TAGGED AS: Horror, movies
(Photo by New Line Cinema/courtesy Everett Collection)
Silent creepers, maniacal mumblers, and mute supernatural freaks: Your typical ’80s slasher fiend had problems verbalizing their issues with the world. Probably why as horny teens were out partying, they were studying the blade. Not Freddy Krueger though, who gave crackly voice to the slasher as a talky dream stalker by turns literate, wisecracking, and menacing. Of course, it took a few sequels to get the character to find a sense of humor. In the original 1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street, he was just plain genuinely terrifying, as writer/director Wes Craven sought to inject operatic weight into the slasher formula, distorting fantasy and reality to harass the viewer into questioning their own sanity.
After the original’s box office success, Freddy’s Revenge was fast-tracked for release the following year to the moans of critics, who had designated the first movie Certified Fresh. But Robert Englund as Freddy was clearly having a blast, enough to get him back for the best direct sequel, 1987’s Dream Warriors. A year after that, action director Renny Harlin came in for The Dream Master to put an exciting spin on things. Englund remained a steady, creepy joy through these, and that’s the benefit of having a jabbering weirdo as your villain: It’s a character that can evolve and adapt. Jason and Michael can’t.
Of course, having a star performer can only get you so far when the material starts really failing, like nails-in-the-coffin efforts The Dream Child and Freddy’s Dead. Krueger as a character had become too outsized by this point (he additionally had a TV career on the decent Freddy’s Nightmares), and was effectively serving now as an anti-hero. Three years Dead, Craven would return to direct 1994’s meta New Nightmare, set literally in our world where the Elm Street movies are just that: Movies…until the killings start happening for real. Critics dug the twist, but the stench of past Nightmare sequels kept audiences away, and horror in general had a tough go at in the ’90s. Craven himself would turn the genre’s fortunes around with Scream, using the same post-modern technique.
Eleven years after New Nightmare, the death-match horror fans had been clamoring for hit theaters: Freddy vs. Jason. Director Ronny Yu gives the movie a bouncing, comic book movie sensibility, with some carefully crafted action sequences, surrounded by a ridiculous mystery plot. Was it a fitting swan song for Englund as Freddy? Well, you’re just going to have to take what you can get, because the franchise has slumbered since, except for a 2010 remake, starring Jackie Earle Haley hot off of Watchmen. It may be eternal sleep for Freddy Krueger, but perchance we’ll meet again in our dreams as we go through all A Nightmare on Elm Street movies, ranked by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo
#9
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) 14%
#9
Adjusted Score: 21265%
Critics Consensus: Visually faithful but lacking the depth and subversive twists that made the original so memorable, the Nightmare on Elm Street remake lives up to its title in the worst possible way.
Synopsis: Teenagers Nancy, Quentin, Kris, Jesse and Dean are all neighborhood friends who begin having the same dream of a horribly... [More]
Starring: Jackie Earle Haley, Rooney Mara, Kyle Gallner, Katie Cassidy
Directed By: Samuel Bayer
#8
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) 23%
#8
Adjusted Score: 25483%
Critics Consensus: Reducing the once-terrifying Dream Reaper into a goofy caricature, this joyless climax will leave audiences hoping Freddy stays dead.
Synopsis: Murderous ghoul Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) has slaughtered every last child in his hometown. He ventures on to a new... [More]
Starring: Robert Englund, Lisa Zane, Shon Greenblatt, Lezlie Deane
Directed By: Rachel Talalay
#7
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) 31%
#7
Adjusted Score: 33249%
Critics Consensus: A Nightmare on Elm Street feels exhausted by this cheesy fifth entry, bogged down by a convoluted mythology while showing none of the chilling technique that kicked off the franchise.
Synopsis: The fifth installment of the popular franchise focuses on Alice (Lisa Wilcox), a survivor of the fourth, who believes Freddy... [More]
Starring: Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox, Danny Hassel, Kelly Jo Minter
Directed By: Stephen Hopkins
#6
Freddy vs. Jason (2003) 42%
#6
Adjusted Score: 47562%
Critics Consensus: Fans of the two horror franchises will enjoy this showdown. But for everyone else, it's the same old slice and dice.
Synopsis: Two horror icons face off in this supernatural movie. Disfigured serial killer Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), who attacks his victims... [More]
Starring: Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter
Directed By: Ronnie Yu
#5
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) 43%
#5
Adjusted Score: 45176%
Critics Consensus: An intriguing subtext of repressed sexuality gives Freddy's Revenge some texture, but the Nightmare loses its edge in a sequel that lacks convincing performances or memorable scares.
Synopsis: Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton) moves with his family into the home of the lone survivor from a series of attacks... [More]
Starring: Mark Patton, Kim Myers, Robert Rusler, Clu Gulager
Directed By: Jack Sholder
#4
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) 57%
#4
Adjusted Score: 59018%
Critics Consensus: A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master marks a relative high point in this franchise's bumpy creative journey, although the original remains far superior.
Synopsis: Grotesque Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) gives some more suburban teenagers something to dream about.... [More]
Starring: Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox, Rodney Eastman, Danny Hassel
Directed By: Renny Harlin
#3
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) 67%
#3
Adjusted Score: 72367%
Critics Consensus: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors offers an imaginative and surprisingly satisfying rebound for a franchise already starting to succumb to sequelitis.
Synopsis: During a hallucinatory incident, young Kristen Parker (Patricia Arquette) has her wrists slashed by dream-stalking monster Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund).... [More]
Starring: Heather Langenkamp, Patricia Arquette, Craig Wasson, Laurence Fishburne
Directed By: Chuck Russell
#2
Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) 79%
#2
Adjusted Score: 81495%
Critics Consensus: Wes Craven's New Nightmare adds an unexpectedly satisfying - not to mention intelligent - meta layer to a horror franchise that had long since lost its way.
Synopsis: Reality and fantasy meet in unsettling ways in this installment of the long-running horror series, which finds director Wes Craven... [More]
Starring: Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Miko Hughes, David Newsom
Directed By: Wes Craven
#1
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) 95%
#1
Adjusted Score: 99955%
Critics Consensus: Wes Craven's intelligent premise, combined with the horrifying visual appearance of Freddy Krueger, still causes nightmares to this day.
Synopsis: In Wes Craven's classic slasher film, several Midwestern teenagers fall prey to Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a disfigured midnight mangler... [More]
Starring: John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss
Directed By: Wes Craven
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