A Nightmare on Elm Street: Worst to First

 In our final grouping series for Halloween 2016, we take a look at the man of your dreams himself and rank the nine films in the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' series. We go from worst to the best of course, so let us begin.

 9) A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Not only the worst film in the series by far, but also the worst remake during the height of the trend 2010's 'Nightmare on Elm Street' is a complete waste but it's not just a lack of Robert Englund (Though that is a major factor). The film tries too hard to drop in everything from the first four films without explaining their purpose or meaning within this particular film. However, even the fan-service is poorly executed, with the most notable example being the Boiler Room appearing despite no such room existing within the film's universe outside of the nightmare sequence. What else is there to say? Lazy, looks muddy like other Platinum Dunes remakes, the acting is awful, and the ending is laughable. This is the only remake I've seen that doesn't have a divisive opinion with fans, it's just plain bad.


Did You Know?: The film's original theatrical trailer contains several deleted scenes, including an alternate opening involving a pool party attack (a la 'Elm Street 2').

 

 8) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)

The only reason this one didn't make it to the bottom of this list (and it has been there for many years mind you) is because it at least has something interesting to watch throughout its running time. It's just too bad that most of it lacks more of said interesting scenes and mostly consists of ones like the 'Wil-E-Coyote' scene above. I don't really blame Director Rachel Talaylay here, who is a producer normally but she at least has a lot of knowledge towards the franchise. It's just that by this time, these films had run so completely dry that I do not believe anyone at New Line really knew what to do, similar to 'Freddy Vs. Jason'. And like that movie, they rushed out something just to be done with it and you get the silly, over-the-top, gimmicky mess that is 'Freddy's Dead'. It's pretty easy to skip this one folks.

 Did You Know?: The Angry Video Game Nerd's review of the 'Nightmare' video game references 'Freddy's Dead' when the Nerd fights Freddy with the Power Glove.


7) Freddy vs Jason (2003)

 

 This one just doesn't age well folks, I'm sorry. The film just gets worse with every viewing and it doesn't feel like either a 'Friday' or a 'Nightmare' film but rather a 'Hard Boiled' knockoff that happens to contain horror villains fighting. The characters are some of the worst in the 'Nightmare' series, with Kelly Rowland spouting off some of the most obnoxious (and frankly pretty offensive) dialogue and she doesn't die nearly quick enough. Then you have 'wire-fu' fight scenes, that new age smooth clean look to it that sours many horror films from the early 2000's for me personally, and a lack of any real fighting between the titular characters until the ending. While the fight scenes themselves are not bad, they are too little too late and like I said feel like a Jackie Chan flick. I think this one's not going to go down as well as it should have.

Did You Know?: Not only did the film have almost thirteen screenplay drafts written, it also had four alternate endings to the one seen on film. They were quite indecisive eh?


6) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)

 

 One of my least viewed sequels on this list, 'The Dream Child' had lots of potential. It's strong in visuals and has a awesome Gothic atmosphere that I wished to see in other films, and Freddy despite his larger list of one-liners is kind of creepy in this one compared to 'The Dream Master'. The film unfortunately stumbles on multiple important factors. The characters in this film are so thinly written and forgettable that I have trouble remembering their names. The film's special effects work is also rather shoddy and looks rushed (in fact the entire production was rushed and the film came out a year after 'Dream Master'). Still, this one is at least worth a viewing as it has enough saving graces to make it worthy of the franchise.

Did You Know?: I mentioned the rushed production but it was worse than it sounds. Director Stephen Hopkins only had four months to shoot and then four more months to edit the finished film together. That is insane, it makes one wonder why New Line was shocked when the film was met poorly in 1989.


5) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

 

 This was my personal favorite in the series for many years. I loved the special effects work, the classic Freddy one-liners, and I love the character of Alice and the film is still one of the better films, but it's not without its flaws and I'm here to take off the nostalgia glasses. The film kills off three of the best characters in the franchise within a half hour of this flick, which completely shocked me at the time and frustrates me now. I understand going in a different direction with the story, but the way they went about dealing with the previous heroes was sloppy at best. While I said I did love Robert Englund in this film a lot, this is when he begins to teeter between 'silly' and 'scary' and while I never hated the funny Freddy, with 'Dream Master' it's a notably awkward transition.

Did You Know?: 'The Dream Master' was at the time the highest grossing entry in the series at the time, earning $49 million at the box office (('Freddy vs. Jason' would beat it at about $82 million years later.))


4) A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

 

A divisive entry to say the least, 'Freddy's Revenge' has a very strange history behind it. Panned by both critics and fans alike, the film broke all the rules of the previous entry to create some strange new twists with Freddy Kruger and it all went down very poorly. Similar to 'Halloween III', this one would be loathed until many years later, when it began to be appreciated for it retaining the darker horror version of Freddy that has been sorely missed since, and for it's stranger 'subtext' that many people wish to discuss about it. I'm here to give an opinion of the film itself and I think it's OK. As mentioned above, the horror elements are still here which gives it a high rank on this list and like 'Halloween III' I love that it tried to do something different, even if it didn't work out so well. It's easy to skip over 'Freddy's Revenge' as it doesn't connect to any further sequels, but I say it's worth a watch.

Did You Know?: 'Freddy's Revenge' has since become know as the 'Gay' Elm Street film due to its supposed homoerotic subtext and the casting of an openly gay actor in the lead.


3) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1986)

  











The first film in the series I saw and I remember that moment fondly. I caught it on the Sci-Fi channel when I was about 8 or 9 years old and it was the scene in which Freddy killed Jennifer by turning into a demonic television and I will never forget that moment or that scene ever. 'Dream Warriors' is not just a great 'Elm Street' sequel, it's a great film for many horror fans who could identify themselves with the various characters in the film. I myself once had to be hospitalized and saw myself also drawing my powers to lift myself up. OK, enough with the sappy stuff the bottom line is this movie is relatable, fun, full of awesome special effects, and the best characters I've seen in a horror film like this. The film has a mix of horror, fantasy, action, and drama all in one it is a perfect sequel in every way. 

Did You Know?: Frank Darabont co-wrote the screenplay for this film. He would go on to make 'The Shawshank Redemption', 'The Green Mile', and 'The Walking Dead'.


2) Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)


 







Wes Craven left the series after 'Dream Warriors' but would return to finish off his monster with this entry, which is one of the most interesting and well made sequels. It's a precursor to 'Scream' somewhat in that it uses a 'meta' universe in which Freddy Kruger is in fact a real demonic entity that has been kept at bay with the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' films. However, now that the sequels had ended, the demon has been unleashed and begins to terrorize and kill various folks involved with the series, particularly Heather Langenkamp his onscreen nemesis and her young son Dylan. Seeing Robert Shaye, Robert Englund, and everyone else from the films playing themselves is so bizarre but fascinating at the same time and the idea of Kruger being this real entity was a very unique way to go about it. The film runs a little slow at times and most fans of the previous sequels may not really be able to enjoy 'New Nightmare', but it's cleverness and originality really helps it stand above the rest of the entries.

Did You Know?: During a funeral scene in the film, the original film's cast make cameo appearances as themselves. Johnny Depp was to be in attendance as well but was unable to due to scheduling conflicts. He and Wes Craven still had a great reunion nontheless.    


1) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

  











And we come full circle, the terrible 2010 version to the masterpiece that quietly took over the country back in November of 1984. The film was released when the slasher film genre was getting quite stale and 'Elm Street' gave it a shot in the arm which would help the genre reach the end of the decade before feeling fatigued. The movie however is much more important than reviving the slasher genre, it's an important film in US filmography period. It's dark fantasy elements, it's relatable characters and the fact that this film appeals to everyone in the most basic way: Everyone has nightmares therefore everyone can understand and find this scenario frightening. Wes Craven brought to the world of horror cinema a human quality that was bled dry after 'Halloween' and his genius as both a filmmaker and a wonderful man will be sorely missed.


This article is dedicated to Mr. Craven (1939-2015) He was a strong inspiration on both my film writing and my childhood imagination. I will miss you Mr. Craven, even if we never met you changed my life more than you will know.