Great Chemistry Between Actors In Nightmare.

Rating: 9/10 (11 January 2000)

The film that started it all...and this was no comic Freddy either. Freddy's introduction to the world was as dark as his past. He didn't crack a joke in every appearance...he killed!

The first Nightmare film was original. Others will copy this format over and over again...including Mr. Craven himself (Shocker). Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss and Johnny Depp were great unknown actors in this film. You can't really cast any better for this type of film. It was also great to see horror great John Saxon reappear on the screen.
The chemistry flows nicely throughout the film. At times, Langenkamp seems to be talking to herself and not the actor she is supposed to, but overall it's one great scare. Wyss played a great sexy little friend of Langenkamp's and her scene-stealing death scene is one of the greatest of all time. The fact that when you were hurt in your dreams, you were hurt in real life has opened the imagination for many. While it may not be totally original (H.P. Lovecraft's dreamland's novels used this to a limited degree), it did introduce it to a wide audience.
On such a limited budget, Craven and his group did a wonderful job keeping the effects realistic and the story great!