Reviews (261)

A True Terror Classic
When the onslaught of 80's slasher films was in high gear, most ripping off "Halloween", and "Friday The 13th", there were hardly any original frights in the bunch. " A Nightmare On Ellm Street" came along and changed that. This movie, like "Psycho", and "Halloween" before it, and "Scream" after it, changed the world of horror. Good horror films can still happen. A bunch of kids are having nightmares of a ghastly looking killer with knives for fingers. Is he for real?. Will they die if they sleep?. That is such a great, ingenious premise. The movie has several heart pounding scenes that will leave you holding on to your seat. It's that good. Robert Englund, as Freddy Krueger, helped create one of the most memorable and incredible cinema villains of all time. The movie always has that eerie feel and pull of a horrible, sweat soaked nightmare. Wes Craven is truly a master. Heather Langenkamp, as the heroine Nancy, is one of the all time great Scream Queens. This movie is frightening. If you don't like it, you must be an alien. A brilliant, legendary classic. Don't fall asleep!.

One, two...Freddy's coming for you....
Horror films usually have the reputation as being mindless slasher movies filled with half-naked (and invariably stupid) bimbos. I mean just how many times can someone trip over nothing just to be slashed to bits by some masked axe/knife-wielding maniac? Is "Nightmare On Elm Street" an exception to this rule? In a word, YES!

Wes Craven's masterful creation known as Freddy Kruger is more than just a disgruntled maniac looking for sex starved teens. He is clever and dark and witty and horrifying and well, creepy as hell. There is actually a story line to this movie. Freddy was once an actual person...a monster in his own right, that was destroyed (burned to death, no less) by the good people on Elm Street. An eye for an eye? Well, Freddy's not finished yet...he re-emerges as a nightmare for Nancy, the daughter of one of the people who burned him years ago. Only Freddy's more than just a bad dream as Nancy (wonderfully played by Heather Langenkamp)and her friends (keep an eye out for a very young Johnny Depp) soon find out. He has gained power through their dreams and has very real consequences in the waking world.

Make no mistakes, this is a horror film, but the thinking person's horror film. You want to unravel the mystery of this creepy nightmarish figure that seemingly can do or become anything. Craven keeps it real, while managing to keep it fascinating...something few horror movies can claim. Freddy himself, is never really revealed or completely seen until the very end. This adds a great deal to the overall darkness of this movie. This film is gory but somehow that is not the focal point. It also explores the characters, especially Nancy, who emerges as the unlikely role-model/heroine.

"Nightmare On Elm Street" is a good flick, period. It is smart, clever, creative, witty, creepy, dark and down-right SCARY. Kudos to Wes Craven and his most-original masterpiece. Freddy is a force to be reckoned with!

Good night, Sleep tight, Don't let Freddy Kreuger bite!
I must say that this is by far the most...Incredible thing I have ever seen!!! A lot of people didn't approve of it(when I was 6 I didn't approve of it but more on that later.) Because this movie had a low body count.(Find out wich one did on www.freddyvsjason.com) But even thought the BC was low, the Blood Count was phenomenal. Remember the scene where whatsherface was wrapped in that sheet with blood all around it? what about when that dude got pulled through the bed?(I hate to admit it but to make a long story short I didn't sleep in my bed till the next time I saw it!) But I wont spoil the movie for you 'First Timers'. But If you are a first timer, watch this movie by yourself in the middle of the night, door locked, lights off, (And maybe some rubber pants and a blanket! If you think it's that scary) Good night, Sleep tight, Don't let Freddy Kreuger bite!

Freddy Krueger was the Boogeyman...
Wes Craven provided the final truly great film of his directorial career with A Nightmare On Elm St, initiating yet another successful horror franchise that deteriorated quickly but made Freddy Krueger a viable part of North American horror film iconography.
In this film, the teen residents of Elm St. are tormented by recurring nightmares of a razor fingered, fedora wearing maniac horribly scarred beyond recognition. When the teens begin to meet untimely and gruesome deaths, it would seem that their nightmares have become reality. Child molester and murderer Freddy Krueger has returned from the grave to wreak vengeance on the offspring of the vigilantes who burnt him alive many years previous.
The film benefits from a great cast of notable actors such as John Saxon (Black Christmas, Cannibal Apocalypse), Robert Englund (Eaten Alive, Tv's V mini-series) and a pre-stardom Johnny Depp (Donnie Brasco, Pirates of the Carribean). Heather Lagenkamp is also terrific as the main protagonist Nancy, who takes it upon herself to stop Krueger's murder spree. Lagenkamp would return in Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and Wes Craven's New Nightmare.
The film offers a surreal tone that consistently blurs the line between dream and reality making for a unique and terrifying experience, the viewer never knows what to expect, quite a departure from the usual predictable slasher film.
In Krueger, Craven and Englund have fashioned a completely hideous and unforgettable villain. Far removed from the ridiculous caricature that Krueger would later evolve into in the many sequels that followed.
The film will also please gore fans as a plethora of gruesome effects are employed that far surpass those in either Halloween or Friday The 13th. The murders are very imaginatively orchestrated and original.
A Nightmare on Elm St. is a fast paced and very effective horror film that deserves to be seen. Too bad the myriad sequels failed to live up to the promise of this first outing. After this Craven would move on to more mainstream material like the mega-failure Deadly Friend and the hugely successful teen horror parody Scream.

Revolutionary Modern Classic
Director Wes Craven was inspired by a series of newspaper articles to create "A Nightmare on Elm Street." Children were suffering terrible dreams and in desperation, told their parents they were frightened of dying. Then, one by one, the kids started inexplicably dropping away.

And what better foundation to create a horror film? Craven decided that his generation's horror films weren't up to snuff, and tended toward the "slasher" genre that was becoming very popular after the release of "Halloween." He upped the ante by attacking vulnerable young people the only place they felt safe: asleep.

This is an effective and unsettling idea, and is executed with masterly precision. Craven knows how to create suspense while building strong, endearing characters the audience will actually care for. The dream sequences are put together very well, and while the special effects seem dated as compared to today's high-budget Hollywood standards, it is perhaps their gritty, slimy quality that enhances the fright factor.

Overall, the acting is fairly decent. Johnny Depp isn't quite the Johnny Depp we know and love yet, so don't get moist in the panties when you see his name. Heather Langenkamp is convincing as the innocent, virginal girl caught in a web of parental lies and secret cover-ups. But it's Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger who steals the show. Later in the "Nightmare" series, Freddy became a comedic character, and all the scariness was lost. Sure, his face became more mangled, and his style of slaughter grew sophisticated and detailed, but the true allure of the Freddy character is portrayed only in this film.

"Nightmare" revolutionized the modern horror film, and brought science fiction and horror one step closer to each other. This allowed writers and directors to take more challenging projects and demand an imagination of their audience. Like all good things, though, Freddy was sucked in by Hollywood and New Line Cinemas and turned into an absolute joke. It wasn't until the final addition to the straight-up Freddy series, "Wes Craven's A New Nightmare" that the fright and creativity was redeemed, as once again Craven took it to the next level of horror and surreality.

Not only is Craven masterful in his directing, the film is an enjoyable hoot. It's a fun and scary journey into the black heart of a ruthless serial killer -- and cultural phenomenon -- you cannot escape. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Serial arson is haphazardly dramatized in Point of Origin, a fact-based HBO production that's more flashy than effective. A respected cinematographer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men) making his directorial debut, Newton Thomas Sigel turns this pyrotechnic mystery into a showcase for rampant visual trickery, employing digital effects, various film speeds, and Hong Kong-like stunt fantasies tothe outbreak of arson in Glendale, California, in 1987. Ray Liotta plays the arson investigator whose behavior draws the suspicion of his colleagues, but his guilt or innocence (and a really obvious make-up disguise) take a back seat to Sigel's visual treatment of fire, which borders on fetishism as it runs forward and backward in time. The effects are undeniably fascinating, suggesting the scary possibility that real arsonists might find this film inspiring. Obviously that's not Sigel's intention, but he's too busy showing off to fulfill the story's untapped potential. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (2)

fire bad
mesmerizing and great. I fell for this movie because the story was interesting, people, arsonists, setting fires and Liotta and Leguizamo have to find out who is doing this. from start to finish its grand and well directed. for fans of the 2 stars or who like fire movies. based on actual events

Good Story that caught me off guard
I knew absolutely nothing about this story before seeing the movie. The film began and when it said that it was based off true events, I almost turned it off. What caught my attention was the visual protrayer of the arson investigation... after that it was the story and the performances of the actors themselves. Ray Liotta stars as arson investigator John Orr. He, along with John Leguizamo, are trying to figure out who is starting all these arson-based fires. John Orr is well regarded as the chief arson inspector and if anyone can find out, he can. So the film plays out like a cat and mouse game. You are trying to figure out what is motivating the person who is setting these fires. What makes the story a bit more compelling is that, during the 90's, at least three firefighters were arrested for arson. After watching the DVD, I found myself going over the film again. I figured, since it was based on a true story the DVD would have some interesting extras. I was disappointed, therefore could not give it a 5. Nevertheless I did find the story fascinating. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The Two Best.
If you're like me, you found the annoying, over-publicized, wisecracking Freddy Krueger of the "Nightmare" sequels truly embarassing, Apparantly so did Wes Craven. After directing the absoloutly brilliant original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984), he finally eturned to the series ten years later to right what was wrong and give Freddy a proper burial in the ingenius "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" (1994). After the completely pitiful, direct-to-video 'quality' of "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" (1991), Craven proved that horror can be artistic and scary, as well as pack a major punch. Both the original and "New Nightmare" stand as a testament to this. Craven changed the face of horror with the original by introducing a villian you couldn't escape from. Fred Krueger haunted your subconcious mind, stalking you through dark dreams until you were dead in real life. None of the subsequent sequels recognized the genius of the film, and assumed that all the audience wanted to see was bloody murder and cheesy jokes. then came "New Nightmare" to get the series back on track. Smart and scary, the movie reunited most of the cast of the original "Nightmare" as well as the producers and makers of the whole series ina wacky and twisted plotline in which Freddy is a real force kept quiet by capture in the films, but now that the films have ended, he's back. Both of these films are smart and scary, and get 100% recommendation from me, unlike the tawdry sequels.

As usual for New Line Cinema, the quality of these DVDs is very, very high. The grain that inhabited all previous version of part 1 is totally absent now, and the darkness of the dream sequences can be realized like never before. "New Nightmare," being the most recent, of course looks great, and also features one of the most heartpounding 5.1 soundtracks ever. Both films contain excellent, in-depth commentaries from Craven and the crew. These both shed a lot of light on the making-of and intentions of both films. Press biographies for the cast and crew is also available on both of these discs. Also, don't miss the fun theatrical trailers, especially "New Nightmare," which continues the 'film-within-a-film' idea of the movie.

This set gets my highest recommendation. You get both of the best "Nightmare" films without being attacked by the horrible sequels. *****

Do not be fooled!
Buying these two DVDs together as they have done it does not give you a good deal or save you money; you actually pay 42 cents more than what you would pay if you would just order them separately! I know it is not that much money difference, but I do not like the way that act as if it is a "deal," when you are actually paying a little bit more. Normally, I am fine with Amazon, but because of this simple fact, I took my business elsewhere to buy these two films.

The Nightmare comes to Life
New Line Cinema took a new direction from the old Nightmare series by literally bringing Freddy out of the screen. Krueger comes to life to stalk actress Heather Langenkamp having been laid dormant in the unproductive Nightmare Series for too long.

Wes makes a daring and successful attempt to resurrect Freddy. He returns the demon to his dark and humourless self giving him a terrifying new "shadowy" look. He furthermore blurs the line between reality and fiction bringing the slasher into the very world that is suppose to be our sanctuary.

With a palette of special effects, Freddy returns to the claw abandoning his creative murders in exchange for the "catch and slash" Nightmare was originally famous for. Fans of the saga must be willing to accept this long-winded, stand-alone film at its newest angle and embrace the post-modernism. For those looking for another addition to the series, I'd recommend Freddy vs Jason. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

FUN Nancy Allen film
Low budget cheapie starring Nancy Allen.At 46 Allen still looks good but there's a bit too much collagen in those lips - check it out! PS - forget that ugly DVD cover. Allen gives an OK performance. Best line Indian to Allen:This land filled with evil spirit. Allen to indian:No argument there! Good DVD print and GREAT sound.Opening scene with Allen on the run is the best. A must for all Allen fans

Unbelievably bad......
The incredulity of the plot is only exceeded by the ineptness of the acting. Stay away from this one. Terrible. The only redeeming feature: the daughter's name in the movie is Carrie. (For you Nancy Allen fans out there.....) The only reason it gets one star is because the review page does not allow anything lower. ... Read more