm Street, the supernatural slasher film which turned forty this year. The movie features the iconic Freddy Krueger, the pizza-faced, razor-clawed demon who came back from the dead to avenge his own killing. Played by Robert Englund, Freddy haunted the teenager’s dreams – the kicker being that if he catches them as they sleep, they die in real life. The only option was to stay awake.
![[Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by New Line/The Elm Street Venture/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock (5882371b) Johnny Depp A Nightmare On Elm Street - 1984 Director: Wes Craven New Line/The Elm Street Venture USA Scene Still Horror Les Griffes de la nuit]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SEI_217357232-6a17.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Krueger’s character became iconic. Dripping with threat and sarcasm in equal measure, it was the first time in horror that the monster had a personality, and his multi-bladed hand soon became a mainstay of trick or treat costumes. Some viewers reportedly experienced PTSD symptoms after seeing the movie, which darkly inspired 24-year-old murderer Daniel Gonzalez who, in 2004, killed four in frenzied attacks in London and Brighton.
![[2006 Summer Television Critics Press Tour]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GettyImages-71413813.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=594)
The film, which cost just $1.1million to make in 1984, took an impressive $57million in US box offices alone, but it was a hit across the globe – especially in Japan – and re-wrote the book on how horror movies were made. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video.
![[Heather Langenkamp And Nick Corri In 'A Nightmare On Elm Street']](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GettyImages-143157959-e1729162673259.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=547)
Up Next. Nightmare on Elm Street spawned a franchise of nine further films, a television series, novels, comics, video games and launched the career of Johnny Depp, whose character Glen Lantz suffered a horrific death when his sleeping body is sucked through his bed into a magic slaughter vortex.
![[Johnny Depp In 'A Nightmare On Elm Street']](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GettyImages-143157877-e1729159625514.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=529)
-in-_Presence_-directed-by-Steven-Soderbergh_Photo-by-Peter-Andrews_Copyri.jpeg?trim=0,192,0,191&quality=75&auto=webp&width=1000)
