No other film in the Nightmare series comes close to the same level of terror, atmosphere or importance that the original possesses. In 1984, Wes Craven created horror's most iconic monster in Freddy Krueger and we never could sleep quite as well after that. Freddy is as close to the perfect horror movie villain - he's horrific to look at, spine-tingling to listen to and, well, he's pretty much invincible. The idea of a serial killer who kills you in your own dreams - often the only place where you can hide from such terrors - is absolutely genius. In the original film, we are introduced to the mysterious Freddy, and unlike the sequels that followed, there isn't really an ounce of humour to be found with his character, which works to the film's advantage in creating tension. It's an all-out horror film and not many others in the list take themselves as serious as this and succeed so well. It helps that Nancy is a terrific final girl, likeable for her brave but still vulnerable personality. Johnny Depp shows up too in his first feature film appearance and lands himself one of the scariest and most memorable deaths in horror history (bloody bed fountain, anyone?). The first Nightmare is the most well-rounded of the bunch and by far the scariest, and there's no real chance of any other Freddy films beating it for the number one spot. Do you agree with how the A Nightmare On Elm Street movies are ranked? Let us know in the comments below.
Joe is a television junkie. A film fanatic. A pop culture know-it-all. An interactive media masters student, and a bass player.
22 years old and Irish. Thinks Netflix is a Godsend.
