If you’re even passingly familiar with slasher movies, you know that the villains never really die. But when an iconic killer has been MIA for a decade and a half, you do start to wonder. It has indeed been 15 years since we last saw Freddy Krueger and an even longer 22 years since the Freddy we know and love — the version Robert Englund played in eight of the nine Nightmare on Elm Street films — has popped up on our screens. He’s become the most elusive of the horror-franchise baddies: Michael Myers got a legacy-sequel reboot and an upcoming TV treatment, Chucky starred in a three-season show of his own, and Pinhead was resurrected in the 2022 Hellraiser reboot. Even Jason Voorhees, long stuck in legal limbo, was dragged out for a hard-cider ad (yes, really) with an A24 prequel series on the way. Among his contemporaries, Freddy stands alone.
His absence may be keenly felt, but it’s not all that surprising. Despite being grouped together with the villains who slashed their way through the ’80s (and, to a lesser extent, the ’90s), Freddy has always been unique. Not content to rest on a foreboding physical presence or to hide behind a mask like Jason or Michael Myers, Freddy’s greatest strength is his personality. He’s as funny as he is sadistic, at times more concerned with delivering catty barbs than with his kill count. And because he exists in the realm of nightmares, his violence blends with the whimsy of dream logic. As the Nightmare on Elm Street films progressed, Freddy became the star of the show, emerging as a beloved pop-culture icon even for those who never saw the movies. The attempt to revive the character for a new generation fell flat for multiple reasons — more on that below — but in large part because Freddy is inextricably linked to Englund, who never resisted leaning into the camp.
The Nightmare movies themselves are also distinct from the myriad slasher sequels of their era. Weirder and more high-concept than nearly any other horror franchise, they’re filled to the brim with mind-bending oddities that elevate even the more perfunctory entries. The enduring love for these films has carried fans through a desert of Nightmare on Elm Street content, and in 2025, we’ve at last been rewarded with an oasis: brand-new remasters of the first seven movies. In honor of the long-awaited 4K set and accompanying Alamo Drafthouse screenings, I’ve revisited and ranked the entire series, which also includes the 2003 crossover Freddy vs. Jason and the aforementioned remake.
A Nightmare on Elm Street is the rare horror franchise in which there’s (almost) no bad installment, but you can find a wide range of opinions on each entry. In ranking these nine movies, I’ve tried to balance overall quality with personal preference while also taking note of how well each one understands and embraces the character of Freddy Krueger. As the best of the Nightmare films remind us, there’s no one else like him.
9.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
The one true misstep of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, the 2010 remake gets just about everything wrong about what made the 1984 original so special. The failure can best be summed up in a sequence during which Freddy (Jackie Earle Haley) emerges from the wall above Nancy (Rooney Mara) as she sleeps, a re-creation of the same set piece in the original. In Wes Craven’s movie, the moment was achieved with seamless practical effects. Here, it’s some of the clunkiest CGI the early 21st century had to offer. But it’s not only the flat digital sheen that makes the 2010 Nightmare so disappointing — the entire enterprise is deathly serious, devoid of the spark and humor that defined its predecessors. Mara delivers her worst-ever performance as a final girl too somber to inspire interest, and Haley’s more grounded Freddy mostly feels as though he’s slaughtering out of obligation. The dour tone extends to the film’s big twist: Freddy is revealed not to have been a child murderer but a child molester who was sexually abusing the children of Elm Street. While Englund has said that was Craven’s original intention for the character of Freddy, the gravity of the crimes sucks any enjoyment out of a remake in desperate need of fun.
Best Freddy line: “Why are you screaming? I haven’t even cut you yet.”
8.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)
The new 4K remaster of The Dream Child does something fans have been clamoring for: It restores the full scenes of Freddy (Englund) dispatching Dan (Danny Hassel) and Greta (Erika Anderson), which had been heavily censored before the theatrical release to earn the film an R rating. Previously available only on VHS, the uncut sequences of Freddy turning Dan into a human-motorcycle hybrid and force-feeding Greta her own insides are some of the gnarliest kills in any Nightmare movie, and The Dream Child is better for having them restored. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is the same as it ever was with more mythology than anyone asked for and a convoluted plot about Freddy using Alice’s (Lisa Wilcox) unborn child as a conduit back to the real world. By this point, the studio was well aware of what audiences came to Nightmare on Elm Street sequels for, making the wonky pacing that much more confounding. (It takes a full 20 minutes before Freddy even shows up.) At the same time, even the weakest film in the original series could still create startling imagery, like the M.C. Escher–inspired finale.
Best Freddy line: “Bon appétit, bitch!”
7.
Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
Is Freddy vs. Jason a Nightmare on Elm Street sequel or a Friday the 13th sequel? On paper, it’s both, but it lets the Nightmare franchise down by forcing Freddy to play second fiddle to Jason (Ken Kirzinger), who does almost all the slashing. (Jason doesn’t fare much better, so far removed from his usual context that he could be any masked killer, not to mention saddled with a sudden debilitating fear of water.) On the other hand, it’s fun! As long as you’re willing to overlook the very-early-aughts digital effects — and the equally-early-aughts choice to have Kelly Rowland call Freddy a “faggot” — Freddy vs. Jason does what it says on the tin. The plot, which sees Freddy using Jason to bring fear back to Springwood, is frankly more clever than it needs to be, but the climactic fight between two horror titans is the selling point. It’s the classic caveman-versus-astronaut debate, pitting Jason’s brawn against Freddy’s brains. Really, it’s an excuse to watch the two tear each other apart with director Ronny Yu injecting the gruesome showdown with the same humor he brought to 1998’s Bride of Chucky.
Best Freddy line: “You ugly little shit. Now, there’s a face only a mother could love.”
6.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
Dream Warriors was a tough act to follow, and that was especially true for Tuesday Knight, who took over the role of Kristen Parker in The Dream Master from Patricia Arquette. Compared to its predecessor, the movie is unquestionably a step down, but there’s still plenty for fans to enjoy. The Dream Master is the Nightmare sequel that truly makes Freddy the star, and while that means he’s no longer scary, we do get to see him wearing cool shades on the beach and in school-nurse drag that makes him look a little like Ernest P. Worrell. Even though this wouldn’t be the final ’80s Nightmare movie, The Dream Master has the feel of the decade’s last gasp — how else to explain a training montage set to Dramarama’s “Anything, Anything”? The film also includes two of the most stomach-turning sequences in the series: Freddy going full Kafka and transforming poor Debbie (Brooke Theiss) into a cockroach and Freddy enjoying a pizza covered in meatballs made of his victims’ heads. These moments more than make up for the infamous dojo scene, in which an invisible Freddy offs Rick (Andras Jones).
Best Freddy line: “How’s this for a wet dream?”
5.
Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
For years, Freddy’s Dead has been labeled the worst of the original Nightmare series — it’s time to finally embrace it as an underappreciated gem. Before you scoff, consider that this is a film in which we first see Freddy dressed as the Wicked Witch of the West and riding his bike through a twister. This is a film with cameos from now-canceled stars Roseanne Barr and Johnny Depp (credited as Mrs. Tom Arnold and Oprah Noodlemantra, respectively). This is a film in which Freddy rolls a bed of spikes onto the road directly under a man falling from the sky, then looks directly at the camera to let us know he’s exhausted by the effort. In Freddy’s Dead, the title villain goes full clown — he’s here purely for our entertainment, which is why he’s constantly breaking the fourth wall to do bits. The kills are hilariously relentless with Freddy drawing clear inspiration from the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. Yes, it’s all very, very goofy, but that’s by design. Director Rachel Talalay has a clear grasp on her film’s tone, and if you can get on Freddy’s Dead’s wavelength, you’re rewarded with the true camp classic of the franchise.
Best Freddy line: “I’ll get you, my pretty! And your little soul, too!”
4.
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)
Before Scream, there was New Nightmare, Craven’s first foray into metatextual horror. It would have been daring enough to make a movie about making a Nightmare on Elm Street movie, but the writer-director took things a step further by letting real life infect his film — star Heather Langenkamp’s stalker, an increasingly heated debate over the effect of horror on children, and even the 1994 Northridge earthquake all found their way into the finished product. The result is a movie that feels genuinely unsafe, destabilizing its audience much in the same way New Nightmare destabilizes Langenkamp. In contrast to the soulless 2010 remake, allusions to the original film are done with care so that something like Julie (Tracy Middendorf) getting pulled onto the ceiling feels as shocking as the moment that inspired it a decade prior. The only real mistake that New Nightmare makes, which Craven himself copped to, is the way it physically alters Freddy, giving him a new character design to reflect a demonic entity who has simply chosen the character as a vessel. Ultimately, Freddy works best when he’s just Freddy — accept no substitutes.
Best Freddy line: “Hey, Dylan, ever play Skin the Cat?”
3.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
Deciding where to place Freddy’s Revenge on a Nightmare on Elm Street ranking is always a challenge. The film’s deeply homoerotic subtext — it’s really just text — has earned it queer reclamation with Freddy emerging as a clear metaphor for Jesse’s (Mark Patton) repressed sexuality. As a Nightmare sequel, however, it has some issues, largely bungling the concept of Freddy himself. In this installment, he torments Jesse in his dreams, but he also spends a confusing amount of time in the real world. Plus he makes a bird explode. To fully appreciate Freddy’s Revenge for what it is, it’s best not to think of it as a direct sequel. Because while it may undermine the rules of the 1984 movie, it does provide some instantly iconic sequences, like the locker-room murder of Coach Schneider (Marshall Bell) and Jesse’s grotesque transformation into Freddy. The latter is perhaps the finest body-horror set piece in the franchise, culminating in the brutal dispatching of Grady (Robert Rusler). And yes, it’s very, very gay. Even if the intentions were homophobic, the result is an evocative depiction of queer anxiety in the ’80s.
Best Freddy line: “Help yourself, fucker!”
2.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
In bringing back Nancy for a final showdown with Freddy, Dream Warriors has the feel of a legacy sequel decades before that term was in use. The series’ original final girl protecting the last children of Elm Street is an inspired choice, but the film soars by making exceptional use of Freddy’s nightmare world. There’s something commendable about how quickly the Nightmare franchise decided to get a little silly with it: Here, Freddy’s would-be victims use dream logic to their advantage by transforming into superheroes, including sweet nerdy Will (Ira Heiden) going full Dungeons & Dragons. None of Dream Warriors should work as well as it does, but there’s real pathos beneath all the absurdity. These teenagers — most notably Arquette’s Kristen, Taryn (Jennifer Rubin), and Joey (Rodney Eastman) — are really the last of Freddy’s targets we’ll care about. The kills are the highlights of the series, from Phillip (Bradley Gregg) being puppeteered by his tendons to Jennifer (Penelope Sudrow) getting way too close to the TV. All told, it’s the perfect blend of nasty horror and gleeful ’80s cheese.
Best Freddy line: “Welcome to prime time, bitch!”
1.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
As much as I’d like to top a Nightmare on Elm Street ranking with a less obvious choice, there’s simply no arguing with the first film being the best of the series. Consider its countless indelible images that have been cemented in horror history: Nancy in the bathtub, Tina (Amanda Wyss) being dragged across the ceiling, the fountain of blood that gushes from Glen’s (Johnny Depp) bed after he’s pulled inside. What makes A Nightmare on Elm Street so frightening is not just the character of Freddy Krueger — largely lurking in the shadows and, at this point, enough of a mystery to be truly terrifying — but also the underlying theme of adults failing to protect their children. Nancy’s father (John Saxon) is a police lieutenant who can’t seem to stop the teenagers of Springwood from being slaughtered. Ronee Blakley, meanwhile, delivers the film’s most haunting performance as a mother who drinks to forget her role in the vigilante violence that birthed Freddy’s oneiric killing spree. The Nightmare franchise gets looser and more fun as it goes along, but the bones of something weirder were there from the beginning in Craven’s first installment, which manages to balance undeniable scares with flashes of the dark humor and surreality that would come to define the series. Over 40 years later, the movie remains as chilling and blazingly original as ever.