A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET - RANKED
In 1984 the world was introduced to The Springwood Slasher, the premise of a dream demon lending a fresh angle to the slasher sub-genre that was dominating cinematic pop-culture at the time. Horror genius Wes Craven introduced the world to Freddy Krueger and 25 years later we are still marveling at the antics of the demon from our nightmares. In fact, there are plans to produce a second reboot, after the largely negative response to the 2010 offering, in the near future.
Here are my short musings on the 9 films we have been blessed with so far, ranked from my least to most favourite.
#9: A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
Stephen Hopkins (1989)
There are a couple of truly disappointing Nightmare films, but this one takes the cake. By the fifth installment in the series, Freddy Krueger has become a parody of himself and it seems the writers were all out of ideas here. The Dream Child lacks a cohesive plot and doesn’t even have the fun kills that some of the other inferior films do. Only three people die in this film, and by this stage that’s mostly what we’re here for right? Between Freddy riding a skateboard, a kid inexplicably living in a warehouse and two characters literally reverting to prenatal states, this film is a shit show and easily the worst in the franchise.
#8: A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Renny Harlin (1988)
Similarly to part 5, it is a real struggle to understand the decisions that were made by the filmmakers for this one. Again, it’s nigh on impossible to care about these paper-thin characters as they are haunted by the burned man. What this film has going in its favour though, is that the kills are more prominent and provide some much needed gore and creativity. The cockroach scene remains one of the better of the franchise.
#7: A Nightmare on Elm Street - Reboot
Samuel Bayer (2010)
The most recent of the franchise, a remake of the original, is the only film in which Freddy is not played by Robert Englund. Leaving the joke-cracking Krueger behind, this is a return to the truly haunting premise of the original. However, while there are some decent kills in this film, the use of CGI fails in comparison to the practical effects of the originals, this is exacerbated by the fact that many of the shots are direct homages to the original film. While Freddy’s peadophilic tendencies are hinted at in previous films, this is the first one that explicitly presents him as a child molester and that gives the film an extra level of grime that isn’t really necessary.
#6: Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare
Rachel Talalay (1991)
As we’ve already established, this is, in fact, not the final nightmare. However, it does signify the end of the original Freddy Krueger timeline, and it does so in ridiculous fashion. Freddy’s Dead leans whole-heartedly into the looney tunes-esque Krueger that has been creeping into the franchise before this point. Often cited as the worst in the series, this film has a lot of issues but from Freddy acting as The Wicked Witch of the West, to taking time out from murdering people to play Nintendo, this film is ridiculous enough to be a funny watch. A Johnny Depp cameo epitomises the notion that Nightmare has morphed from horror to pop-culture comedy.
#5: Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
Wes Craven (1994)
Alright! We’ve made it to the first film on this list that doesn’t provoke laughter. With Wes Craven back on the scene, New Nightmare offers a breath of fresh air as it introduces not only new ideas but a completely new universe to the franchise. This meta film based in the ‘real world’ brings back Heather Langenkamp to play an alternate version of herself, as does Craven himself. There’s a lot to like about this film, but on the whole it doesn’t really hold up. A shaky premise and probably the worst Freddy design of the franchise leave this film to round off the lower half of this list.
#4: Freddy vs. Jason
Ronny Yu (2003)
The match up that every slasher fan was asking for in the ‘80s finally arrived in 2003, ten years after the original teaser trailer. This film harks back to the stereotypical poor acting and bad decision making teens that we grew to love in the ‘80s and is the first on this list that I truly enjoy, in a non ironic way. Vs. is chock full of kills, throwbacks and an incredibly satisfying amount of Freddy and Jason beating the shit out of each other. It’s a fun watch that pays great homage to its slasher killers.
#3: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
Jack Sholder (1985)
Consider yourself introduced to Hollywood’s first male scream queen. Lead actor Mark Patton hadn’t fully come out as gay at the time, but proudly owns the title now. Writer David Chaskin laced the slasher sequel with a plethora of gay undertones, which, in the final product, have become almost palpable. This gives the film it’s unofficial title as the gayest horror film ever made. Freddy’s Revenge is not quite as hair-raising as the original but still has the charm and originality that built the franchise. With no jokes from Freddy, this film is one of the darker of the series and the concept of Freddy possessing a teen to do his bidding is a nice step away from the original.
#2: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Chuck Russell (1987)
‘Welcome to prime time bitch!’ The best of the Nightmare sequels, Dream Warriors is the perfect blend of one-liner Freddy, genuinely scary visuals and sympathetic characters with actual depth. Patricia Arquette plays a brilliant adversary to the dream demon and the premise of this film actually makes sense as a sequel, despite ignoring the events of Freddy’s Revenge. The reintroduction of Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) is well received as Freddy returns to finish what he started two films ago. To top it off, SPOILER ALERT, the film features one of the first ever named Black characters to survive a horror film.
#1: A Nightmare on Elm Street
Wes Craven (1984)
Did you really think it could have been any other? Simply the best Nightmare film, and one of the best slasher’s ever made, the film that brought Freddy Krueger into our lives sits proudly atop this list. Haunting imagery, excellent performances, an original concept and impressive special effects all combine to set the bar almost unattainably high for every sequel to come. Spawning a total of nine films, two seasons of a T.V. show and a video game, the influence of The Springwood Slasher is incredible. Freddy Krueger is so deeply embedded in pop-culture that you’ll struggle to find many film watchers that don’t recognise the character.
