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Ranking A Nightmare on Elm Street Films

A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the most iconic horror franchises of all time and one of the most important in the slasher subgenre. Freddy Krueger is an unforgettable genre villain and the series mixes supernatural storytelling and slasher thrills in interesting ways. There have been nine Elm Street films released so far and they vary in quality from quite mediocre to excellent. Here is my ranking.

9. The Final Nightmare

Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare has some solid visuals, a fine score and at times it was fun in its campiness, but most of the time it was way too over-the-top and ridiculous for its own sake. The plot is ludicrous and the characters uninteresting. It’s one of the stupidest films in the franchise and a proof that going too far into the silly route is never a good choice for this series. I do realize that many would not put this one at the bottom of the list, but to me this is the most forgettable and weakest Elm Street flick, so it has to go here.

8. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

The Nightmare on Elm Street remake remains the second worst entry in the entire franchise. While the darker and more serious approach was initially intriguing, it eventually turned out to be a bad choice as it sucked all the life and fun out of the flick. Jackie Earle Haley was actually a solid choice for Krueger, but Robert Englund he most definitely was not. This is a bland, boring remake that has some effective kill scenes, but for the most part it just goes through the motions. This one was so badly received that it killed the entire franchise and we still haven’t gotten a new entry.

7. The Dream Child

The fifth Elm Street movie is one of the weakest in the franchise. While its VFX are truly phenomenal and the fantastical scenes are interesting, they were seriously hurt by cringe-worthy dialogue. The overall premise was ludicrous and Freddy was way too campy this time around. This era saw the Elm Street movies become way too ridiculous and campy for their own sake, forsaking the horror elements in the process. This is why this streak of films remains my least favorite so far.

6. The Dream Master

The fourth movie in the franchise has its strengths – the practical effects are superb, the fantastical scenes are quite memorable, and Freddy is as delightfully campy as ever. But these couldn’t save the movie from being so mediocre as the overall plot is quite weak, the characterization is subpar and the movie is especially forgettable when compared to its predecessor. It’s by far one of the least memorable movies in the series, so it deserves this low placement.

5. Freddy vs. Jason

2003 saw the Elm Street and Friday the 13^th franchises get a crossover that nobody expected. Freddy vs. Jason is an expectedly ridiculous entry for both of these series that pitted these villains against each other, but the end result could have been more entertaining overall. The other characters were quite mediocre and the overall plot was weak, but at least the fight scenes were quite diverting and that ending was hilariously campy. This is one of those movies that are a guilty pleasure, even if Jason was much less interesting than Freddy in it.

4. Freddy’s Revenge

This flick started the whole trend of middling sequels. The story as a whole offers a rather interesting metaphor for repressed sexuality. It should be praised for its originality as it was different than any other Elm Street sequel. However, bringing Freddy to the real world was ultimately not a good choice as it robbed the film of the franchise’s dreamlike and imaginative qualities. It was ultimately a commendable effort that was too strange for this particular series. It’s not among the best nor is it among the worst sequels in this franchise.

3. Dream Warriors

Now we are talking. This is where we come to the really good stuff. Dream Warriors is the real deal. There is a lot of artistry and ingenuity in its world building, kill scenes and superb practical effects that aged like fine wine. The decision to give the children powers was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it did significantly reduce the danger and suspense, but on the other hand, it made sense within the context of dreaming and it produced very entertaining results. This is the most fantastical that the series has ever gotten and I myself loved that about it.

2. A Nightmare on Elm Street

The original Nightmare on Elm Street isn’t particularly scary and it had mostly mediocre character development, but this was an excellent first entry in this famous slasher franchise that was particularly imaginative in its dream logic employed. The body horror elements were also memorable and its central villain is truly iconic. The movie was technically stupendous given its small budget while all the dream sequences sequences were brilliantly constructed, innovative and so much fun. It’s obviously a classic, though it ended up shy of the number one spot.

1. New Nightmare

Yes, I will have to depart from many other lists and be honest with myself. New Nightmare is my favorite entry in this franchise and in my opinion objectively the best film out all of these. This was a groundbreaking horror movie in its post-modern meta elements. The plot where the Elm Street actors play themselves was so unique and thematically intriguing. Freddy is much more serious and as a result creepier in this installment. His new look was also a success. The third act featured superb world building while the first half is quite fun in its self-aware tone. This is where Wes Craven found the right balance between horror and humor and this should be a template for other Elm Street movies to follow.