After so many lackluster slasher “legends,” I expected A Nightmare on Elm Street to be a bore—but it’s damn good. It has the two things so many slashers lack: pacing and logic. The threat is established early and, instead of repetitive gore-fests, an actual plot exists where the characters come to understand and fight against Freddy. Solid mileage is gotten out of the dream element both in its realistic implications and the ambiguous atmosphere of what might not be real. Heather Langenkamp has some awful lines, but this is otherwise great.