A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Review A Nightmare on Elm Street

Dream Attack. The kids of Elm Street appear to be having the same bad dream, one in which a scarred faced bogeyman in a stripy jumper hunts them with knives attached to his fingers. When the dream becomes a reality for one of the kids, and the worst happens, Nancy Thompson risks all to bring the bogeyman into the open. Stupendous horror movie, one that not even the ream of sequels, spin- offs and cartoons could ever diminish. Wes Craven creates a film of utter terror, unleashing one of the genres most famous monsters on the unsuspecting film loving public, with Robert Englund as the hideous Fred Krueger having the time of his life slashing away and delivering oral venom. A number of scenes and sequences are staggeringly memorable, in the process shifting into horror movie folklore. The youthful cast are sensibly written (Cravens screenplay that took inspiration from a true story he read about Cambodian refugees literally dying of nightmares!), they are not dumb these kids, just vulnerable, but led by Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) there may be hope of some survivors? The blurry line between dreams and reality gets a bloody make-over here, creating biblical snoots in the process. In short, essential horror movie for those inclined. 9/10

Review by John Chard

Review A Nightmare on Elm Street

5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My personal favorite slasher horror film that goes well with my Halloween costume, which itself is an accessory to this horror treasure of the 1980s decade!!!

Review by John Critic

Review A Nightmare on Elm Street

The nightmare that started it all. Made us all scared to go to to sleep. My favorite horror series next to Friday the 13th. Love this movie.

Review by Andre Gonzales

Review A Nightmare on Elm Street

This is the ultimate in slasher-horror that thrives on the basis that it is, at times, genuinely quite scary, and it doesnt take itself too seriously. Robert Englund is super as the legendary Freddie Krueger who, complete with his razor sharp right hand, takes over the dreams of the teenage children of parents who had been responsible for his gruesome death many years earlier. When a terrorised Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) begins to put two and two together she sets out with cute boyfriend Glen (a first outing for Johnny Depp ) to trap him in her world - and that means drinking enough coffee to sink the Titanic and staying awake! Ronee Blakely does a mean impersonation of Faye Dunaway - as the girls almost permanently drunk mother (whose battles seem to get larger as the film progresses) too. It doesnt hang about - Wes Craven keeps the pace almost frantic, and there is plenty of humour to keep its tongue in its cheek. The effects are limited, but fun, and the whole thing raises more smiles than goosebumps but its still an entertaining watch 35 year later.

Review by CinemaSerf