Whatever you do, don't fall asleep...

Rating: 6/10 (24 January 2016)

I grew up on the slasher movies from the 1980's; those being "Friday the 13th", "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Halloween". And this first installment from 1984 in the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise is certainly entertaining, but it lacked the zest that was established with the Freddy Krueger character in the later movies. And as such, then this first movie just turned out to be an adequate slasher movie. But all beginnings need to start somewhere.
I assume that you will already be familiar with the storyline, especially if you are a fan of the horror genre. But shortly recapped, then it is about a deviant killer who strikes terror and deals death to the youth of Elm Street from the dream world.
Granted that the Freddy Krueger character and the story concept was refreshing to the slasher genre of the early 1980's, then I just doesn't find this movie to be all that outstanding, especially compared to the later movies.
Heather Langenkamp was quite good in the role as Nancy, a she carried the movie quite nicely. And being more than overly familiar with the movies, then it is a nice character that she will reprise again in later movies. Robert Englund was a great choice for the Freddy Krueger character, just a shame that he didn't have the chance to be as much in-your-face with the Krueger wits and jokes as he is in the following movies.
The effects were quite good, and having good effects in a slasher movie is a must. Especially as the effects can be a deal breaker for the movie if they are bad.
While it is a no secret that Freddy Krueger is not my favorite of slasher characters, then he is a close runner up. I like the part that he kills in people's dreams and the dark, perverted humor that he has. His appearance is also remarkable and it is one that is easily remembered.
All in all, a fairly adequate start to the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise.