10 More Horror Movies That Gave Fans EXACTLY What They Wanted (And They Hated It)
5. Freddy's Return Falls Flat
With A Nightmare on Elm Street, Wes Craven gave horror hounds a character who would go on to become one of the most iconic villains in the history of cinema, period. Stalking the dreams of the teenagers of Elm Street, Freddy Krueger was an instant hit, slicing 'n' dicing those kids in a wide variety of extreme, imaginative ways.
So, of course, moviegoers left that first A Nightmare on Elm Street picture demanding to see more from a character and a film that Craven had intended to be one-and-done. While that was Wes' wish, producer Bob Shaye had other thoughts - insisting on that final shot in the original movie in order to leave the door open for a sequel.
While Wes Craven had no involvement, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge had Freddy return to cause even more chaos and carnage in Springwood. Krueger was back, the kills were as intense and gorey as before, and a new stack of Elm Street kids were in Freddy's crosshairs.
The problem is, Freddy's Revenge was just a bit, well, naff; ranking as one of the worst films in what has since become a nine-movie franchise. Despite drawing in punters and performing well at the box office, the response to Elm Street 2 was a largely negative one.
While fans had been given Freddy Krueger once more, this first follow-up clearly had Shaye and New Line Cinema struggling to realise what had made Krueger and the original feature so special - instead delivering a mangled mess of a movie where Freddy possessed the physical form of central protagonist Jesse Walsh.