10 Unexpected And Surprising Horror Movie Sequels

After writing and directing the original horror classic that was A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), the franchise was taken out of the hands of Wes Craven. The studio were able to continue the high standards set with the first two sequels, Freddy’s Revenge (1985) and Dream Warriors (1987), before swiftly dropping the quality with each subsequent film through to Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), ultimately making a parody out of one of the genuinely scariest horror icons of all time.

However, Craven would unexpectedly return for one final throw of the dice at the story which made his name, with his New Nightmare (1994) laying the blueprint for the self-aware meta style of filmmaking that he would go on to develop further with his next movie, the hugely successful Scream (1996). Setting his film in the ‘real’ world with the actors from his original movie playing themselves, and even Wes himself involved in the story, an essence of evil called the Entity takes the form of Freddy Krueger and becomes a real threat to the characters.

The lines of reality become blurred, especially for Heather Langenkamp, who played final girl Nancy Thompson in Craven’s first film. She is haunted by Freddy and her reality starts to mirror that of the fictional world she once helped to portray. The film was a uniquely fresh take on A Nightmare on Elm Street, with Wes Craven producing a real unexpected return to form for the series.