A Nightmare on Elm Street

Rating: 9/10 (21 March 2011)

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a refreshing and imaginative scary movie by a master of horror; Wes Craven. This first Nightmare is probably the darkest of the series. Freddy has some witty one liners in this, but it isn't full on comedy like we see in Nightmare 3-6. The story is about a group of teenagers who are having nightmares about a burned man that is trying to kill them. The man is Freddy Krueger and years ago he killed many of the children on Elm Street in a town called Springwood. After the police let him go the parents gathered and killed him, burning him alive. Now he has found a way to exact his revenge on the parents. He can kill their other children in their dreams. After her friend Tina is murdered in her sleep by the evil madman, Nancy must find out the town secret and stop Freddy from killing all of the teenagers in Springwood.
There are some things about this movie that don't make sense. The ending is the big thing that stands out. Did the mother die or not, what was with her being sucked into that mattress? And the ending in general was pretty weak. But the rest of the film is brilliant. The acting is very good, of course Johnny Depp stars in his first movie. And Heather Langenkamp does a strong job in the role of the survivor - Nancy Thompson. Wes Craven created a horror icon in Freddy Krueger that has lasted many many decades.
A Nightmare on Elm Steet is the one that started it all. It isn't the horror comedy that the recent Nightmares have been, definitely the scariest of the series. A must watch.
9/10