'Nightmare on Elm Street' Mural

As it pertains to horrific elements portrayed by Hollywood and other media outlets, a community has two options: they can either suppress it or embrace it. Luckily, the neighborhood of Plasnewydd, Cardiff, has decided to welcome the collective work of street artists known as Cruelvapours. 

In 2015, Cruelvapours decided to dedicate a mural to honor the film director Wes Craven, creator of the horror film Nightmare on Elm Street, who died earlier in the year. Fittingly, they painted the mural on a wall adjacent to a lane located near Elm Street. It would appear the designers were greatly inspired by another artist’s interpretation of the movie. They’ve incorporated Graham Humphrey’s  use of the colors blue and yellow, as well as the imagery of the movie’s central figures.

The brightly spray painted picture depicts two characters from the film. In the center, you’ll see the movie’s heroine, Nancy, as she looks from the film’s promotional materials. On the far lefthand side is the wisecracking villain Freddy Kruger looming over the viewer with his trademark razor hand glove. Toward the upper righthand side is the cul-de-sac with its rows of suburban houses from the film. Splayed across the entire panel, in graffiti tagging-style, are the names of the artists, Hoxe, Karm, Sokem, and Rmer. The neighborhood of Plasnewydd is very reminiscent of the suburb depicted in the film, with its rows of pastel-hued family residences.