A Masterpiece of Modern Horror

Rating: Null/10 (21 February 2003)

Being the first R- rated film I ever saw, this holds a special place in
my heart, but it still holds the test of time years later when
compared to other horror films that I thought were "cool" at the
time. Even in comparison to other horror films, it reamins an all
time favorite of mine. Almost on the level of "Psycho" and
"Halloween."
The story plays on the inner most fears of parents and the most
primal fears of a young child at the same time; that the monster
that gives their kids nightmares is also the same cretin who would
abduct their children and kill them.
Robert Englund created a character in this movie that would live
on forever in cinema history as a monster with very sick,
humanistic motives.
While numerous inferior sequels followed this tale of a lynched
child molester who comes back from the dead to exact his
revenge on the townspeople who burned him alive (only two of
which were remotely decent and technicaly one of those, "Wes
Craven's New Nightmare" doesn't even feel like a part of the
series), this movie set the standard for all 1980's horror films to
follow. Often imitated, but never duplicated, "Nightmare on Elm
Street" remains an utter original in a sea of phonies.