12 Blatant Copycat Movie Pairs (And Which Was Better)

The basic premises of Dreamscape and A Nightmare on Elm Street are kind of the same – man intercepts dreams, man kills dreamer, dreamer dies in real life. But from there on the movies veer off into their own territory with Dreamscape taking a more sci-fi horror/political thriller route as protagonist Dennis Quaid intercepts a dream assassin while A Nightmare on Elm Street is more supernatural slasher.

Their similarities may be serendipitous, but the two films do share an intertwined history.

In fact, when Paramount Pictures was still attached to Dreamscape they rejected Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street script fearing the films were too alike (more fool them) and Dreamscape script cowriter Chuck Russell would later go on to direct A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in 1987.

Which One Was Better?

They’re both good movies in their own right but truth be told Dreamscape is looking rather dated nowadays while A Nightmare on Elm Street still stands up as a horror classic today, even if some terrible sequels have since sullied its good name. Plus, it gave us one of horror’s most memorable villains in the shape of knife-fingered child killer Freddy Krueger.