(1984)
Dir - Wes Craven
Overall: GOOD
One of the most popular horror franchises of all time kicked off in 1984 with Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street. Craven had been pitching the project for a number of years, with distribution company turned-film studio New Line Cinema finally taking it on. The result launched both the company and the filmmaker into the major leagues and deservedly so. Though Freddie Kruger infamously became a parody of himself in quick succession with the following sequels, he is more understated and in turn far more menacing here. Robert Englund became a household name in the role he will forever be known for and this easily stands as the most effective he ever was as the child-murdering nightmare demon. The cast is strong all around, save for Ronee Blakely's melodramatic performance as an alcoholic mother. Craven treats the material seriously enough, examining thematic cliches like adolescent trauma, parents being dismissive of their children, and promiscuous teenagers as bad guy fodder. Also, he wisely has the good sense to let the creepy premise of falling asleep sealing your doom stay the primary focus and the film is at its best during the highly imaginative dream sequences, each one of which has become iconic and often parodied. While the series is so etched into the ethos of pop culture now as to unfortunately limit its impact, the initial installment remains easy to appreciate in its comparatively less campy form.
(1985)
Dir - Jack Sholder
Overall: GOOD
Commonly referred to as "the gayest horror film ever made", A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge is more known for its underlying themes and eyebrow-raising set pieces than anything else. Wes Craven stepped down from the project as he found the proposed script ill-advised, yet director Jack Sholder treats the material in perhaps a more respectful manner than such cash-grab sequels usually deserve. While the homoerotic moments are numerous and unmistakable, (the leather daddy gym coach death scene, the male scream "queen" protagonist being played by openly gay actor Mark Patton, said protagonist not being able to make love to his girlfriend, Freddy spending the entire movie trying to literally "get inside" Patton's body), the narrative itself is oddly not a mere retread of the first installment. Some of the differentiating elements fail to land, but most of them work well enough to deliver another series of inventive and freaky set pieces, plus the special effects by Kevin Yagher and Mark Shostrom are solid for the era. Best of all though and essential to having the whole thing not just be one long, unintentional gay joke, Robert Englund still makes Mr. Krueger a menacing presence and had yet to turn the character into a cornball laughing stock.
(1987)
Dir - Chuck Russell
Overall: GOOD
Wes Craven returned in screenwriter form, (along with three others, including director Chuck Russell in his debut behind the lens), for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, which is one of the more well-respected sequels in the franchise. Craven, star Robert Englund, and John Saxon had all written their own scripts for another entry, with some elements from each making their way into either the finished product here or future installments, including the Freddy's Nightmares TV series. For the most part, this one steers clear of overt silliness as once again Krueger is largely kept off camera for the first two acts and the likeable characters are given plenty of screen time. Russell maintains a creepy tone even with goofy moments like "Welcome to prime time bitch!", a stop motion Freddy skeleton celebrating his victory, and the hook of having the protagonists turn into badass versions of themselves in the dream realm. The use of holy water, prayers, and a crucifix that cause Freddy's of course only temporary destruction serves a "sure, whatever" enough purpose, but the effects work is still excellent and the nightmare sequences are wonderfully creative as well as large in number.
(1988)
Dir - Renny Harlin
Overall: MEH
Things finally collapse into stupidsville with A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, the entry where Freddy Krueger officially became a parody of himself. A victim of the 1988 Writers Guild of America Strike and based off of a script that was hammered out within only nine days, Wes Craven's input was rejected from the studio and the director's chair is once again handed off as a for-hire job. The proof is certainly in the pudding. The dialog is terrible from top to bottom, no more so than when Robert Englund gets to dish out almost as many groan-inducing puns as Arnold Schwarzenegger did in Batman & Robin. Special effects wise, it is sufficient since the amazing Screaming Mad George contributed some of the visual gags at least. That said, the nightmare death sequences fail to garnish much excitement and they are hinged on a story which is merely a lazy retread of the three installments that came before it. Freddy finds his demise in a laughably random way this time, which is proceeded by a kung-fu fight and an action movie-styled, "dressing up in front of the mirror" montage. Ken Sagoes is the only returning cast member from the last film, which is somewhat pointless as he dies quickly and Patricia Arquette got recast anyway, (plus her character also dies quickly), so in that regard, why not just exclude both of them altogether?
(1989)
Dir - Stephen Hopkins
Overall: MEH
The schlock train continues with A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. Though new director Stephen Hopkins made a partially successful attempt to go for a darker tone by introducing Gothic atmospherics into the franchise for the first time, Robert Englund is still playing the nyuck nyuck game with incessantly terrible dialog. The camp level is increased elsewhere as well since as the title would suggest, there is indeed a small child in this one who delivers a dad pun of his own while doing his best Freddy Krueger voice, makeup in tow. There is also an animatronic Freddy fetus baby monster that is as ridiculous as it sounds. Visually though, the movie is still stellar with top-notch practical effects and grimy, over the top sets. Hopkins also keeps a relentless pace going, with high-octane nightmare sequences making up the majority of screen time and thankfully so. The script tries to expand on the mythos by making Krueger's mom more prominent, but it is essentially the same old, "he's back for more" gag of picking off douchebag teenagers one at a time. Time well spent for fans of the series yet for the uninitiated, nothing here is bound to grab them any more than anything else that came before it.
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