Freddy Krueger is among the best horror villains along with Frankenstein, Chucky, Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers, Jigsaw and Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. While the franchise is restarted with 2010’s Nightmare on the Elm Street, the original series of movies including Freddy Krueger in more than seven gruesome horror creations. While every Nightmare on Elm Street movie has their highlights, here is a look at the top 5 Nightmare on Elm Street movies.
5. Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare: Clearly not the end of the series, this slasher picture was one of Freddy Krueger’s great stories. Along with gruesome deaths and classic nightmare twists, the picture was originally released in 3D. A lot of objects head towards the screen, but the highlight is end when Freddy is “killed” for good.
4. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare: Craven directed the first Nightmare on Elm Street and when he finally returned to the series, he brought a new twist and blend on reality. Using a “movie within a movie” concept, Craven brought back the original stars and introduced a deep psychological plot that is rarely seen in slasher movies. Freddy’s make-up looked better than previous movies and it was a great way for Craven to return to his roots.
3. Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors: Instead of haunting normal teenagers, Freddy focuses on troubled teens at in an institution for this third installment of the horror franchise. Bringing back the main star, Freddy was funnier and more brutal than ever in this installment. He had great banter in a witty script and one of the best kills came when Freddy transformed into a television and smashed a girl’s face right through the screen.
2. Freddy Vs. Jason: The ultimate showdown between horror icons was made possible when New Line secured the rights to the Friday the 13th franchise. The acting from the victims was not the greatest, but it did not matter because viewers only looked forward to their impending deaths. Once the teens were taken out through creative killings, the battle of wits between Freddy and Jason began. Their scenes in the Nightmare world were some of the most entertaining in the whole franchise. In the end Jason came out on top, but a last-second wink by Freddy showed that this franchise wasn’t going to end anytime soon.
1. Nightmare on Elm Street: Johnny Depp debuts in a classic horror tale that still delivers scares today. Freddy’s deep voice was scary and funny at the same time and Craven introduced an innovative and genre-changing twist to slasher films. Pools of pool, bodies against the wall and scary dream sequences made this film the best of the series. One of the main highlights was the ending shot where Nancy’s mom is pulled into the glass door window and the children get trapped in a Freddy Krueger colored convertible.
Honorable Mention- Jason Goes to Hell: Even though this wasn’t an official Nightmare on Elm Street movie, Freddy Krueger still made his mark in one of the most iconic horror scenes. Once Jason is finally killed, his iconic mask sits on a pile of dirt. The demons of hell are summoned and Freddy’s glove pops up out of the ground to pull the mask down with it. Freddy’s laugh plays in the background as the credits roll.
