4/$20 A Nightmare on Elm Street (Two-Disc Infinifilm Special Edition) (2006)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (Two-Disc Infinifilm Special Edition) (2006) Though a barrage of inferior sequels and ceaseless marketing has somewhat dulled Freddy Krueger's menace, the subconscious-stalking slasher fiend was never more frightening than in writer-director Wes (Scream, The Hills Have Eyes) Craven's original Nightmare on Elm Street feature, which has been bolstered by fresh supplemental content in this new two-disc set. Played to the hilt by character actor Robert Englund (who's still enjoying his status as Hollywood's King Boogeyman in films like 2001 Maniacs), Krueger was a diabolically novel movie villain, a pitiless child murderer who pursued the offspring of the parents who killed him through their dreams, and butchering them with a horrific knife-fingered glove whose wounds would be inflicted in the waking world as well as in their sleep. Craven's mix of suspense, gore, and surrealism struck a major chord with audiences in 1984, which lead to a lengthy Freddy franchise and the elevation of parent company New Line Cinema from second-tier distribution house to major Hollywood studio. It also helped establish Craven as one of horror's most dependable (and profitable) filmmakers, and gave a first-time actor named Johnny Depp a memorable debut as the boyfriend of embattled heroine Nancy (Heather Langenkamp).