A Nightmare On Elm Street is one of the most iconic and inspiring horror films. It is such a haunting film that has everything; great characters, gory and original deaths, a creative story, and interesting concepts. It merges the lines of reality and fiction, taking away any safety net and taking us in to a dimension where nightmares are a reality and nothing is impossible. You really care for the characters, which is one thing that makes it stand apart from the average slasher. Nancy is easy to sympathize with and one of the stronger female characters of horror. Freddy is such a darkly thrilling villain to watch in action. He is a fun yet creepy villain who takes his victims in to his own world where he is in control.

Nancy (Lagenkamp) begins having horrible dreams one night. A burned man with knives for finger nails is out to kill her. These nightmares seem so real. The only cure seems to be avoiding sleep. Anytime she drifts off she is in a world where she no longer has control. After her friend, Tina (Wyss), is murdered she begins to fear these nightmares even more. The suspect for the crime is Tina's boy friend, Rod Lane (Garcia). He was the only one in the room with her when she was killed but he insists that he is innocent. Nancy wants to believe him and is persuaded further when he tells her that there was someone else in the room. Rod tells Nancy about nightmares he has been having. He describes the man from her nightmares as a man in a red and green sweater with finger knives attacked to his hands. Nancy realizes that this is the same man that has been haunting her. He might have been responsible for Tina’s death as well. Upon hearing her theory every one thinks she is crazy including her boyfriend, Glenn (Depp). Nancy finds more out about this man. His name is Fred Krueger, he was a child murderer. When he was released despite his crimes, the parents in the neighborhood took matters in to their own hands and burned him alive. Now he is out for revenge and the unlucky kids of Elm street are his target. Nancy realizes that her only hope from saving her friends and her own life is if she can take him out of her dream and bring him in to reality to defeat him. She just has to make sure she’s ready for him. Otherwise, Nancy will be his next victim, making the fear of him greater, only strengthening Freddy’s powers.

Heather Lagenkamp is great as Nancy. She is very likeable and kind, yet determined and fierce. Many would be too afraid to even challenge Freddy and she was really the first to since his death. Of course Freddy would not be the villain he is without Robert Englund. He brings the evils that embody Freddy to life with that dark sense of humor that is both completely demented and out of control. You can't forget about Johnny Depp here in his first major role. I am not a Johnny Depp fan, but it’s fun to see him here. Not to mention he has one of the best death scenes as he gets sucked in to the bed only to find his blood and guts splattered all over the ceiling.

Wes Craven created a remarkable horror film with A Nightmare On Elm Street. Although he has had many frightening but unique films, A Nightmare On Elm Street is his masterpiece. Dreams have always been a safety net. No matter how horrifying something might seem, it's only a dream. Craven questions this role and takes away this assurance. Even though some people say that you can control your dreams that doesn't seem to be the case here. Freddy is the one that is in control. Also there is a very strong psychological aspect; Freddy gets his power by those fearing him. It is all through the mind and dreams are the immediate connection that opens that portal.

A Nightmare On Elm Street gave birth to the most effective slasher villain. He is more in your face than Jason and Michael. His supernatural abilities give him have speed and time on his side making it impossible for his victims to get away. As he has knives for fingers he has weapons attached to his body ready to strike at any time. Plus he is often battling his victims in the dream world in which he is the master. Of course his language and sense of humor sets him apart from the rest. Sure an ominous and mysterious killer is scary, but the way Freddy cracks jokes in relation to death and the power he possesses makes him seem even more crazy and out of his mind. He has very dark humor, which makes him seem psychotic and out of control. Someone like that is even more dangerous and frightening because you never know what is going to happen next. Before you know it, the victims may not even be there left to fear them, but their fear has a way of getting passed on to someone else, enriching Freddy's cycle of "fresh meat".

One of the two most notable kill scenes is with the first kill of Tina. Her body is moving spastically all over the room. At times we see Freddy and what he is doing to her and at other times we only see what everyone else is seeing: the body being attacked, but no attacker in sight. It is clear she is in deep pain, but no one, not even her boyfriend can do anything about this. Blood is smeared all over the room; Freddy has now made his mark and will be back for more blood. The supernatural aspects to the film are a big part of what makes Freddy so frightening. He essentially is a ghost since he was killed. Yet this is something he kind of turns on and off. At times you can see him and times you can’t. He has a significant amount of control in this, but part of this is the questioning of whether he has gotten in to your head yet. Dreams are something that can seem very real at times but are just our imaginations at work. Freddy takes the control and lets his imagination go wild. He makes it real but on his terms of death and despair.