My second favorite horror franchise and if I continue making these list it starts getting bad after a few more of these. I am talking series that make the later sequels of Hellraiser and Saw seem decent. Also a little note for these rankings, I am not 100% sure I have seem a Nightmare on Elm Street 4 all the way through. The description on Wikipedia sounds familiar and I vaguely remember the ending so I am going to assume I have.
My Ranking of the A Nightmare on Elm Street series
 | 1. A Nightmare on Elm Street The original is one of my all time favorite horror movies. It is one of the few movies that I actually find scary. Freddy Krueger isn't yet a wise cracking killer who stars in Will Smith videos and has dolls marketed towards kids. He is a creepy undead pedophile who wants to sadistically kill you anytime you go to sleep. How did Freddy get turned into a beloved icon? That is kinda fucked up if you think about it. Sorry for the mini-rant. |
 | 2. Wes Craven's New Nightmare Somehow this movie is even more meta then Scream. It literally takes place during the filming of A Nightmare on Elm Street sequel and stars Heather Langenkamp(Nancy Thompson), Robert Englund, and Wes Craven all playing themselves. I don't want to talk too much about the plot since not too many people have seen this movie. Do yourself a favor and watch this ASAP if you have never seen it before. |
 | 3. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors The most popular of the sequels. Not surprisingly this movie has nothing to do with the previous film(more on that later). Nancy Thompson from the original returns and the film stars a young Laurence Fisburne and Patricia Arquette. It also features a bitchin' song from Dokken as the theme. |
 | 4. Freddy vs. Jason A return from my Friday the 13th list. I've heard rumors that the sequel was going to be Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash but Sam Raimi wanted nothing to do with it. |
 | 5. A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge The odd duck out when it comes to the sequels and not brought up in the continuity of the series. Also Freddy does most of his killing outside of the dream world. Honestly this film is weird and pretty gay. I don't mean that as an insult I mean literally google A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and homoerotic subtext. |
 | 6. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare Wise Cracking Freddy reaches critical mass while killing Breckin Meyer via a video game dream and says "Now your playing with power". Keep an eye out for a Johnny Depp cameo. He is listed in the credits as Oprah Noodlemantra. |
 | 7. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master Honestly this movie is kinda forgettable. Save for the surprisingly good special effects for the time. |
 | 8. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child The series tries to tone down the comedic elements but it ends up making the movie kinda boring and pretty forgettable. We are introduced to Freddy's mom who is a nun that was impregnated by being gang raped by the criminally insane at a mental asylum. |
 | 9. A Nightmare on Elm Street I will say two good things about this film. Jackie Earle Haley is a decent Freddy and the concept of micro naps caused from sleep deprivation is pretty neat. I don't really know how to describe why I hate this movie so much. I guess it is a problem I have with most remakes that closely follow the originals. Yes they nailed the plot points and the special effects are much better but it lacks the soul and spirit of the original. |
