A Nightmare on Elm Street Rankings

He’s the boogeyman of your dreams- but which one cuts the deepest? 

9. Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare

At the bottom (top?) of the list goes the worst of the lowest tier of the Nightmare franchise. Lazy to the point of incoherence, and packed with unintentional comedy, left turns, and bizarre cameos such as the return of Johnny Depp as a character named Oprah Noodlemantra, the strengths of the franchise (sinister boogeyman, the hypnotically odd rhythms of the dream world, likable teen characters) are swapped for a film that seems more interested in promoting 3-d gimmickry than in sending Freddy off into the good night. Regardless of whether this was actually the last film in the franchise (it wasn’t), even a guy as mean as Freddy deserved a better send off.

8. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child

Dream Child’s story features survivors Alice and Dan, last seen fighting Freddy in The Dream Master, as they go about having a baby. Because it’s a Nightmare film, Freddy has other ideas and wants to possess the baby to manifest himself in the real world. One of the less successful tendencies in the series is the trope of Freddy trying to come over to the real world. Freddy’s strengths and hypnotic fear over others is at its strongest in the dream world, and it’s when the series (which isn’t called Nightmare for nothing) is at its strongest. The film has some strengths in continuity of returning characters (the supportive relationship between Alice and her father is rare for a franchise that essentially either ignores or despises parents), there are some secondary characters who are more than just teenage fodder, and there are a couple of interesting Freddy encounters. But Dream Child is something closer to a David Lynch film (not a compliment), in its logic- or lack thereof. Watching Freddy try to convince a 5 year old (who hasn’t actually been born yet) why it would be a good idea to be born as him is a head scratcher, and similar to every other horror franchise, Freddy’s backstory (or rather his mother’s) isn’t that interesting. The film also misses the kinetic explosiveness of pt.4’s Renny Harlin for the action scenes, but it’s the confusing execution that ranks this installment where it lies.

7. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge

The first film in this list to possess a goofy coherence, and the most interesting film of the series. Mind you, that point of interest is not in its story about Freddy trying to possess male teenager Jesse so that he can roam about freely in the real world for victims- but for its rampant homophobia. For decades, writer David Chaskin claimed that any allusions regarding the film’s gay subtext were purely coincidental (which the film’s star, Mark Patton, himself gay, denied), however in 2010 Chaskin finally confessed that homophobia of the era in which he wrote the film (1985) did impact the story. Truth bomb ignited, this is a film about a young man who seems very confused about his relationship with his girlfriend, Lisa, and would rather spend time with his best friend, Ron (which Lisa guilts him about). Eventually, after some scenes of a gym teacher wearing a leather vest being whipped, a monster comes out of the closet Jesse to wreak havoc on society, and the only thing that can save the world is Jesse and Lisa’s love for each other. In a climate leaning more towards political correctness and tolerance, it’s problematic. Although the film’s trio of protagonists were an acting upgrade from the original film, the film itself was rushed into production after the original’s success, and Freddy can be borderline comical when seen in the real world. The film’s attempts to ape films like Carrie fall flat and feel cheap. The film’s most lasting legacy in the Nightmare mythology may be that all the things that made it unique were never replicated again, which is saying something for a slasher franchise that towards the end of its heyday was running on fumes.

6. Freddy vs. Jason

Entering into the middle tier of the franchise, after 7 Nightmare on Elm Street films, and 10 Friday the 13 films, it was pretty clear that there existed a market for a team up of the sadistic nightmare imagery of Freddy Krueger with the straight ahead hillbilly macabre of Jason Voorhees. But be careful what you wish for- similar to Freddy tricking Jason into reanimation before realizing Jason wants all the teenagers for himself, viewers have to reconcile that watching a quipping maniac endlessly shank an unkillable zombie hick to aggro guitar riffs isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The ultimate dork fantasy concept brings into focus a lack of anyone not existing in a paranormal state actually being that interesting, and while it’s somewhat fun to watch Freddy toy with my least favourite horror villain of all time, the thrills (and glow stick covered rapists at corn field raves) run out of steam pretty quick.

5. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

Featuring the best art direction and action sequences of the franchise, director Renny Harlin (later of Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger fame) made what some refer to as the MTV version of Nightmare. Main character Alice (along with supportive boyfriend and father), finds that she has the power to absorb deceased character’s abilities in the dream world, leading to an empowering “Final Girl” showdown with Freddy (after perhaps the first horror movie suiting up montage). The film also features the best bloodless nightmare concept in the franchise, that of a time loop that characters can’t escape when trying to rescue their vulnerable friends- villain Robert Englund even claimed it was his favourite scene in the series. But from the moment Freddy is brought back to life by a dog named Jason’s fiery urine, right to the end credits where Freddy raps, this is a very silly film. Continuing the theme introduced in Dream Warriors of Freddy dispatching his victims according to their fears, for better or worse this has the most high school vibes of the franchise, and Dream Master was the first sign that the studio’s concept of Freddy was starting to grow stale.

4. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

New Line decided to reboot the franchise, following the majority of the first film’s plot with new actors and a slicker look. In some ways, it’s an improvement. Better when it comes to how Freddy sounds (think nightmare James Maynard Keenan in full out Puscifer mode), and Rooney Mara in the iconic role of Nancy is a serious upgrade over Heather Langenkamp’s previous trio of protestations. But despite more updated effects, slicker doesn’t mean better- and the decision to make Freddy’s burnt face more medically accurate leads to an aesthetic that resembles Grig from The Last Starfighter. The film’s attempts to be more scientific regarding explaining sleep deprivation couldn’t change the fact that the film can’t overpower the original’s shadowy and awkward grubbiness- leading to the feeling that it’s already been done before. And the decision to change the storyline to the film’s protagonists actually being Freddy’s real world victims, means the film ignores the questions that arise when the protagonists have to account for childhoods their misguided parents have tried to erase, and non existent memories that they somehow have fully repressed. It’s an odd choice that compounds an uninspired film, and it serves as a forceful reminder of why the mysterious original is so special in the first place.

3. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

Entering into the top tier of the franchise, Dream Warriors features a wealth of talent. Wisely disregarding the pratfalls suffered from the “pray the gay away” first sequel of the series, it returns to the foundations set forth in the original. Introducing future Oscar Best Actress winner Patricia Arquette, who’s character of Kristen has the ability to pull people into her dreams, she ends up in a psychiatric hospital with other nightmare suffering teens (and a kind orderly by the name of Larry Fishburne). Series hero Heather Langenkamp returns as Nancy, this time as a dream psychologist, and the group bands together in combatting Freddy to develop abilities that they may not have in the real world, but can use in the dream world. While the film amps up its protagonists’ powers, the same can be said for Freddy, who introduces the nasty idea of dispatching his victims according to their worst fears- sometimes with a quip. Depending on your point of view, it really is the best sequel in the franchise (New Nightmare isn’t so much a sequel as a reimagining of the original). Dream Warriors returns to the original film’s context, and expands upon its ideas and characters while introducing new ones (some of them you really cheer for). To be honest, the only thing keeping it from being higher up on the list, is the story wrestles with if it wants to promote either Freddy, the star of a slasher movie (this is the first film in which he starts to lose his quiet menace in favour of becoming a stand up comedian), or its protagonists, who for a horror film have an unusual amount of character definition and camaraderie. It leads to some truly sad and defeatist deaths, almost a type of poor man’s Game of Thrones. That, and the return of some atrocious acting (this is also the first film in the franchise to feature a Bill Maher lookalike, but not the last for those of you interested in drinking games), and clumsy direction by Chuck Russell, is what keeps this installment from essentially being The Breakfast Club meets a hybrid of The Matrix and Inception. It could have been that solid- perhaps if Dream Master’s director Renny Harlin had made it instead?

2. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare

Taking place in the “real world”, Wes Craven’s reimagining of the Nightmare on Elm Street creates a meta film that seeks to reestablish Freddy Krueger’s mythology, re positioning Freddy from merely a character existing in a series of fictional horror films, into an evil that seeks to manifest itself in reality. Frustrated with the franchise’s increasingly incoherent attempts (see the list above) to play up Freddy’s hammy tendencies while dumbing down the Elm Street mythos, Craven had a number of the franchise’s more iconic actors play themselves, from series hero Heather Langenkamp, ultra villain regular Robert Englund, to New Line producer Robert Shayes, and of course Craven himself. Upping the meta factor, Craven’s character even checks in periodically throughout the film to update the characters about his progress on the script that we are currently watching. While the meta proves interesting, there are 2 new wrinkles. Freddy is given a makeover, looking more sinister and organic, while keeping the quipping to a minimum, which is welcome after so much high key stand up comedy in previous films. The other, is a welcome character addition to Heather’s fictional character of herself- that of her as a wife and mother. As mentioned before, when it comes to protecting their children, the adults depicted in the series typically range from indifferent to just destructive, so to watch Langenkamp confront what doesn’t feel is possible, and try to not be a co-conspirator to the villain’s attempts on her family is a welcome development. The film’s special effects can come across as modest, but the spark of inspiration in scenes involving phenomenon such as zero gravity, so vital in the original film, comes through. The original’s LOL dialogue at times can also return, dampening the fun, and by the film’s conclusion, the reality of fighting Freddy in some boiler room from hell had become a fantastic slog, but New Nightmare is a welcome addition to a overworked franchise. While the film did not do well at the box office, it would come to serve as the blueprint for Craven’s other successful horror franchise, the ultra meta Scream. A mostly rousing return to form who’s impact would be skewered afterwards by a low concept smash up and uninspired reboot.

1. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Writer/Director Wes Craven had already made some interesting horror films (Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, and Swamp Thing), but his idea of an updated take on the boogeyman, one that exclusively torments and dispatches teenagers from the Id realm of the unconscious, took the slasher sub-genre of the horror world by storm. Awash in that sensory feeling of a nightmare that is both familiar but foreign, viewers could connect with its teenage characters’ alienation from uncaring adults before showing them something all too mystifying in its dream state logic. Packed with iconic images to permanently reside in the shadow realm of the collective unconscious, the movie’s modest budget and special effects serve as a strength (innovative and effective), contributing to the film’s awkward, sinister, and mystifying dream paralysis. Operating out of the shadows, the iconic character of Freddy is introduced. Understanding that less is more, Freddy cuts an angular figure, and taunts and pokes fun- but he never jokes. He’s instrumental in creating environments that cause his victims to fear him, giving him power, and enabling his revenge on the teenagers of Elm Street. Freddy’s foil is also introduced, in the form of Nancy Thompson, who is brave and resourceful in facing her tormentor who wants to take everything from her, in short a great “Final Girl”. What isn’t great is some of the acting, and the movie’s ending (tacked on by a greedy studio) just plain sucks. But it’s a classic for a reason, and the copious amounts of sequels rubber stamped after the fact can’t change that.