A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Average Rating: 7.6/10
Reviews Counted: 43
Fresh: 41 | Rotten: 2
Wes Craven's intelligent premise, combined with the horrifying visual appearance of Freddy Krueger, still causes nightmares to this day.
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 0
Wes Craven's intelligent premise, combined with the horrifying visual appearance of Freddy Krueger, still causes nightmares to this day.
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Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 375,796
My Rating
Movie Info
A decade of wisecracking sequels have not diminished the power of this striking horror film from the director of Scream. Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter (Heather Langenkamp) traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger (Robert Englund), who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge.
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Cast
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John Saxon
Lt. Thompson -
Ronee Blakely
Marge Thompson -
Heather Langenkamp
Nancy Thompson -
Amanda Wyss
Tina Gray -
Nick Corri
Rod Lane -
Johnny Depp
Glen Lantz -
Robert Englund
Freddy Krueger -
Charles Fleischer
Dr. King -
Joe Whipp
Sgt. Parker -
Lin Shaye
Teacher -
Jason Adams
Surfer #1 -
David Andrews
Foreman -
Ed Call
Mr. Lantz -
Mimi Craven
Nurse -
Don Hannah
Surfer -
Jeff Levine
Coroner -
Sandy Lipton
Mrs. Lantz -
Mimi Meyer-Shaye
Teacher -
Joe Unger
Sgt. Garcia -
Shashawnee Hall
Cop -
Jack Shea
Minister -
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A Nightmare on Elm Street Trailer & Photos
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (51) | Rotten (2) | DVD (31)
A highly imaginative horror film that provides the requisite shocks to keep fans of the genre happy.
Craven vitalizes the nightmare sequences with assorted surrealist novelties.
It's all good scary fun.
Top CriticA Nightmare on Elm Street... puts more emphasis on bizarre special effects, which aren't at all bad.
Still stands on its own as an intriguing and chilling example of how horror works best when the characters and the audience don't have to be lobotomized.
The first seven movies of the dreamy 1980s slasher series squeeze on to five discs, looking far better in HD than they did when you first saw them, peeking through a crack in your parents' bedroom door as they watched it on VHS.
Craven knows which big, red Freudian buttons to push, turning Freddy into a true monster from the Id.
First feature for knife-handed horror idol Freddy.
...a low-key horror effort that's ultimately not quite as enthralling as its premise might've indicated...
An imaginative, menacing, and scary film with top notch performances, an original premise, and horrifying villain...
Seeing the movie again, I was reminded that while the Krueger character did have some taunting, humorous dialogue, it was more eerie than funny. Krueger was truly a menacing, terrifying boogeyman in the beginning.
... ingenious exploitation that plays on primal fears and subconscious anxieties...
...decidedly anti-art - at one point, a teen dozes off while reading Shakespeare - yet it still manages to rank among the top horror movies of all time.
A fantastic horror film that still holds up resoundingly well today.
Writer-director Wes Craven hit upon a clever idea: A dream demon. Surprisingly good picture and sound, too. (Blu-ray Edition)
What the film did more than anything else was create a new horror star.
The Sandman of Reagan's dozy suburbia
The Infinifilm Special Edition finally pays tribute to this venerated horror classic and proves that a great filmmaker requires imagination, not money to create true and lasting suspense.
Terrifically spooky and original, the film continues to feel completely modern despite being almost a quarter-century old.
...one of the great horror efforts and a worthy successor to the classic monsters of yesteryear.
My favourite horror movie.
An inventive and terrifying horror film that explores the inner psyche and its ability to turn nightmares into reality.
One of the most intelligent and terrifying horror films of the 1980s.
Audience Reviews for A Nightmare on Elm Street
Super Reviewer
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- Nancy Thompson: One two... Freddy's coming for you... 3, 4 better lock your door..5, 6 grab a crucifix... 7, 8, gonna stay up late, 9, 10, never sleep again!
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- Nancy Thompson: Wathever you do... DON'T... FALL... ASLEEP...
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- Tina Gray: Oh, God...
- Freddy Krueger: This.. is God.
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- Nancy Thompson: It's only a dream!
- Freddy Krueger: Come to Freddy.
- Nancy Thompson: GOD DAMN YOU!
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- Freddy Krueger: I'm your boyfriend now Nancy.
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- Nancy Thompson: Whatever you do, don't fall asleep.
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Latest News on A Nightmare on Elm Street
June 24, 2010:
Man Mounts Video Campaign to Save Nightmare on Elm Street HouseThe house that supposedly helped inspire Wes Craven's "Nightmare on Elm Street" will soon be...
April 22, 2010:
A Nightmare on Tim's Street: Day 1On April 30, the rebooted Nightmare on Elm Street hits multiplexes, ready to bedevil the minds of a...
April 13, 2010:
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) on Blu-RayUnfortunately for everyone, we have yet another flimsy week on home video. Things will look...
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Foreign Titles
- Nightmare - Mörderische Träume (DE)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street (UK)
Just bought the box set of 6 movies, so will be working my way through them this long weekend. (Happier about this than I probably should be!).