Welcome to one of the main features of 'Castle Dracula,' the movie reviews section.
The reviews placed here are from all around the world, from the USA to the UK Japan
and everything inbetween. The formats reviewed are video and DVD. I have included the
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also notice that there are some DVD-R reviews. These are not 'bootlegs' or 'copies'
but official screeners that I have been sent containing an as yet unreleased film to 
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- A Nightmare On Elm Street - US DVD -  

'A Nightmare on Elm Street' is a movie that I have a love/hate relationship with.
In many ways I love (well maybe thats too strong a word) this movie because it is
a great horror flick. It is well conceived and at the time of its release introduced
a fascinating new character, 'Fred Kruger'. The movie showed that Wes Craven has a 
knack for bringing gore to the screen with the use of intelligence. I also hate this
movie. It is not the movie that I hate, it is the effect that this movie had on the
horror movie industry that I do not care for. Its commercial success led to a series
of moneymaking sequels that made a mockery of its star, 'Freddy Kruger'.
Wes Craven was someone whom, at the time of the release of this movie, I respected.
Remember this is the same man that did such excellent films as 'Last House on the 
Left' and 'The Hills Have Eyes'.
Since the success of this movie, look how his career has changed. 
'A Nightmare on Elm Street' is a clever story woven around a group of four teenagers.
Each is having the same nightmare sequence. A man with finger knives, a dirty hat 
and a striped sweater appears in their dreams. The nightmares take a gruesome turn 
as 'Tina' (Amanda Wyss) is brutally murdered.  The perpetrator is never seen during
the slaughter as he is only in her dreams. Her boyfriend, 'Rodd', watches helplessly 
as her flesh is ripped open. The instruments and killer remain unseen. It is a concept
that works.
'Nancy' (Heather Lagenkamp) finds out about the truth of 'Fred Kruger' through her 
alcoholic mother. 'Fred' was a child molester who was murdered by a group of local 
parents. Now he has discovered a way to exact revenge by attacking his killers 
children through their dreams. 
'Nancy' understands who 'Fred' is and what he is up to. She decides to attempt to 
bring 'Fred' out of the dream world and destroy him.
Wes Craven does a great job of making the audience pay attention to what is happening.
We never know exactly what is reality and what is a dream. We are also made to wonder
where the line of what is contained in a dream and what is reality really is. 
Or, does this line even exist?
Also, we have to face the dilemma of trying to conceive what the effects could be if 
this line is crossed. If something can follow us out of our nightmares, imagine how
dangerous the world would become.      
'A Nightmare on Elm Street' is a movie that hits us right from the start. There are
some brilliantly crafted horror scenes. 'Tina's' graphic murder is one of the best 
death scenes ever filmed. 'Tina' appearing to 'Nancy' in a bloody body bag is truly
appalling. 
'Glens' bloody death on his bed is rather nasty. As violent as these scenes are, 
they fit perfectly with the plot and in the movie. This is something that rarely
happens in a horror movie. 
Craven does an excellent job of balancing the gore and the storyline.
The acting is quite good. 
All four cast as the teenagers come across as real people. 
They have a true innocence of teens that normally gets lost in a movie of this 
nature. 
Veteran actor John Saxon gives a fine performance as 'Nancys' divorced Police
Lieutenant father. 
Johnny Depp is introduced in this movie. He plays one of the teens, 'Glen'. 
It is interesting to see how much he has grown as an actor over the years. 
When I first saw this movie soon after its release, I thought that Johnny Depp
would be a flash-in-the-pan. I have really liked some of his recent performances.
An interesting aspect of the film is the use of colors and light. The nightmare
scenes are quite chilling. Craven also uses many bright daylight settings. It 
makes the entire plot seem more plausible. Not all the horrors of the world occur
in the darkest moments in the dead of night. Even if we suffer from the darkest
of dreams at night, the sun still shines and the sky is blue during the day.
Terrifying events still wait for us, especially when we least expect them. The 
daylight scenes do not cause the movie to lose any of its effect. 
Wes Craven explains during the commentary that this movie is a compromise with
reality. Yes it is. At the conclusion of the movie we all think we have it 
figured out. Then Craven finishes off the final scene by causing us to wonder 
what really happened. How much of the movie is a dream? How much is reality? 
It made me question just about everything that occurred from the first scene 
until the final credits rolled across the screen. This is not a weakness of 
the movie. Rather, it is a keen way to approach a complex subject. 
Craven gives us something to ponder after the movie is over. 
A few choice goodies are included in the DVD. 
The audio can be selected as either mono or SurroundSound. The Mono lets you
hear how the sound was on the original theatrical release. Try a few scenes in
Mono and then switch to the enhanced SurroundSound. You will find quite a 
difference. Unfortunately there was one extra that I could not take advantage 
of. If you have a DVD-ROM on your computer there is something you might want
to check out. You can watch the movie and read the script.
A commentary version is available. Writer/Director Wes Craven, Director of 
photography Jacques Haitkin, and cast members Heather LangenKamp and John Saxon
discuss the filming of the movie. This is a commentary worth watching.
A couple things are worth mentioning. 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' cost only 1.8
millions dollars to make. Even though this was produced in 1983, I still find 
that incredible. It is not a film made on an over bloated budget. Craven did base
the movie on real life events.
He read about teenage immigrants from South-East Asia who had certain mishaps with
dreams. The teens complained to their parents that they were having horrible nightmares
and did not want to sleep. When they slept again, they never woke up. I was not able
to verify this. I do not doubt Wes Craven.  
I know that his earlier movies were also based on bizarre real-life occurances.
'A Nightmare on Elm Street' is an important and outstanding horror movie that all must
see. Though it focuses on teenagers, it is not a teen-scream movie that relies on 
bloodshed and a bunch of half-naked chicks running around the set. This is a classic. 
Wes Craven has a brilliant mind. I wish he would go back to his roots. If he would do
that, movie goers would follow him away from a lot of the trash that Hollywood throws 
at us today.

Reviewed By Scal Williams

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