A Nightmare on Elm Street

Great build-up, the suspense and apprehension, getting you invested in a sequence...this movie has that.

The script is consistently witty, the camera work (by cinematographer Jacques Haitkin) crisp and expressive.

A smart, streamlined slasher with plenty under the bonnet.

A highly imaginative horror film that provides the requisite shocks to keep fans of the genre happy.

What makes Freddy truly terrifying, and an inspired invention on Craven's part, is that he exists not in the real world but in the shadowy realm of dreams.

Craven vitalizes the nightmare sequences with assorted surrealist novelties.

Craven employs some startling horror setups and knows how to make his audience jump

Craven treats us to a garish visual trip into the dark side of dreamland.

There is something chilling about being haunted through your dreams- a space you have no control of and can only put off for so long.

While the sequels, and subsequent remake, would never live up to the magic of the original, A Nightmare on Elm Street launched a franchise that would inspire and retain relevance.