Review for A Nightmare on Elm Street

A Nightmare on Elm Street tells the story of a group of four teenagers who are haunted by the same dream. It is a creepy, burnt man, with knives for fingers, wearing a hat and dirty red and green jumper. This is Freddy Krueger. If he kills you in your sleep, you die for real. One by one, Nancy and her friends are terrorised by the creature and killed in their sleep until Nancy fights back and tries to beat the nightmare boogeyman at his own game and if she doesn't may never be able to sleep again in this classic 1980s horror.

It is impossible to deny the impact of this film and Freddy on the culture of society. On film in general. When the slasher films of the 1980s had degenerated into teenagers at (insert event) being killed by (insert weapon) wielding psychopath, here was this intelligent and brilliant film that put new life into the horror genre.

Watching this film back, everything still works, the practical effects still hold up and most importantly the film is still scary. Having Freddy pop out and that claw scraping still sends chills up my spine. This is the mark of a truly special film and even if the sequels did become a little comedic with Freddy doing one-liners before every kill, this was Freddy in his purest, scariest form.

The whole film from the chilling score, to the acting by everyone including a young and unknown Johnny Depp is great. Obviously, Robert Englund steals the show as Freddy and the makeup effects on him look amazing. As I say, the practical effects still hold up and even simple things like the face and hands coming through the wall look amazing.

This Bluray is filled with loads of special features that will make all fans of the original want to own this. Two commentaries may seem a little overkill, but both are fascinating with Wes Craven, Cinematographer Jacques Haitkin, Heather Langenkamp and John Saxon on one and the other featuring Craven, Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Ronee Blakley and Producers Robert Shaye and Sara Risher. Both a filled with great stories about the making and impact of the film, which is always good to hear.

Three documentaries cover the creation of Freddy, the inspiration of the film and a look at nightmares and also a look at New Line Cinema which was for many years dubbed 'The House Freddy Built'. What is great about this one is that you really see how if it wasn't for the success of Freddy we never have gotten such amazing films like Seven... or even The Lord of the Rings films?

There are three versions of the ending, though I can understand why they went with the one they did. A Secrets Behind the Nightmares and Trivia Track, which is really for those hardcore fans who want to know everything.

A Nightmare on Elm Street is usually in everyone's Top Ten horror films. It is definitely in mine and when you watch this you can see why the recent remake failed so badly. There is no way that you can capture lightning in a bottle and with a film that is this good to begin with, why would you even attempt to? This film is a classic horror film that everyone who likes the genre should have watched and if not, then this Bluray release is the perfect way to do it.