Review: A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

Review: A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

by Eli Henry

 Let me begin by saying that Wes Craven's 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' has always been one of my favorite horror movies, and one of the first I ever saw, so I have fond memories of it. Excuse me if I get excited. 

 Wes Craven is truly a master of horror. Sure he's had a few misfires (Shocker, anyone?), but he's the man that brought us the classic horror movies 'Last House On the Left', 'The Hills Have Eyes', 'Scream', and of course 'A Nightmare On Elm Street'. If you haven't noticed yet, I'm a huge fan. 

 I'm not sure I should have to say this for an almost 30 year old movie, but SPOILER ALERT.

 A Nightmare On Elm Street is about a teenage girl named Nancy (Heather Langenkap) who, like her friends, has been having a recurring nightmare about a man with a burnt face, in a striped sweater, with what she calls "knife-fingers". After Nancy's friends begin dying while asleep, she begins to question whether or not her nightmares are just dreams.

 A Nightmare On Elm Street starts strong, with original and interesting dream sequences, well-spaced between reality segments (which is dream and which is reality is often in question, though), good acting from a young Johnny Depp and Heather Langenkap, and a solid premise, and the movie never falters. Exciting, genuinely scary, iconic, and realistic (as much as a movie about a murderer living on in teenagers' brains can be), A Nightmare On Elm Street is just an overall masterpiece of 80's horror. The ending especially always makes me smile, because it tricks you into thinking "Oh, good won... in an incredibly cop-out, overly-happy way". And then... you realize that's not really the case.

 Overall, I give it 8.5/10

 Now, go watch it!