A Nightmare On Elm Street is often credited as taking certain overused tropes from the horror movies of the '70s an early '80s and successfully revitalising them; indeed, Wes Craven's endlessly inventive yarn - which clings to a horrifying premise that has a murderer pursuing victims in their sleep - clings to a ton of ideas that audiences had seen time and time again already, but pulls them together in a way that feels fresh and new. And then there's Freddy Krueger, of course; a nightmarish creation of pure evil if ever there was one, since made iconic. Shamefully, A Nightmare On Elm Street led to an insane amount of unwarranted sequels, which have somewhat shallowed the reputation of the original classic which started it all. Thing is, the first chapter is actually frightening in all the ways its sequels are not. This isn't schlocky horror for the sake of it; Craven's script is genuinely intelligent, a point proven by the way in which Krueger delves into the dreams of his victims to get at them. It has a few flaws, of course, but ultimately A Nightmare On Elm Street lives up to to the sinister promise of its title... and then some.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
