One of the classics of horror genre

Rating: Null/10 (3 September 2015)

The original A Nightmare on Elm Street is seen as game changer in the horror genre. It pretty much codified the meaning of slasher film, where a group of teenagers is chased by a supernatural horror, with heavy overtones suggesting that it's because of their budding sexuality. Yeah, not exactly subtle, especially because it's almost always the young virgin female that survives, but the subgenre has other things to offer and it's the excellence of this movie that has spawned so many sequels and imitators.
So what's the story? A group of teenagers are all dreaming about a boiler room and about a man with burnt skin and terrifying claws chasing them within. One of them, Tina (Amanda Wyss), is especially worried and asks her friends to have a sleepover with her in order to help her sleep in peace. And naturally things don't go like they're supposed to. For Freddy's coming for you.
It's a fantastic setup and what makes this film so strong is how unsettling they make that blurring line between dreams and reality. For if you're not safe within your dreams, where can you run? How can you hide? The film slowly builds upon this idea, raising the stages constantly. Helping this atmosphere are some really, really nice practical effects, some of the best I've ever seen in a horror film. It's bloody and gory beyond belief, choreographed beautifully and simply a joy to watch for all fans of slasher genre. Colour me impressed.
The thing I was a bit disappointed by is actually the villain. Freddy certainly has a striking look, very good actor backing him up and his powers are certainly worthy of his status, but the movie gets rid of him rather easily, making me feel disappointed. Sure it's a proper horror film in that it doesn't have a true happy ending, nothing like that, but I still expected a bigger climax. Plus the actual kid protagonists are more than a bit bland. Perhaps I should check out the sequels.
Nevertheless, it's a must-see horror film for all fans of the genre and certainly a good film to check out in any case. As long as you're not squeamish about blood.