Writer/Director Wes Craven took quite an innovative turn from the path his first two movies ("Last House on the Left" & "The Hills Have Eyes") set for horror. Established with an extensive backstory that only took 5 sequels and a short-lived TV series to fully explain, we are introduced to Nancy Thompson'a "repressed" teen whose folks have recently separated. To make matters worse, her best friend Tina mysteriously dies in her sleep. Nobody seems to know anything about it except that her degenerate boyfriend was in the same room when she died. As Springwood police chase their only lead, Nancy falls victim to a burnt, clawed maniac that lives in her nightmares. But this boogeyman has a plan: to take revenge on the townsfolk who torched him by systematically slaying their defenseless, sleeping children. Brave little Nancy realizes that she must face her fear to destroy this monster--and stop this nightmare once and for all. But how do you kill something that "only" exists in your dreams? Actor Triva: This movie made Johnny Depp a Star, This was his first movie role. He was not known as Johnny Depp either. His alias in the movie was OPRAHNOODLEMATRA.