One fan said it “might very well be one of the best horror movies of all time”.

Fans have just days left to watch an iconic horror film that will “go down in history” on Netflix. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) is a slasher film set in the fictional American town of Springwood, Ohio, about a group of teenagers targeted by undead child murderer Freddy Krueger (played by Robert Englund) who invades their dreams.

The film also stars Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, and was a film debut for Johnny Depp. A Nightmare on Elm Street was written and directed by Wes Craven, and was a huge box office success, spawning a number of sequels. Back in 2006, the film ranked top of poll conducted by Yahoo! Entertainment about the scariest films ever, ahead of the likes of Saw (2004) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).

The film was the first in the franchise and is hailed as one of the scariest movies ever.

The film was the first in the franchise and is hailed as one of the scariest movies ever. (Image: Warner Bros)

Fans have taken to IMDb to shower praise upon the film. One wrote: “Very gory, tense and full of over the top deaths scenes. A Nightmare on Elm Street brought something new to the Horror Genre, and will go down in history in recognition of this.

“The rarity of the film, is the character of Freddy, because he actually has character without distracting from the terror (in this outing at least).”

A second said: “This movie might very well be one of the best horror movies of all time, together with movies like “Poltergeist”, “Dawn of the Dead (1978)” “The Exorcist” and “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)”.

A third wrote: “The effects in the film were well done and the horrific portrayal of Freddy Krueger is by far one of the scariest I’ve seen in quite some time. If you haven’t seen a good horror film in a while, you can’t go wrong with this one!”

A Nightmare On Elm Street
One fan said it might be one of the best horror movies ever. (Image: Warner Bros)

A fourth praised the film but voiced disappointment with the various sequels, writing: Freddy, played by great gusto by Robert Englund, was a vivid creation, light-years ahead of the ultimately dull and humorless Jason and Michael Myers of the “Friday the 13th” and “Halloween” series.

“It is easy to see why so many sequels followed. Too bad most of the bulk of them weren’t very good.

A fifth said: “Easily my favorite horror film yet. Horror films to date have failed to capture the essence of a deeply disturbed and depraved antagonist since Freddy.

“I’m all about the classics and this one is up there with The Exorcist! Question is…where did we lose our way?”

The film has a 15 certificate and contains strong horror, gore, and violence – so viewer discretion is advised.

A Nightmare on Elm Street is leaving Netflix in the UK on Monday, February 9. It’s also available to buy or rent on various platforms, including Amazon Prime, YouTube, Apple TV, and Sky Store.