Maybe I didn't give the movie enough credit

Rating: 7/10 (3 March 2003)

Now that I just bought the "Nightmare on Elm Street" DVD collection, I watched the original "Nightmare" again just to refresh my memory about the film. A couple years ago I rented the movie on video and submitted my comments. I felt it was a good movie, but I wasn't raving about it. Maybe I wasn't in such a good mood that day.
First of all, the transfer from video to DVD looks wonderful. If you watch it on video, the reception is grainy and you can determine how old it is by its picture quality alone.
As I've mentioned in previous reviews, I don't get scared easily, so I'm not going to give this a negative review just because I wasn't leaping out of my seat. However I was creeped out a few times. Hell, even after seeing Freddy Krueger's face a million times, I'm still creeped out by the dude. And nobody--I mean--nobody could've played the role better than Robert Englund. For some reason I regarded the acting as cheesy the first time around. OK, so the acting isn't extraordinary, but it's good, especially for a horror film. And I've learned to appreciate Heather Langenkamp more and more as a scream queen. It is amusing to see Johnny Depp, who didn't possess the same star power or talent he does today.
Perhaps I was too hard on the film, and I'd regard "Nightmare" as at least a minor classic. After all, Freddy is a supreme horror villain! And I forgot to mention the film's nifty premise. I'm fascinated by psychology, especially the subject of the unconscious mind. It's a very perplexing element, because nobody really has control over their unconscious minds, so nobody has any control over what happens in their dreams. So what happens if those dreams, or nightmares I should say, become a reality? Kudos to Wes Craven for an inspired and original effort.
My score: 8 (out of 10)