The beginning of the franchise, and the early suggestion of problems with it.

Rating: 7/10 (6 April 2006)

I'll hand it to Wes Craven.
He can construct a fairly original story, and throw in just the right amount of scary twists at us to keep us watching. Even with being 22 years old, Nightmare still smells and looks fresh (save for some of the items that have been updated since). The idea of having someone take your life in your dreams is just an interesting one that has yet to be done as well, if at all, since the franchise's run during the 1980's. The death sequences are imaginative, and make others pale in comparison. This movie was popular at the time for a reason (and gave Johnny Depp a name as well). They are all done very well done for 1984, especially considering they all would be benefiting from the help of CGI if the movie was remade today.
Another interesting thing to note, is how the characters aren't dumb like the casts in their horror film brother and sisters (read: Friday the 13th). They genuinely have no idea what's going on with their dreams, and the Freddy Kreuger cover-up only adds to this fact. They attempt to avert the inevitable, but just end up failing. Whereas most horror just have the characters being complete morons, and walking right into their fates with no chance of thinking before hand. The heroine in this picture genuinely has ideas for what to do, and fights to try and get them to work. She is the one who set the cliché up for future generations of horror films, and you can just see the beauty of the original idea playing out in the movie. And while Kreuger had yet to become the smart-ass he was in other films, his creepy presence only adds to the genuine scares of the film (and he is pretty witty in some instances).
The problem with the film is how the film falls apart after it all sets up completely. The entirety of the final 30 minutes of the film are just silly, and do no justice to the rest of the film. The ending is absolutely awful, and makes the clichés of today look absolutely brilliant. It looks entirely half-baked, and too well appreciated for its own good. It had the makings for something that really should continue to live on in 2006, and just dissolved faster than it was made. It just stops making sense. Yes, you need to have an open mind, and just let the movie play out without using your brain, but if you're left sitting there completely not understanding one thing that just happened, what kind of payoff is that?Craven had created a great horror film, and simply, he just didn't know how to make it play out. A number of things could have been done to make his status even greater than it was after this, and one is definitely to allow it to make sense.
Adding more sense to the finale of the picture would have benefited greatly, in 1984 or in 2006. It would have added so much more to this memorable film, and really made the sequels pale in comparison. I will say though, it was a hell of a way to make a name for yourself Craven.
7/10.