Review of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) by Brett H — 08 Oct 2015

Easily one of the most creative horror premises to grace the screen, Wes Craven's original, A Nightmare on Elm Street is expertly directed and rejuvenated the slasher genre with it's haunting premise and inventive scares.

Craven drew inspiration from his past and things that frightened him as a child to develop the story of Freddy Krueger, the now-iconic villain who preys on teens in their most vulnerable state: their dreams.

Robert Englund is perfectly cast as the horribly burned and glove-wearing Freddy, and while he's not on screen all that much in this installment, his presence is made early-on when it dawns on the characters that they can't escape him; they have to sleep sometime! The young cast does a pretty good job conveying their terror with Heather Langenkamp taking center-stage and fighting back against Freddy, Amanda Wyss fooling the audience in a role similar to Janet Leigh in Psycho, and Johnny Depp in his debut role which obviously led to bigger and better things! The reason this film made such an impact is the incredible imagination at work with the blending of reality, memorable kills, surreal and frightening imagery, and iconic scenes that stick in your head like Freddy pressing through a character's bedroom wall and of course, the knife-glove in the tub scene is incredible.

The film is a tad dated today with some of the acting a bit off and the ending confuses me a lot more than finding it clever, but the film is still damn effective and what a legacy it left for, Wes Craven!