one of my personal favourites. definitely recommended!

Rating: 10/10 (3 October 2013)

a nightmare on elm street 1984 is a horror classic. one of the most original horror films ever made. released at a time where slasher films were growing tiresome a nightmare on elm street revitalized the sub genre. Friday the 13th was up to it's third sequel and Halloween had already released it's second sequel. many other slasher films had been released and they all followed the template set in stone by Friday the 13th and Halloween. the sub genre was on life support and desperately needed a shot of adrenaline. so along came a little low budget film called A nightmare on elm street directed by Wes Craven. while a nightmare on elm street does stay true to the tropes that make a slasher film, it does so in a refreshing way (at the time of release) in terms of it's premise and the plot structure. the concept of a killer that haunts your dreams relentlessly and doesn't stop until he's killed you is a terrifying experience. if you die in your dreams you die in the real world. this allows Craven to utilize near unlimited creativity. the most frightening part though is that sleep is a must. there truly is no escape from this menacing evil so the level of impending doom is huge. just the way the director toys with your mind and plays around with whether the characters in the film have fallen asleep or not is brilliant. the amount of creativity that is put into the dream sequences and special FX is astounding. it truly delivers some of the most memorable and intense scares ever. the atmosphere is very dark and.. well.. dream-like. its a very unique and spooky atmosphere to say the least. along with a very sinister and mysterious dream demon named Freddy Krueger this movie is a real treat. although done on a small budget the film's FX are top notch and are very creative. as for the acting, most of it is not that bad. the final girl and Robert Englund are of coarse the head of the show and they carry the film with some memorable and standout performances. the script is also very good for the budget they had and it has many classic scenes of terror that will never leave my mind. but considering Wes craven is the director id assume we all knew the plot and script would be great. the only other thing I can say is definitely check out this one. whether you like slasher films, psychological horror, cool FX and some bloody mayhem, or just horror in general.. this is one that you must see at all costs! the only downside for me was the very end. I guess by that point in time most of the budget was gone and they had to fix up an ending with whatever they had left but it was still alright. i excuse the very tiny issues and consider this film a perfect horror film. the verdict: 10/10