A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Director: Wes Craven
Starring: John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Heather Lagenkamp

Synopsis:
A group of high schoolers are tormented by nightmares of a local bogeyman that turn deadly.

Impressions:
It seems hard to believe that I've taken this long to get around to watching a horror classic like this. Compared to a lot of other slashers at the time, this film does a lot to shake up the formula, both in the look of the antagonist and how he operates. I like the interplay of the dream world and the real world, and how Freddy enjoys toying with his victims. (All due credit to Robert Englund's performance.) We get some inventive scenes that provide good payoffs and I really appreciate what the filmmakers were able to pull off on a fairly limited budget. I'm sure sequelitis will set in with the subsequent entries, but this one is definitely worth a watch if not a place in the collection of all horror fans.

Rating:
Watch It