A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

 The idea sells the film
There was a time when a film's title and the idea of a guy with knives on his fingers could make a film a box office hit and spawn 10 sequels. A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of those. Whatever you think about this stuff, there is no underestimating that this made New Line Cinema into a juggernaut distribution company. It launched the career of Johnny Depp as did the sequels for a number of directors.

The premise is simple. A killer stalks victims in their dreams and kills them. Kids in a neighbourhood start to have the same dream and start dying. Cue lots of parents blaming the kids and strange things happening.

Looking back this is a low-budget film. The effects sequences are straight out of mom and dad's basement but are effective. Everyone knows that this film was sold on the title and the premise alone. All Wes Craven had to do was film it. The acting is superbad for most of it, the music 80s synthesizer done by Uncle Bob and most of it is shot in the school basement. At the same time nobody can say it's short on creativity. This is a classic Wes Craven and Freddy became a household name.

At the end of the day it just goes to show how a brainchild clicks and everybody wants to see it, no matter how hammy it gets. April 30, 2008

 don't fall asleep
great movie from start to finish i enjoyed all the nightmare on elm street movies way better than the jason movies. But this movie was not scary but what ever you do don't fall asleep when your watching nightmare on elm street movies he will come out the tv and get you to but this movie was good. April 27, 2008

 Good Film, "Okay" DVD
I'm a huge NOES fanboy, but I'll try not to be too bias in this review.
I'll start off with the film itself.
The film is one of the 1st major horror flicks (Well, it was made indie, but grew to major success... so much that it put the studio that released it on the map.) to successfully blend psychological dread and gore together.It has a more surreal tone than most slashers and has some of the most original and powerful killings in movies. It also has some of the most beautiful shots in a scary movie, being second only to The Shining.
My only critiques of the film are that some of the effects are outdated and some the acting/coordination is sub-par. I like the arm extension scene, but I know many who find it a little unessecary and fake. There's the scene where he's burning, and it really takes you out of the film. The double's too bulky and the camera lingers too long on him. Then there's the compromised (Shaye and Craven disagreed on how it should end. The result was a confusing and watered down climax.) ending.
There were really only 3 scenes where the coordination/acting was noticably bad, one being when Tina was Supposedly "running" from Freddy, another when you can see Freddy moving in the background before a scare, and the last one being when he moves a trashcan that's not in the way.
Now, on the subject of the DVD content. It's not the worst content out there, but it was lacking. Robert Englund was missing from the commentary, and that's a big no-no. You can't have a Freddy movie commentary without Freddy himself. Plus, there are no deleted scenes, behind the scenes stuff, etc... just a commentary, trailer, and Cast & Crew profiles that I think you can find on IMDb. I think it's that this was released at the same time as the boxed set, which had the extra disc, and they knew most fans would be willing to pay more for the set to get it.
I strongly suggest getting the new DVD release (the Infinifilm one). It's a lot better. It has all the stuff that was missing from this and the extra disc in the set.
April 16, 2008

 A classic then and a classic now
Once upon a time before Freddy went comedy. Before he was turning into superheros, playing nintendo with his victims, and his long awaited bout with Jason. He was actually a very frightening character to take serious. A Nightmare on Elm Street proves that. This film to me has stood the test of time. And is still one of the best pure horror movies ever.

I won't even waste time with a story breakdown. If you haven't seen this yet. Well, there's nothing I can do about that. The story is original, plot is engaging, really good acting but I like the atmosphere the most. It kept that creepy pace the entire time and never felt like one of those teeny bopper flicks you get in huge doses today. The gore and body count was minimal but the impact was felt. The two really disturbing death scenes are still among the best I have seen in horror.

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a slasher horror classic. I don't believe any true horror fans collection is complete without it. It's a shame the sequels took a huge plummet and Freddy most likely has the reputation of being horrors top comedy act.

March 31, 2008

 The movie that made you not want to go to sleep!!
FREDDY is the man in your dreams, unlike JASON & MICHAEL this guy kills people by invading their dreams.
Like JASON & MICHAEL, FREDDY has become one of America's top horror Icons.
Also a younger Johnny Depp plays the boyfriend to Heather Langenkamp.
The first one is the best in the series, it tells how FREDDY became who he is in the movie.
It also tells why FREDDY is after the kids on ELM STREET.
FREDDY brings a new meaning to horror.
I rate this movie a 9 from 1to10!! March 31, 2008

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