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Nightmare on Elm Street ready reckoner

Matt Edwards


It's been a horror movie-heavy week here at Den of Geek, so we thought we'd finish up with a rundown of the classic horror series, Nightmare on Elm Street

Published on Aug 31, 2007

I never seem to agree with anyone. However, one of my biggest complaints about the things everyone else is getting wrong is that they constantly overlook A Nightmare On Elm Street when talking about the best horror films.

You'll hear The Exorcist, Halloween, Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Jason X and The Wicker Man get countless mentions. Granted, the sequels have made it difficult to take Freddy Krueger, the anti-hero and star of the show, seriously. But the first film is exceptional and terrifying, a lesson I learned before the age of ten (by 'learned' I mean it made me flee the room in tears, a response I now reserve for Freddy Vs. Jason).

The series is of a consistantly higher quality than its competitors and there aren't any stand out 'the-one-without-Freddy' films (the closest we get is Nightmare 2 where the rules change). So where did it all go wrong and where did it all go right?

A Nightmare On Elm Street 5 out of 5
Craven's original is a classic. An exceptional film.

A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge 3 out of 5
Strange follow up, not as bad as you've heard. And yes, it is very gay.

A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors 3 out of 5
The last good one for a while. Decent flick but the start of panto villain Freddy.

A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master 2 out of 5
Not bad, but really not very good. Invisible ninja Freddy is inexcusable.

A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child 1 out of 5
The one where Freddy turns someone into a motorbike. In other words, it's awful.

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare 1 out of 5
Notable for Johnny Depp and Breckin Meyer. So bad that even the terrible 3-D section can't make it worse.

Wes Craven's New Nightmare 4 out of 5
Storming return to form. Gave Freddy his credibility back.

Freddy Vs Jason 1 out of 5
Took Freddy's credibility away again (although demon Freddy looked cool). Truly, this is a dreadful film.

In conclusion, it all went downhill after the first one. Gutted.

Click here for a list of ALL the lists at Den Of Geek...

 
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nightmare on elm street freddy krueger

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Users Comments

Re: Nightmare on Elm Street ready reckoner
Posted By Spidergirl 1 August 31, 2007 10:33:27 AM

Hmm. I really love 3, and I even have time for 4, but New Nightmare is a bag of wank.

Re: Nightmare on Elm Street ready reckoner
Posted By robert.mclaughlin 1 August 31, 2007 11:09:37 AM

the third film is great. Its not so much a horror film but more of a teen fantasy film. It also has some of the best 'killins' in the whole series..from the classic 'Welcome to prime-time' TV bit to the sinister puppet death the third film really does up the fantastical ante and makes Freddy into more of a supernatural creature rather than a standard slasher. It also has the bit which i think is the most terrifying shared dream thing that at some time or another most people have deramt about by having the gloopy floor scene where Patricia Arquette is dreaming through Freddys house and the floor then turns to syrup and she cant run away ...and he is gaining..and shes getting stuck even further..and hes closing in...great horror stuff

Re: Nightmare on Elm Street ready reckoner
Posted By toneee 1 August 31, 2007 11:39:14 AM

I used to be genuinely, pant-moisteningly scared of Freddy Krueger, largely due to the fact I shared a room with my older brother who covered the walls in giant Freddy posters. I was on the top bunk, and every morning I woke up with Freddy's melted face just inches from my own.

Re: Nightmare on Elm Street ready reckoner
Posted By RonHogan 1 August 31, 2007 12:38:07 PM

Jason X as one of the best horror films ever? Rating the awful 2 the same as the significantly better 3, and rating 3 worse than New Nightmare? You're obviously suffering from a Freddy-induced lack of sleep.

Re: Nightmare on Elm Street ready reckoner
Posted By Spidergirl 1 August 31, 2007 12:58:41 PM

I would actually put Dream Warriors on a par with the original. Or maybe higher.

Re: Nightmare on Elm Street ready reckoner
Posted By cjlines 1 August 31, 2007 01:56:43 PM

I think a lot of the love people have for the original nightmare is borne from childhood nostalgia/terror. It sculpted my own childhood and I loved it to bits for many years, but watching it as an adult, the film is self-consciously plagued with inane teen chatter and, to be honest, it's a bit dated. There are some wonderfully surreal gore set pieces that make it a very fine film, but I wouldn't agree that it's up there with the greats. Part 3 is the best, for my money. It's exactly what it sets out to be; a wildly over the top action fantasy with added splat. New Nightmare is 'bish. It's like Fulci's Cat In The Brain and every bit as confused, pretentious and appalling.

Re: Nightmare on Elm Street ready reckoner
Posted By Matt 1 August 31, 2007 01:57:46 PM

All comments considered I think the right person wrote this article.

Re: Nightmare on Elm Street ready reckoner
Posted By robert.mclaughlin 1 August 31, 2007 02:40:24 PM

It made me laugh that about the time the 3rd Freddy film came out there was a band in the charts called 'Dream Warriors' they had a song called ' Wash your face in my sink' and that always made me chuckle..i dunno why

Re: Nightmare on Elm Street ready reckoner
Posted By cjlines 1 August 31, 2007 02:57:41 PM

I have the "Wash Your Face In My Sink" single by Dream Warriors on 12"! It's an awesome record. The worst hip-hop related disaster for the franchise was the Fat Boys' "Are You Ready For Freddy?" single. Ugh. Best Nightmare soundtrack song was "Heaven in the Backseat" by Romeo's Daughter though. \m/

Re: Nightmare on Elm Street ready reckoner
Posted By robert.mclaughlin 1 September 2, 2007 06:09:54 PM

Ahhh - i remember the fat boys song, it was on the dvd release as a special feature...and pretty dire. Did anyone see the Freddy's Nightmare TV series... i recall watching a few that I recorded off late night TV? It was on at 1 or 2 in the morning on ITV, just after the classic Sledge Hammer.

Re: Nightmare on Elm Street ready reckoner
Posted By docemmetttbrown 1 January 9, 2009 04:38:48 PM

I beg to differ cjlines, the best Nightmare soundtrack song was Anything, Anything by Dramarama.

Re: Nightmare on Elm Street ready reckoner
Posted By lostboy 1 March 9, 2009 04:28:28 AM

I think that "Dream Child" is one of the most underrated Elm Street films there is and "freddys revenge" was one of the most overrated. "New Nightmare" in my opinion was definitely one of the best sequels in the series. And to finish this off, FINNALLY!!! someone who agrees that "Freddy vs Jason" was just plain awful.

Re: Nightmare on Elm Street ready reckoner
Posted By lostboy 1 March 9, 2009 04:59:19 AM

speaking of all the songs that were related to Elm Street, has everyone forgotten about Dream Warriors by Dokken. I thought that song was better than "heaven in the backseat" by a longshot.
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