"One, Two, Freddy's Coming For You..."

Rating: 9/10 (6 June 2008)

Of the time, there where three slashers that where popular with pop culture and still are today: Micheal Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Fred Kruger. A Nightmare On Elm Street is about the clever, scary Freddy. Not only is Freddy more clever than Jason Voorhees as a killer, but A Nightmare On Elm Street is done a whole lot smarter that any Friday the 13th film. However, A Nightmare On Elm Street was lacking the true suspense that Halloween gave. Nightmare DOES have quite a few good jump scenes. It is also very atmospheric, and never really stops being scary due to atmosphere. There are a few gore scenes, but none are gross. The gore content is high, though. Higher than Friday the 13th and MUCH higher than Halloween.
A Nightmare On Elm Street is about a group of kids who are starting to have nightmares. These are however, not normal nightmares. All these dreams are about is this strange, burnt man who chases after this group of teens. These nightmares seem to be too real to be mere dreams, but that's all they could be... right?
A Nightmare On Elm Street stars Robert England, Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, and for the first time ever, we see Johny Depp on screen. Each actor did a good job with their performance, but I felt that there was something missing with the character chemistry. This may be due to acting problems or due to a poor script/storyline. However, the viewer wouldn't be worried about the actors performances. The viewer would more likely be terrified, so the chemistry doesn't take away from the movie for first time viewing. However, re-watching can be a bummer.
Now here we come with the other cons: Wes Craven's directing. I'm going to be honest with you guys. I have never been a fan of any of Wes Craven's films (especially Scream.) He did an above average job on A Nightmare On Elm Street, but it's still nothing phenomenal. But then again, first time viewers wouldn't care about the directing. All they would care about is the constant scares.
Another thing that disappoints me about this movie is the inability it has to impress people the 3rd or 4th time they view it. I have viewed A Nightmare On Elm Street 4 times now, and each time it louses some of its mystique. I have not watched it for several months now, and I do not intend on watching again for at least one more month. I want to forget about pieces of the movie, so I can be scared by it again. A Nightmare On Elm Street is a truly frightening movie, but once the viewer has all of the scares figured out... what's left?
One more thing I would like to mention is about how terrible the sequels are. The sequels are all either silly or poorly done. Those are however, different reviews.
So overall, I recommend giving a Nightmare On Elm Street a rent. It's a good movie, especially for a first time viewing. However, re-watching can be a true bummer.