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Created Jan 07, 2008 02:13PM PST • Edited Jan 07, 2008 02:13PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Perfect 5.0

   Nancy (Lagenkamp) begins having horrible dreams. A burned man with knives for finger nails is out to kill her. These nightmares seem so real. The only cure seems to be to avoiding sleeping. After her friend, Tina (Wyss) is murdered she begins to fear these nightmares even more. The suspect for the crime is Tina’s boy friend, Rod Lane (Garcia). He was the only one in the room with her when she was killed but he insists that he is innocent. Nancy wants to believe him and is persuaded further when he tells her that there was someone else in the room and describes a nightmare he had been having. Rod described the man from her nightmares. Maybe the reason that Nancy died was because of this monstrous man. Upon hearing her theory every thinks she is crazy even her boyfriend, Glenn (Depp). Nancy finds more out about this man. His name is Fred Krueger, he was a child murderer. When he was released despite his crimes the parents in the neighborhood took matters in to their own hands and burned him alive. Now he is out for revenge and the unlucky kids of Elm street is his target. Nancy realizes that the only way this is going to go away is if she can take him out of her dream and bring him in to reality to defeat him. Otherwise, not only will she be in danger of dying, but this pattern will never end.

4. Acting

   Perfect 5.0

   Heather Lagenkamp does a fantastic job as Nancy. Unlike in many horror slashers she shows us a main character we can really care about. She is very likeable and kind, yet determined and fierce. Many would be too afraid to even challenge Freddy and she was really the first to since his death. Of course Freddy would not be the villain he is without Robert Englund. He is a terrific horror actor and brought the evils that embody Freddy to life. You can’t forget about Johnny Depp here in his first major role. He gave one heck of a performance as he is being sucked in to the bed only to find his blood and guts splattered all over the ceiling.

5. Male Stars Perfect 5.0

6. Female Stars Perfect 5.0

7. Female Costars Perfect 5.0

8. Male Costars Perfect 5.0

10. Film

    Perfect 5.0

    Wes Craven did a terrific job with this. Although he has had many frightening but unique films, A Nightmare On Elm Street is his masterpiece. Dreams have always been a safety net. No matter how horrifying something might seem, it’s only a dream. Craven questions this role and takes away this assurance. Even though some people say that you can control your dreams that doesn’t seem to be the case here. Freddy is the one that is in control. Also there is a very strong psychological aspect; Freddy gets his power by those fearing him. It is all through the mind and dreams are the immediate connection that opens that portal. One thing that really makes A Nightmare On Elm Street a horrific films is Freddy Krueger; the most effective slasher villain. He is more in your face than Jason and Michael. His supernatural abilities make him have speed and time on his side making it impossible for his victims to get away. Knives for finger nails even make it so he has weapons attached to his body ready to strike at any time. Plus he is often battling his victims in the dream world in which he is the master. Of course his language and sense of humor sets him apart from the rest. Sure an ominous and mysterious killer is scary, but the way Freddy cracks jokes in relation to death and the power he possesses makes him seem even more crazy and out of his mind. He is very entertaining through his dark comedic tone. Someone like that is even more dangerous and frightening since they show such wackiness you never know what is going to happen next. Before you know it, the victims may not even be there left to fear him, but their fear has a way of getting passed on to someone else, enriching Freddy’s cycle of “fresh meat”.

11. Direction Perfect 5.0

12. Play Perfect 5.0

13. Music Perfect 5.0

14. Visuals Perfect 5.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Horrid 4.2

    There is a good amount of blood here. One of the two most notable kill scenes is with the first kill of Tina. Her body is moving all over the room in an impossible way. It is clear she is in deep pain, but no one, not even her boyfriend can do anything about this. This is because Freddy is killing her, but he is invisible and unable to be stopped. Blood is smeared all over the room, but this is still nothing compared to the gruesome death of a young Johnny Depp as Glenn. Glenn lets his guard down and does the one thing he was warned not to; sleep. Freddy has the power now and he uses it by sucking Glenn in to the bed and squirting up all of his insides, splattering them all over the ceiling.

17. Sex Lewd 4.2

18. Violence Savage 4.2

19. Rudeness Nasty 4.2

21. Reality

    Supernatural 3.4

    The supernatural aspects to the film are a big part of what makes Freddy so frightening. He essentially is a ghost since he was killed. Yet this is something he kind of turns on and off. At times you can see him and times you can’t. He has a significant amount of control in this, but part of this is the questioning of whether he has gotten in to your head yet. Dreams are something that can seem very real at times but are just our imaginations at work. Freddy takes the control and lets his imagination go as wild as he is. He makes it real but on his terms of death and despair.

22. Circumstantial Supernatural 3.4

23. Biological Supernatural 3.4

24. Physical Supernatural 3.4