B Movies Blog

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise into the ol’ VCR. 

Okay, friends, the time has come to tackle another iconic franchise. Not only can we thank Wes Craven for directing Scream, but he also introduced us to Freddy Krueger. 

Much like Chucky, Freddy has evolved over the years into a campy (and petty) villain who honestly does some of the most fucked up stuff I’ve ever seen, including, but not limited to: 

• Contorting the souls of multiple teens into pizza toppings 
• Using someone’s tendons to control them like a marionette 
• Fusing someone’s body into a motorcycle, as they sped down a highway 

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

This is the horror equivalent of running your finger in-between tiles as a kid. 

When we were first introduced to Freddy, all the way back in ‘84, there was a dash of camp, but Freddy was more of a traditional villain, a la Jason or Michael. However, as I mentioned earlier, Freddy has become campier and throws out puns like it’s his job. 

Additionally, like we see in Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, I would argue that the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise has become increasingly queer. We’ve talked about this previously, but horror and queerness go hand-in-hand, so it makes sense to me for NOES to also be queer-coded at times. 

I’d also like to go ahead and throw out my controversial opinion of the piece, which is my defense of Alice. I actually really like her character development, and I think she’s an excellent final girl. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

When your nails are wet, and you turn to ask someone to do something for you. 

Before we get to the reason we’re all here, aka my ranking of the franchise, I want to hop on one last soapbox. I’ve heard the rumors about Blumhouse relaunching the franchise with a requel… and I’m skeptical. I really enjoyed the first two Halloween reboots, but Halloween Ends was AWFUL. I also have a lot of hesitation around the new Exorcist film. 

I really like Blumhouse, but I think they do better with original works than reboots, so I’m approaching this news with extreme caution. 

Okay, friends, you’ve officially made it! The moment we’ve all been waiting for. My ranking of the NOES franchise. My definitive ranking is as follows: 

Nightmare on Elm Street 

Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors 

Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge 

Wes Craven’s New Nightmare 

Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child 

Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare

We’ll go ahead and leave this piece here. The NOES franchise isn’t my favorite franchise, but it’s up there, and I think it’s more than earned its spot as horror royalty. 

Let’s all agree to forget about the 2010 remake, though.