The classic original is the best in the series.

Rating: 10/10 (26 July 2008)

I love A Nightmare On Elm Street. Every time i watch this i think it has a terrific energy and strength running through it. I like the way the film starts with Freddy Kruegar making his Finger Knife Glove in his basement cellar, then the music kicks in (what a creepy score) as the first teenager is frantically running around his maze-like Boiler Room in her dream state. Freddy is only hinted at in the shadows or ripping through cloth with his glove and i love the way you can hear animals and creepy noises emitting from all around Tina, as she becomes cornered before Freddy comes out of the shadows. A great opening.
Tina Grey is played by Amanda Wyss, who is really good in her role for the short time she is in this film. I always remember her character in this film the way i remember the Chrissie Watkins character at the start of Jaws, i think you know what i'm coming too. Tina's encounter with Freddy in her backyard is my favourite moment in this film, and it is one of the most horrifying deaths I've ever seen. Its frightening to see and if you are faint hearted at splashing blood then look away because it is a screamer.
Heather Langenkamp is excellent in this film. Shes very attractive,and gives 100% as Tina's friend Nancy Thompson who starts to have the same nightmares. My favourite moments with Nancy are mostly her scary encounters with Freddy scored to an energetic music beat by Charles Bernstein. I would say part of the movie's success is down to his creepy score. I also love the bathroom scene when Nancy falls asleep, absolutely gross and hilarious at the same time. The thing is, these 'funny' moments are actual imagines of how Freddy wants to prey on his victims before killing them, this is done in this first film with a measured discipline, then you watch The Dream Master and Freddy is basically killing kids while being 100% comic about it as well.
One of my favourite other scenes in this film is when Nancy is following Tina's corpse down her School halls (having falling asleep)and runs into a prefect women who states 'Wheres your pass?' Nancy doesn't respond in kind, and as she goes running down the hall, the girl reveals herself to be Freddy 'No running in the hallway' an eerie moment that is funny too.
Finally, special mention must go to Robert Englund as Freddy Kruegar. This actor's contribution to the character is 100% superb. I think that Freddy Kruegar IS Robert Englund and vice versa, even though a lot of his moments in this film are about injecting a scary visual presence, he also creates a mystic before the film's revelation: Who is he? Where does he come from? Why is he doing these things? After the third film of the series, Englund would become a Hollywood star and a horror icon. Rightfully so.
A Nightmare On Elm Street is a classic horror thriller and, along with Halloween, is one of the best horror movies ever made.