A Nightmare On Elm Street

Starring: Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp
Written by: Wes Craven

Director: Wes Craven
Year: 1984

Rating: * * *    Stars       +       (Fan Bonus *   )  Total: * * * *

The spirit of a dead child murderer stalks the children of his murderers in their nightmares. 

One of the more original concepts to come along in films of this type. The monster isn't under the bed, or in the darkened woods. This monster is in your dreams, and if he kills you there, you die in real life. To make matters worse, in the dream world, the monster has complete control over the environment, while the dreamers have to make sense of their surreal surroundings.

The story centers around Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a man accused of a series of child murders years ago. Due to a loophole, Freddy was found not guilty. However that didn't stop a mob of angry parents from chasing him down to an old boiler room and torching it, burning him alive. Now it seems their children are being haunted in their dreams by a burnt looking man in a red/green sweater, and a trademark glove that replaces fingernails with knife blades. Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) is so afraid to dream she forces herself not to fall asleep. Yet she can't do that forever, and slips in and out of consciousness. This makes for some classic moments as she awakens into the dreamworld, sometimes unseemingly so. This keeps the audience intrigued, wondering if she's really walking down the hall in the real world or the dream world. Wes Craven also does a good job of applying the surrealism of dreams onto the film. Characters open the door to their homes only to enter a boiler room, or a school, or even the outside. From dreams they can catch a glimpse of what's happening to others in the real world. The transitions from one to the other are done seamless and with great effect. 

Unlike fellow slashers Michael and Jason, Freddy talks, and this just adds so much to his character. In later sequels, Freddy is somewhat of a wise-ass, but here he is truly creepy and menacing. 

SEE THE TRAILER: A Nightmare On Elm Street