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A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Rate: 9
Viewed: 6/02, 11/05, 2/26

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11/05: Well, this is the one that started it all: Johnny Depp's acting career after he's sucked into the waterbed before being blown up like a geyser in bloodbath.

Anyway, A Nightmare on Elm Street is a creative horror movie. I'll give Wes Craven that in spite of me calling him a hack and fraud so many times. However, the acting isn't up to par as Scream.

Freddy Krueger looks weird in many scenes. It's like he has a new face every time. Does Rod bear an uncanny resemblance to Rob Lowe or perhaps Esai Morales, huh? The lyrics are cool which goes like this:

"One, two, Freddy's coming for you.
Three, four, better lock your door.
Five, six, grab your crucifix.
Seven, eight, gonna stay up late.
Nine, ten, never sleep again."

Here's the famous story of how Johnny Depp was cast: Wes Craven wanted his 14-year-old daughter and her best friend to make a choice between two actors for the role of Glen. They both unanimously picked the headshot of Johnny Depp. Thinking of him greasy, pale, and sickly, Wes Craven went, "Are you serious?" They simply said, "He's beautiful."

All in all, Wes Craven will always be famous for A Nightmare on Elm Street, but more importantly, it's the beginning of Johnny Depp's movie career.

2/26: A Nightmare on Elm Street holds up well, forcing me to raise my rating from '7' to '9'.

One thing is for sure: it's a highly creative horror flick. I didn't realize that Ronee Blakely of Nashville was the girl's mother. This is familiar territory for John Saxon after appearing in Black Christmas ten years earlier. The strongest acting performance goes to Heather Langenkamp, a Brooke Shields look-alike. Whatever happened to her afterwards?

I like how Nancy Thompson decided to confront Freddy Krueger in her dreams and try to pull him out into the real world. At least, her mother explained the origin of this monster, but it's actually hard to get a clear read of his face which won't be yet iconic until the third part. Is Johnny Depp's character so stupid or what? All he had to do is stay awake.

All in all, for good or bad, the 80's was a memorable decade for Jason, Freddy, and Michael Myers.