The Nightmare Begins

Rating: 10/10 (29 November 1999)

True, I am a Freddy fan. I think you would have to be to praise A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET so highly. But this movie is so fun to watch. As a kid I got so scared of this movie, I would run out of the room while the tape was still playing (!)
Now it's just a great movie to watch with some friends. The effects are kind of crummy compared to the ones in the sequel, but the scares are homemade pure. ("This is just a dream, it's all just a dream!")
The acting is deliciously campy, just like the writing. I think this represents the surrealism and forgery of good dreams, but maybe I'm just saying that to cover up the flaws. But I love those lines! "Screw your pass!" or "This..... is God!" This classic flick also features the great Johnny Depp in his feature film debut, "Me? Why would anyone wanna kill me?"
But despite the not-so-hot acting of the young cast, Wes Craven somehow has the superior power to creep you out with just a ring of the phone or little girls jumping rope and singing. Not to mention a slimy, bass-voiced, burnt-faced Krueger who is not afraid to take your (or his own) face off with his infamous glove. The music by Charles Bernstein plays throughout the movie and literally gives you chills down your spine.
I don't care how old you are or how many times you've seen this movie. You always feel a bit more comfortable watching it when the lights are on.