Stood The Test Of Time

Rating: 9/10 (18 October 2006)

In 1984 Wes Craven redefined the horror movie forever, bringing his own rules to the game, avoiding the clichÃ©s that had gone before, making an exciting, inventive, gory, wickedly clever, and above all-scary film. A Nightmare On Elm Street, spawner of sequels, influencer of crap is the movie horror fans hoped for in the early eighties, but is also an effective satire on small town life, our fascination with serial killers, our fear of the unknown, and the sins of our forefathers.
The children of Elm Street are being murdered in their dreams by serial child killer Fred Kreuger. Nightmare is quite a surreal film. When I first watched it years ago it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn't. This added to the terror. Its not so frightening today but it still holds up very well especially against its dire clones and sequels. The reason why the first Nightmare is far superior to its sequels is that it plays to its string's. Freddy is a horror character not a comedian. Here he plays the classic bogeyman - a symbol of terror and not the lovable wish cracking anti hero of subsequent films. Not just in the way he acts but also in the way he looks. Freddys makeup in this film is pretty horrible - but in a good way. We can see he has been badly burnt and can see strips of flesh hanging from his face if you look hard enough. Its dirty, slimy and unpleasant.
This movie as a horror movie is fantastic. As a part of the slasher sub-genre, it is the cream of the crop. Nothing has come close in terms of ingenuity. This is much more than a guy in a mask killing people. Being able to attack someone in their dreams, and having the ability to manipulate aspects of the environment (coming through walls, beds, etc.) this movie is smartly made. Well thought-out; one of the most evil villains ever in a movie. For the low-budget affair that it was, it sure was impressive, and definitely stood the test of time.