Is A Nightmare on Elm Street scary?

Yes. A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the scariest titles in the CouchRot catalog.

How gory is A Nightmare on Elm Street?

Graphic gore and brutal violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.

What is A Nightmare on Elm Street rated, and is it OK for kids?

Rated R, and it earns it: intense fear, several jump scares and brutal violence. Not one for kids.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Film · 1h 35m · Rated R

Horror, Mystery, Thriller

A disfigured man haunts teenagers' dreams, and a brisk, chilling mystery unfolds as they die in their sleep.

Suspenseful. A full-attention watch at a brisk pace. Emotionally it is heavy.

Streaming on Max and AMC+.

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A Nightmare on Elm Street parents guide

It stays inside its R, with intense fear and several jump scares.

Scare: Terrifying; Our top level for fear.
Jump scares: Several; More than a couple of sudden jolts.
Gore: Graphic gore; Blood and wounds shown clearly.
Violence: Brutal violence; Our top level for violence.
Sex and nudity: Mild; Mild means innuendo, or sex implied off screen, with no nudity.
Language: Moderate; Some strong profanity, a few f-words.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is A Nightmare on Elm Street scary?: Yes. A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the scariest titles in the CouchRot catalog.
How gory is A Nightmare on Elm Street?: Graphic gore and brutal violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.
What is A Nightmare on Elm Street rated, and is it OK for kids?: Rated R, and it earns it: intense fear, several jump scares and brutal violence. Not one for kids.

What is A Nightmare on Elm Street about?

Teenagers Nancy, Quentin, Kris, Jesse and Dean are all neighborhood friends who begin having the same dream of a horribly disfigured man who wears a tattered sweater and a glove made of knives. The man terrorizes them in their dreams, and the only escape is to wake up. But when, one by one, they start dying violently, the friends realize that what happens in the dream world is real, and the only way to stay alive is to stay awake.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

It leaves the ending open to interpretation.