Laughable dialogues

Rating: Null/10 (19 July 2011)

I guess why I rated A Nightmare on Elm Street only 8 stars is because of the laughable dialogue, the inconsistencies and irregularities. For example, some things can come out of the dream when captured, such as the hat and (spoiler – someone else) but then the trellis she doesn't even hold onto comes back with her. A feather from her pillow is seen floating but the mirror Fred crashes through survives. Nancy requests 20 minutes to capture the killer and still has time to set half a dozen traps, have a nice mother-daughter talk and fall into deep sleep. And Fred is only supposed to appear when one's asleep; yet, Nancy receives a call from him and the ending blows any of the story's mythos out the window. Literally.
I'm not just talking about goofs, as all movies have them, but they set up a premise, a good and original one in a series of horror movies that relied on a masked killer stalking in the shadows. At least they tried here to change the trend. But, unfortunately, they kept breaking their own rules. It actually would've made more sense to have him as a ghost and then all bets are off. (Granted, he's sort of a ghost, but with rules.) As for the dialogue, though some of its iconic by now, it really doesn't hold up. A few years back, I saw A Nightmare on Elm Street in the theater for a one-night presentation. Being a huge fan, I arrived way early to get good seats, but still thought hardly anyone would show up. Well, it completely sold out. And to my surprise, everyone practically laughed all the way though it and it appeared both at and with the movie. I had to, myself. Even though I grew up on the series and loved them, the movie really was silly, namely for some of the lines, acting and characters – Oh, that drunk mother! Alcohol should be part of any nutritious breakfast! I don't think the audience was really criticizing the movie, they were just having fun.
Aside from negatives, I am still awarding the movie 8/10 due to the movie being enormously inventive, original, fun and despite Fred(dy) not being in it too much, he was extremely iconic, an instant super-villain. Also, I'm glad it started a cult following since a lot of the sequels explored a lot more and were, in a lot of ways, far superior to this original one. So, it did set the stage, introduced a whole new world and just as Jaws did for swimmers, this one did for sleepers. Only, with Jaws, you could choose to stay out of the water. Here, and in real life, you eventually have to sleep. Maybe for the last time.