Nightmare on Elm Street - Before the days Freddy Krueger became a psychotic Bugs Bunny

Tina Grey (Amanda Wyss) has recently been suffering from nightmares with her being pursued by a terrifying looking man. When she begins a conversation with her best friend Nancy (Heather Langenkamp), they realize that they've been dreaming about the same guy. Eventually, a couple of murders take place, and Nancy begins to draw a connection between the murders and the victims dreams.-summary

The late great 80's, the decade responsible for the massive down-pour of horrors sub genre; the slasher movie. It's a fact that the slasher movie was a dime a dozen at the time, but one particular film almost revived the entire genre and made it cool to watch all over again(even though I never stopped), and that film was 1984's A Nightmare On Elm Street(NOES) directed by Wes Craven.

The film is mainly remembered for giving birth to the horror icon Freddy Kreuger, but I remember it for different reasons. This is when the franchise was scarier, more horror driven, and.. well... a lot less like itself later on. A Nightmare On Elm Street is still a very effective horror movie, and it can stand amongst the best in the genre.

A Nightmare On Elm Street was definitely a stylish and creative work. Craven took the flesh and blood slasher villain of yesteryear and gave him a horrifying twist. The killer was able to attack when people were at their most vulnerable, while asleep. The horror factor was increased tenfold, because it's already difficult to summon the will power to fight off a killer in the physical form. However, dreams are quite different since the victim has little to no control over their dreams; while Freddy Krueger appears to have complete control over the dreamscape, and through many segments during the film, he obviously drew his power from the fear of his victims.

I thought the set-up was very well played. Craven did a magnificent job crafting the nightmarish sequences. The set pieces couldn't have been any better. Tina's confrontation with Freddy is quite possibly the best. The chase scene begins in a very dark alley, with Freddy playing his mind games very early. The atmospheric and devilish scenario, in combination with Freddy's grotesque appearance, will create a sense of uneasiness in the viewer.

The film is quite heavy with the gore, and two of the death scenes are by far the best in the franchise, with the first death being the most notable. The scene was very brutal indeed, but what makes it stand out even more are the themes coming into play; hopelessness, vulnerability, the threat of the unknown, as well as the subtle content which is Freudian in nature. The body count is rather low, but most of the deaths will leave a lasting impression. The special effects can be gruesome, and I also enjoyed the soundtrack, which brought out the best in scenes that were already good to begin with.

Robert England as Freddy Krueger truly felt his role and he delivered a magnificent performance. The cast was pretty solid all around with several good performances, but for some reason Ronee Blakley as Marge Thompson just seemed out of it. I often wondered was that real booze in her bottle.

The pacing is outstanding and the plot moves with such grace. The plot mainly revolves around Nancy, while she tries to deal with the situation concerning Freddy, and at times, she even questions her own sanity. Subjects such as sleep and dreams are lightly touched upon, and they only add to the films suspense. Freddy's origin is somewhat mentioned, but his powers are left open, which I thought was a great move because it added to the mystery.

The film does have its flaws that creep up and hit you in the face pretty hard during the second half. Certain plot elements really didn't seem well thought out and things can just felt a bit awkward. The ending isn't exactly a train wreck disaster, but it's kind of close. It was nothing more than a cheap tactic to set up the sequel.

Overall, A Nightmare on Elm Street is still a very good film, and it's actually regarded as Craven's masterpiece. The film is among my favorites in the slasher genre. I highly recommend it to the casual horror fan as well as the die-hard. The film has a 91 minute run time.


Pros:
-Nice concept
-Incredible villain
-Solid first half


Cons:
-Second half
-Weak ending
-A bunch of worthless sequels