The original Elm Street! Is it scary? Er… only a little bit but not as much as hoped. There’s some great effects here with the victims apparently cut up by invisible razors and an early victim spinning on the ceiling as Freddy murders her from the dream world. Oddly, the problem with the film is a lack of Freddy! He has relatively few lines (many were edited out based on the unused footage section of the extras), we don’t see enough of the phenomenal burn make up, and his backstory is paper thin. It’s like there’s a whole movie missing about the people who originally killed Fred Kruger (a child murderer had escaped justice on a technicality) and how he gained power in the dream world. They actually don’t say “Freddy” much in the movie as they do “Kruger”. Our young, female protagonist Nancy has to figure out who this guy is (evil custodian?) and if she can save herself, and her friends from this burned dude's dream superpowers.
There’s nice use of lighting and synth-based music is reminiscent of John Carpenter’s Halloween score. Wes Craven is a strong director. The pacing, actors, and minor characters are given room to shine. The story doesn’t rely on gruesome kills but they’re not afraid to drown you in fountains of blood! There’s a sense of impending doom as characters fight sleep, lest they be the next victim. Johnny Depp appears here in his first movie! Will he survive?
Cop: You won't need a stretcher up there, you need a mop.
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