A Nightmare on Elm Street

What makes Freddy truly terrifying, and an inspired invention on Craven's part, is that he exists not in the real world but in the shadowy realm of dreams.

A Nightmare on Elm Street is tailor made for those who like their gore leavened with thought-provoking ideas - something that is a rarity in this genre.

There are some genuinely frightening dream sequences - and some throwaway black humour...it's all good scary fun."

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a highly imaginative horror film that provides the requisite shocks to keep fans of the genre happy.

Turning slumberland into a twisted murderer's den is a masterstroke by Craven, who has brought new blood to a genre that seemed as if it might choke on it's own excesses.

Nightmare’s skill wasn’t that it invented such associations—which had already been thoroughly mined by its ’70s predecessors—but that it refined them in uniquely disturbing ways, drenching itself in an atmosphere of unreality positioned somewhere between waking and slumbering states.

A decent ride. It has a boogeyman, exploding teen-agers and blood by the vat; it's part of the oeuvre. It is also, alas, no significant advance of the sub-genre some of us feel, however improbably, attached to. Teens-and- slash may be a form full ofhack work and dim bulbs, but so long as that form stays within reach of young and relatively unsullied directors, there is hope. [6 March 1985, p.C5]

o filme com melhor antagonista que ja assisti,e com final realmente corajoso.

I watched this when I was like, three or four, and loved the absolute hell out of it, for THIS IS GOD.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

For a long time, I wanted to watch this movie and now I have finally watched it (I am late, I know). The whole concept of a monster that kills people in their dreams was a wonderfully original idea. The problem was that the execution of the idea was not so good. Also, the acting wasn't good. Film's conclusion was also messed up. Film contains some creepy moments, but not that much hyped moments. What's good about the picture is Freddy. Here he is a monster, plain and simple. No one-liners, just a cold-blooded killer. Overall, this is a good movie but the direction and poor acting drag down this particular movie.

Craven's imaginative mythological world is the apt wake up call for the legacy we pass on. A Nightmare On Elm Street Craven's imaginative mythological world is the apt wake up call for the legacy we pass on. The concept is admirable since it fiddles with relationship between subsequent generations and the torch that is passed on by the elders to the young ones. And as much as beautifully it is weaved out, the procedure that it follows is raw horror extracted from old school textbook genre that still works. It is a smartly crafted conflict whose solution, which seems impossible to eradicate, is simply smart and on that note of closure that it achieves by making a full circle, lies the real trick. The structure of the script too is familiar with a series of unnerving death sequences followed by going deep into the root and analyse a thesis out for a loud finale. And yes, the final act is loud but until then you have bought Craven's theories and are being whirled around this chaotic and literal bloodbath. Another major strength of it, is tricky camera work. The narration keeps the surrounding under the shades in order to easily fabricate this hallucinating dream or nightmare on screen with decent editing. Unfortunately, the performance objective is short handed and is a friction to this smooth narration. It also lacks creativity on displaying the death sequences with innovative and intriguing ideas especially its execution, it could have been more practical along with the art designing. Despite of such setbacks, Craven's passion on making alive this and his dream is what drives this film to the end with a satisfying and enthralling experience where even the thrills aren't taken for granted. A Nightmare On Elm Street may not be the ultimate horror experience but its three dimensional characters are undeniably immortal for their moving and effective background track that is inspiring.