Don't Fall Asleep!

Rating: 7/10 (1 April 2008)

Voilá - one of the world's most popular movie-psychos is born. Wes Craven's original "Nightmare on Elm Street" is arguably one of the most popular and famous Horror films ever, and even though it is overrated, it is definitely a genuinely scary and highly original film that a Horror fan should not miss.

SPOILERS! -

Several Springwood teenagers are haunted by the same terrible nightmares. A horribly disfigured man with razor-claws stalks them in their dreams - dreams so real that dying dreaming means dying in reality. This man is Freddy Krueger, a former serial killer of children, who was lynched by his victims' parents years ago. Now Freddy has come back for revenge - in the dreams of the kids of Elm Street, and he will not rest until he has butchered all of his lynchers' children...
The world's favorite metal-clawed maniac, Freddy Krueger, celebrates his debut in this creepy film that became one of the most popular Horror films ever. The idea of a serial-killer who murders his victims in their dreams is without doubt quite original, and this first "Nightmare" film has several other great qualities. The film spawned a number of sequels. Only part three is worthy of the original, some of the other sequels are mildly entertaining, others almost unbearably awful. Other than most of its sequels, the original "Nightmare" is a scary and genuinely creepy film that focuses on suspense instead of dumb gags. Freddy Krueger is the absolute evil here, and he behaves adequately for the absolute evil. Krueger is played by Robert Englund, who became a world-famous horror icon for the role. Englund was no newcomer to the Horror genre (he had been in Tobe Hooper's demented "Eaten Alive" seven years earlier), but since 1984 Robert Englund IS Freddy Krueger (and Freddy Krueger IS Robert Englund). Heather Langencamp stars as Nancy Thompson, one of the teenagers stalked by Krueger. None other than the great John Saxon plays her police detective father. What makes this film even more memorable is the fact that this is the screen debut of one of todays greatest actors, Johnny Depp. I am not sure whether this film's fame is justified, as it is, in my opinion, overrated, and certainly no Horror masterpiece, but there is no doubt that Freddy's screen debut is a highly original and creepy cult flick that lovers of Horror can not allow themselves to miss! Highly Recommended.