10 Horror Movie Sequels That Broke All The Rules

The seventh installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise follows actress Heather Langenkamp as she embarks on another Freddy Krueger film. Soon she and her young son find their dreams haunted by a familiar scarred visage.

New Nightmare was unquestionably a breath of fresh air for a series that had gone very stale. Wanting to break away from the wise-cracking media titan Freddy had become, Wes Craven took the bold step of bringing his creation into the real world, framing the original Nightmare as a movie within a movie.

The idea of Freddy as an ancient evil that has endured for centuries is definitely intriguing. Craven along with Robert Englund build this incarnation of the character as much more sinister: there are no wisecracks to be had here as this is no fictional character.

New Nightmare has an undeniable sense of grandeur that makes it stand head and shoulders above the other sequels. Stunning production design, action set pieces and a full orchestral score make it a slasher movie of truly epic proportions. Actress Heather Langenkamp too excels with an emotionally raw portrayal of a fictionalized version of herself by drawing on real-life stalking experience.

This is Wes Craven at his filmmaking zenith and New Nightmare deserves so much more admiration than its scant box-office returns suggests. This movie broke every single rule of an established and beloved franchise and deserves serious respect.