20 Movie Franchises That Carried On For Way Too Long

19. A Nightmare On Elm Street

The Movies: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Freddy's Revenge (1985), Dream Warriors (1987), The Dream Master (1988), The Dream Child (1989), The Final Nightmare (1991), New Nightmare (1994), Freddy vs Jason (2003), A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street is rightly regarded as one of the greatest horror movies ever made. Of course, like most horror franchises the appeal of the first movie was impacted by a constant stream of inferior sequels, although there were a couple of minor returns to form over the years. After Craven disowned the sequel stating he never intended it to become an ongoing series, Freddy's Revenge was always going to be a disappointment. He did return as writer for 1987's Dream Warriors, which was a welcome return to form for the franchise, and had an awesome theme song. The following year saw the release of The Dream Master, before next sequel The Dream Child saw the series take on a Gothic-influenced visual style, but the results were disappointing. The Final Nightmare was intended to be the series' swansong (yeah, right) and it was the worst entry yet. Wes Craven's return once again coincided with a rise in quality with New Nightmare, which ignores the series' continuity to craft an entertainingly meta movie in what would be Freddy's last appearance on screen for nearly 10 years. Freddy vs Jason would be Englund's last appearance as the character, and although it was sufficient wish fulfilment for fans of both the Nightmare and Friday the 13th franchises, the end result was a disappointingly predictable slasher. 2010's remake wasted the great casting of Jackie Earl Haley as Freddy, and despite grossing over $100m at the box office never received a sequel. Which is probably for the best, as Freddy Krueger has come dangerously close to overstaying his welcome after nine movies ranging from the very good to the downright terrible.