1h 31m
Director: Wes Craven

I always thought that the idea of having a psychotic serial killer who stalks you in your dreams when you are sleeping and at your most vulnerable as the premise for a horror movie is quite ingenious.

It really helps that Freddy Krueger is clearly a sicko who relishes frightening his victims and butchering them mercilessly in gross and inventive ways.

He picks innocent young people to terrorise which adds quite a lot of contrast to his kills leaving you feeling all the more sorry for his helpless targets. Those knives and that burnt complexion help to pile on the fear.

The first kill where Tina is thrown about the room, lifted to the ceiling and slashed to death is truly disturbing. Hats off to the imaginations of the creators who envisaged some legitimately terrifying moments. These days the main focus in this sort of film appears to be gore but here you see it mixed with psychological fear which if you ask me is far more horrifying.

Watching this as a youngster it scared the bejesus out of me, as an adult you find yourself laughing at the cheesey schlock - they really play with the idea that Freddy can do whatever he wants because it takes place in the dream realm where anything goes and that makes him an even scarier villain.

They drop a bit of lore in this film but I think too much information about the baddie spoils the mystery and later entries in this franchise have gone a bit too far in my opinion. This film doesn't quite tell you exactly what the supernatural rules are and usually that messes with the stakes but this is one of those rare instances where it works quite well.

I think when you're young your imagination can run wild because you're yet to establish where the boundaries lie in reality but as an adult you become succinctly aware of what the limitations are and you can easily distinguish what you see on the screen from the real world.

Nancy ends up doing the adult version of Home Alone (1990) at the end of this film but as you know, Krueger returns later to traumatise other victims, which fits the mischievous nature of the character - although we do discover that it's the victim who gives him power (Stephen King's IT (1986) anyone?) until we don't because it's all a trick which adds a bit of menace.

The low budget feel of the effects and over the top gore add value as far as I'm concerned and the glee that Freddy expresses as he carries out his kills let you know you're being effed with as an audience.

It's worth mentioning that this is Johnny Depp's first outing and he looks very young and untouched by the rock star lifestyle he seems to have adopted over the years.

You know how they often play a bit of uplifting music at the end of a scary flick to get you feeling better and shuffle you out of the theatre? They don't need to do that here because the final scene always makes me laugh, it's either the most silly looking effect you've ever seen or a nod to the audience that the creators were self aware. If you don't know what I mean here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o_VUBSL2hs

If you haven't already seen it then definitely do it, it's a classic! If you have seen it then it is worth a re-watch, just bare in mind that some of the visuals look a bit dated! And whatever you do, DON'T fall asleep!

"One, two, Freddy's coming for you,
Three, Four, better lock your door,
Five, six, grab your crucifix,
Seven, eight, better stay up late,
Nine, ten, never sleep again."




Trailer: