A rough little jewel

Rating: 6/10 (5 November 2001)

It's poorly-acted, sloppily-made, and far too bloody, however the very first "A Nightmare On Elm Street" spooked me at the time and has an ingenious premise. Teenage girl finds that her friends are being killed in their dreams by a deceased child-killer seeking revenge; she plots to trip him up and save the neighborhood! It's a modest thriller with fake blood splashed around, but it isn't an ugly, mean-spirited movie (as some of the sequels were). In fact, it's rather playful and fun-scary, the way a good chiller ought to be. Director Wes Craven allows himself to get a little dopey (check out that finale!), but he takes some chances here that his more recent work rebuffs. Craven is working on pure adrenaline as well as a loopy, lopsided sense of logic, and this "BOO!" sensibility suits him. A nifty little screamer. **1/2 from ****