Nightmare on Elm Street Ranking

About a month ago, I finished watching all of the Nightmare on Elm Street films. With Halloween coming up I thought now would be a good time to share my thoughts and ranking of the franchise. A Nightmare on Elm Street is probably one of my favorite 80s horror franchises. Freddy Kruger is one of my favorite horror icons and the whole killing through dreams gimmick is just a lot of fun to watch. I find this franchise to be a bit more consistent tone-wise than most of the other horror franchises as it just has a bit more of a goofier feel. With that being said, here are my thoughts and ranking of the nine Nightmare on Elm Street films.

9. Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare

Freddy's Dead is the final film in the original run of films and is definitely the weakest film in the group. This movie does have a few fun kills as Freddy really goes into the theatrics for his kills with the video game kill being a lot of fun. However, beyond that, this movie is just not very good. The story as a whole is just a bit hard to follow. The main plot doesn't make a ton of sense and it is quite unclear what Freddy's powers actually are. The main characters in this movie are also very unlikable and come across as either stupid or just super annoying. I also didn't care for how the movie dove into Freddy's backstory. It tries to humanize him in a way and it just doesn't work for a character. People watch these movies because Freddy is a fun villain. They don't care what he was like before he died. Finally, I felt that the plot wandered quite a bit. It can't settle on one main character and just feels like it jumps around too much. Overall, while this movie does have some fun moments, it is not a good film and one I am less likely to re-watch.

Score: 4.5/10 Grade: C-

8. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

This film is a part of the trend Hollywood was going through in the 2010s where they were remaking all of these 1980s horror films. This film is just as bad as the rest of the remakes. On a positive note, it does have some slick-looking effects and is overall just better looking than the film in the 1980s but beyond that, everything is pretty lackluster. Just like the last film on this list, the movie is pretty unfocused about its lead as it doesn't even introduce Nancy until a solid 30 minutes into the film. I also felt the film was very forgettable. I can't remember anything notable about it and the actor that plays Freddy is just not as good as the original. I also really disliked how the movie tries to question whether Freddy is guilty of violating children. Just like the last film, it tries to humanize Freddy and just does not work. In the end, this is a completely unnecessary remake that fails to capture any of the magic of the original film.

Score: 5/10 Grade: C

7. A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child

The Dream Child is another film in the franchise that I just couldn't get on board with. On the positive side, we get to see a version of Freddy that is a lot more fun. and get a bit more of a personality. Some of the kills in this film are also fun to watch with the comic book kill being a standout. However, that is really about it for this film. Just like the last film, the characters in this film are very unlikable. The two friends of Alice are just so annoying and are not nice to her until the end of the film. I felt that the plot meandered quite a bit in the middle of the film with no real goal in sight. The biggest issue I had with the film was just the whole idea of Freddy trying to possess an unborn baby. It just makes for a bit of a weird and gross plotline and something that I just did not care for at all. Overall, this is just a bit of a gross film that while having some fun kills, is not a film I would really want to watch again.

Score: 5.5/10 Grade: C

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

A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 is the last of the films that I would go negative on. The basic idea of Freddy slowly taking over the body of the main character was interesting and I think could've made for a very interesting movie. I found this element of the story to make for some very thrilling moments. I also found that this movie did a decent job of recapturing some of the magic and cool elements of the original film. However, while the idea itself was pretty interesting, the execution made the film very disappointing. I found the film to be very slow until the third act. If the whole movie would have been more like the third act, I would have enjoyed it so much more. However, it ends up just being very light on the action until the end of the movie. I also found the film a bit confusing at times in terms of what was and wasn't real and what Freddy's powers actually were. Finally, I found most of the characters to be extremely forgettable. The main character didn't have much of anything to him and was just the vessel for Freddy. In the end, this was a movie that had an interesting idea but with poor execution.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

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

The Dream Master is the first film in the franchise to go in a goofier direction and the first film on this list I would go positive on. This film takes the fun concept of pulling other people into dreams from part 3 and utilizes it again in this movie. This is the movie where I felt Freddy really grow a personality as he becomes a lot more theatrical with his kills. There is just a lot more entertainment to be had in this film than in the previous ones on this list. The characters work a little better in this movie as they all have some memorable gimmicks to them. I also felt that a lot of the kills in this movie were more fun than in previous films such as The Bug Kill. I also thought the whole grabbing abilities from other people aspect was a fun addition to the story. The biggest issue with the film is that the story feels a bit aimless in the first half of the film. It just seems like we are just watching kill a bunch of people without any sort of goal or story being moved towards. It gets a bit better in the second half, but that first half doesn't feel like it has any sort of goal. Overall, this is a fun addition to the franchise and really starts to give Freddy a personality.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

4. A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: The Dream Warriors

This movie was probably the most fun out of all the films in the franchise. It has a very simple and easy-to-follow story about a group of disturbed kids trying to fight against Freddy. It was a very interesting concept with one of the girls being able to pull people into her dreams. I also enjoyed the way they gave each person special powers in the dream and kind of made them a team. This movie also has quite a few fun kills in it with the prime-time TV kill being the most iconic. We get to have a lot more fun with Freddy as he is allowed a lot more screen time in this movie. I also enjoyed how they decided to bring Nancy back and give her a bit more of a different story and growth of a character. Finally, I found the story to be quite exciting and fun with a lot of entertaining moments. The biggest issue I had was that the film felt a bit too unfocused at times. The plot meandered a good bit and there were a few too many characters. I think they could've tightened things up a bit and made a much better film. In the end, this was a fun direction to take the franchise and one of the films I'll probably re-watch the most.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

3. Freddy Vs. Jason

Freddy Vs. Jason is just a lot of fun to watch. It has a really enjoyable premise of pitting two famous horror icons against each other with the movie really being able to pull it off. Both Freddy and Jason get their individual time to shine by getting some good action in but the movie really delivers on the titular fight between the two characters. It allows the two to fight for a good chunk of the movie instead of just a 5-minute fight and really gets some good fight scenes. All of this factors in to make the movie super entertaining delivering exactly what the audience wants. The only holdup on this film is that the human characters are all very forgettable and just seem like they are there as "background noise" or as a plot device to move Jason from point A to point B. In the end, this is just a fun movie that absolutely delivers on the Freddy vs. Jason action that one would expect.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

2. Wes Craven's New Nightmare

New Nightmare is the most original film in the franchise. This is essentially Wes Craven's practice run for the Scream franchise as he samples the self-aware storytelling that would make Scream so popular. I thought this was a very effective story and was a lot of fun. I liked how the movie gave us this "fake" real world where the actors from the original films are playing themselves. It pokes fun at a lot of elements of the original run of films and touches on the impact the films have on Hollywood. It was fun to see Heather Lagenkamp and Robert Englund play exaggerated versions of themselves. It was cool to see Robert Englund play both himself and Freddy. This movie also delivers quite a few fun Freddy moments, especially in the second half of the film. Finally, I thought the story itself was very well done. It kept things exciting from beginning to end with a good amount of twists and turns. What keeps this from number one is that it wasn't as good as its potential. It was a bit too long clocking in at almost 2 hours. When you are used to 90-minute Nightmare on Elm Street films, 2 hours feels a bit too much. I was also disappointed by how little the Robert Englund character was actually in the movie. I wish they would have utilized him more in the story. Overall, this is a refreshing addition to the franchise that didn't quite reach the highs I was hoping for.

Score: 7.7/10 Grade: B

1. A Nightmare on Elm Street

Of course, the original film is by far the best. With films like Friday the 13th and Halloween already very successful, this film brings in a new concept to the genre. This movie introduces a new and interesting premise of a killer that comes after you in dreams. It really adds a new level to the storytelling as you never know what is real or fake. This movie also introduces a new kind of scare as the characters realize that they are not safe when they go to sleep. It is a concept that translates well to real life and can have more of an impact on people's fear. The story itself is very simple and is all about these kids learning about the dangers of Freddy and who he is. It is also just a classic story that will be spoofed and parodied for many years to come. The movie also does a great job of establishing the rules of the world. It explains how dangerous dreaming is and the extent of Freddy's powers. Finally, this film introduces us to Freddy Kruger who is one of the most iconic villains ever. Even with a very limited amount of screen time, Freddy's presence is felt throughout the entire film. Robert Englund does a great job with the character. In the end, this is a great movie with an iconic villain concept that is so good that it has become a mainstay of the horror genre.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-