A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: The Franchise!

With the latest addition in American remakes of classic horror cinema – A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), just hitting theaters, I thought now would be a good time to take a look back at the entire franchise and see how well it stands up today.
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
Still a quintessential horror film by one of today’s most successful horror directors Wes Craven. This is the film that “built” New Line Cinema as it was the company’s first major substantial success story. This film holds up very well even by today’s standards due to its innovative story and cinematography. It also holds up well due to its lack of humor (which would over shadow much of the rest of the series) and its many elements of suspense. One of the things that make this film so successful is Craven’s use of suspense to terrify the audience rather than pure gore (although the film does boast some very bloody scenes).

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2: FREDDY’S REVENGE (1985)
Not the most liked of the series but it is one of the few that holds up well because it’s main purpose is still to frighten and scare the audience so the imagery is still very powerful despite the departures in story that may hamper the film. The film also lacks the humor of subsequent films allowing this film to remain in the category of horror. Although some of the acting is borderline adequate (most of the young stars never go on to do anything else substantial), the film is filled with atmosphere and a great production design and style that can be traced in many of the subsequent sequels.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: THE DREAM WARRIORS (1987)
One of the strongest of the sequels not just in terms of story and theme, but production design, cinematography, special fx, and casting. This is by far one of the best of the sequels. Despite the fact that all elements of horror and suspense to the character of Freddy is gone, the film makes up for it in strides in so many other ways. This is good and bad as the humor displayed in this film from the Freddy character would demystify the character in future installments. This film would also force subsequent films to rely on the “dream death” as a means to tell the story rather than come up with an actual story to hinge each of the films on.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4: THE DREAM MASTER (1988)
Trying to take the franchise into a new era, this film first kills off the remaining “Elm Street children” before expanding Freddy’s playground. With the exception of the character who transforms into a cockroach this film is pretty forgettable. It has its moments of entertainment but the film tries too hard to add more insight on the dream world and how it is controlled and how it functions. This is a major flaw of not only this film but later films as well.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 5: THE DREAM CHILD (1989)
The series was running out of ideas by the time this film came around. With only a few Freddy kills (none of which are interesting) this is the most timid of the franchise. The one thing that this film does get right is the production design, tone, and atmosphere. Despite the lame death scenes this film is dark not only in atmosphere but story as well which is the film’s only saving grace. The franchise is at a low point but it gets even lower with –

FREDDY’S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE (`1991)
By far the worst film in the series. By the time this film was released there was only one place left for the series to go and that was 100% “camp.” Besides the Wizard of Oz and Nintendo riffs this is the most unwatchable of the series (unless of course you like camp). This film isn’t even worth watching for the 3-D ending. I love Yaphet Kotto and Lisa Zane but neither of these two actors could save this mess. This is one film that should have gone straight to video.

Wes Craven’s NEW NIGHTMARE (1994)
By far the best sequel in the franchise. Original creator Wes Craven returns to bring an all new nightmare to the screen by mixing film fiction with reality and myth & folklore. It’s one of the most creative films not only of the franchise but of Craven’s career. Despite the many suspenseful aspects of the film, the film’s only flaw lies in the fact that it tries to erase the memory of all the other sequels that came before it (but can’t).

FREDDY VS. JASON (2003)
Who knew that a match up between two of the greatest icons of horror cinema would be this much fun! Despite the borderline camp elements of the film, there is enough violence and good humor to make this one of the best films in the series based on the entertainment value alone. I was actually hoping for a sequel but this would never be (unless of course you read the graphic novel Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash, which adds the Evil Dead franchise to the mix).

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (2010)
This timid remake has a pacing problem and no style of its own as it takes a page from the book of remakes The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and Friday the 13th (2009). The film never finds its own heartbeat and seems like too much of a retread of the original. The origin of Freddy (although very interesting) bogs down the film with unnecessary info and none of the characters are all that interesting making for a very dull film.

Despite my misgivings for the A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), there are many whom this film was their first exposure to the franchise and thus is something of a highlight to the genre. This film is no Freddy’s Dead, so there are several good qualities to recommend (none seem to come to mind just yet) and first timers to the franchise will relish J. Earl’s performance as the iconic Fred Kruger (one of the film’s only high points).

Despite your opinion of the new film or any of the previous films the Nightmare franchise has had an immense effect on the horror genre past, present, and now into the future.