In the late 70s and early 80s, horror fans were experiencing a golden age in their beloved genre. “Halloween” introduced the world to a psychotic killer by the name of Michael Myers, which helped popularize the slasher genre. Jason Voorhees came next in “Friday the 13th,” giving the world a reason to fear summer camp. Many other low budget slashers followed, but most never made it past the one-and-done pitfalls of early independent film. It wasn’t until 1984 that horror fans would find the next slasher king, Freddy Krueger.

“A Nightmare on Elm Street,” written and directed by Wes Craven, brought the slasher genre to a new level. In other films, the solution was easy. If you want to stay alive, stay away from the killer’s stomping grounds. Craven’s film played on an aspect of life the characters couldn’t do without: sleep. As each character slipped into a dream state, the hideously scarred sadist, Krueger, would come for them. The results were never pretty.

On Friday, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” will become the latest in a long line of Hollywood horror remakes. Whether or not it will live up to the original classic is anyone’s guess. What is certain, skeptical or not, horror fans are going to turn out in droves to see what kind of nightmares Freddy Krueger will whip up for the kids on Elm Street. Here’s a look back at some of his best and worst.
 

BEST

Tina’s Nightmare/Death
“A Nightmare on Elm Street”

Tina and her friend Nancy are having nightmares about a severely burned man with knives for fingers. Although the dreams seem very real, no one believes they could turn deadly. At a seemingly harmless sleepover, Tina and her boyfriend Rod do the deed in an upstairs bedroom and then go to sleep. Tina wakes up to stones being thrown at her window. She goes outside and comes face to face with the man who will go on to haunt the dreams of all the kids on Elm Street – Freddy Krueger. It soon becomes apparent that Tina isn’t awake, but trapped in a nightmare with a charismatic psychopath. In the waking world, Rod watches as Tina is sliced open by invisible knives while being dragged up the walls to the ceiling. Nancy finds Tina cut to shreds and covered in blood.

Nancy’s schoolhouse nightmare
“A Nightmare on Elm Street”

For some reason, Nancy decides to go to school the day after Tina’s murder. Coming off a night of little-to-no sleep, Nancy eventually falls asleep in class. She sees Tina in the hall in a body bag, covered in blood, beckoning to her. Nancy follows a trail of blood to an old boiler room where she is stalked by Freddy. She narrowly escapes, but spends the remainder of the film doing battle with her new arch nemesis.

The liquefaction of Johnny Depp
“A Nightmare on Elm Street”

Nancy’s boyfriend, Glen (Johnny Depp in his first film role), is skeptical of the man in her nightmares. Nancy tries to warn him about what will happen if he falls asleep, but Glen simply will not listen. We never actually see what happens in Glen’s nightmare, but the result is amazingly gruesome. Glen is dragged down through a hole in his bed and then spewed back out as a steady stream of blood that covers the entire ceiling. When the paramedics arrive, one is heard saying, “We don’t need a stretcher up there. We need a mop.”

Freddy rips through Jesse
“A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge”

In “Freddy’s Revenge,” the killer tries to break free from the dream world by possessing the newest resident at 1428 Elm Street, Jesse Walsh. Jesse hasn’t been able to sleep since his family moved into their new home, being kept awake by the boiler room-like heat in his bedroom. He then begins seeing Freddy in his dreams who urges Jesse to kill for him. As Jesse becomes more and more paranoid, he asks his friend Grady to watch him sleep and to wake him up if he begins acting strange (a scene that takes place in almost every “Nightmare” film). Grady agrees, but only watches Jesse for a few moments before lying down to go to sleep. Jesse suddenly wakes up, screaming out in pain. Freddy then rips through Jesse’s chest, while Grady watches in horror. Freddy impales Grady, while the reflection in the young man’s mirror shows Jesse as the real culprit.

Freddy plays puppeteer
“A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: Dream Warriors”

“Dream Warriors” follows the last of the Elm Street children who have all been placed in a psychiatric hospital. Each has had their run-ins with Krueger, but no one believes their tales. One of the kids, Phillip, is a talented sculptor who specializes in marionettes. One night, Phillip falls asleep and Freddy turns him into a puppet, ripping veins and flesh from Phillip’s arms and feet. He then leads Phillip to the top of the building where he cuts the strings. Phillip plummets to his death while his friends watch.

The source of Freddy’s power
“A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: Dream Warriors”

During the final battle in “Dream Warriors,” the remaining Elm Street kids, along with Nancy from the original film, find themselves facing Freddy in Nancy’s old house. It is here that he reveals the source of his power – the souls of all those he has killed. Freddy lifts his trademark red and green sweater, exposing his chest, which is covered in tiny faces all screaming in agony.

Debbie turns into a cockroach
“A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 4: The Dream Master”

“The Dream Master” features one of the most grisly deaths of the series. Debbie is an athletic young woman who hates bugs. Naturally, Freddy will use both of these things against her. As Debbie lifts weights, Freddy appears over her and pushes the bar down, breaking both her arms. Two insect legs spring forth from the wounds. Debbie suddenly finds herself stuck in a roach motel. Her head splits open, revealing that of a cockroach. Her transformation continues until only her human legs remain. Freddy then crushes the roach motel, ending both the dream and Debbie’s life.

Chase’s funeral
“Wes Craven’s New Nightmare”

By the time the seventh installment of the series rolled around, Freddy’s antics had gotten stale. Part 6 was advertised as being the last “Nightmare” film, with Freddy being successfully killed off by his long lost daughter. A mere three years later, Freddy was back, this time trying to break out of the film world and into real life. Heather Langenkamp plays herself preparing to reprise her role of Nancy in a new “Nightmare” film. It isn’t long before she starts experiencing her own bad dreams and her friends and family start dying by Freddy’s hand. At her husband’s funeral, Heather envisions Freddy climbing out of the freshly dug grave to drag her son to hell.

Freddy takes Jason’s mask to Hell
“Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday”

For years, horror fans argued over who would win in a fight between Freddy Krueger and perennial horror anti-hero Jason Voorhees. With Jason owned by Paramount and Freddy by New Line Cinema, and neither company willing to agree on a suitable crossover, it appeared the horror world would never get a definitive answer. In the early 90s, New Line acquired the rights to Jason and teased a crossover film at the end of “Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.” As Jason is defeated and sinks into the ground, only his mask is left on the surface. Suddenly, Freddy’s gloved hand bursts forth and pulls Jason’s signature mask underground. Fans would have to wait another 12 years before the long awaited battle between horror icons would take place.

Freddy sends a message
“Freddy vs. Jason”

It has been quite a few years since Freddy has had his way with the kids on Elm Street. His major problem is that the children don’t remember him so he can’t invade their dreams. Freddy solves his problem by sending Jason Voorhees out of hell to remind them of the past. How Freddy has the power to send anyone out of hell is never tackled, but it’s one of those plot holes that you should just willingly ignore. As Jason does Freddy’s work and implants the nightmare king into the children’s minds, Freddy’s power grows. He finally is able to kill through dreams again and picks a young mental hospital escapee as his first victim. After torturing the young man with visions of his dead brother, he burns a message into his skin, simply stating, “Freddy’s back.”

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WORST

Tongue phone
“A Nightmare on Elm Street”

Horror special effects were still in their infancy back in the mid-80s, so there are segments of the classics that haven’t aged well. In one such segment, Nancy answers the phone to find Freddy's voice on the other end. The receiver then turns into a ridiculous looking Freddy mouth, with the tongue out, trying to lick Nancy’s face. Craven used the gag again in “New Nightmare,” with the same corny result.

Nancy’s mother pulled through the window
“A Nightmare on Elm Street”

Speaking of bad special effects. At the end of the first “Nightmare” film, it appears that Freddy has been defeated by Nancy’s lack of belief in him. In the last segment, Nancy and her mother stand outside their house. Nancy’s friends, alive and well, pick her up for their day at school. As the teens drive away, they begin to panic as it’s obvious they are once again in one of Freddy’s nightmares. In one of the last shots, Nancy’s mother, waving to the frightened children like a bombed heroin addict, is grabbed by Freddy’s hand through a small window in the front door. This is followed by a stiff, hilariously bad-looking mannequin being pulled through the small window.

Freddy is defeated by teen love
“A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge”

Jesse is the new kid in town, but has already found love with his classmate, Lisa Webber. Although Lisa barely knows Jesse, she sticks with him as he rambles about being possessed and even after he admits to killing his gym teacher. That’s devotion, ladies. At the end of “Freddy’s Revenge,” Lisa meets Freddy and urges Jesse to fight against the man possessing him. She kisses Freddy causing him to lose control and burn. Jesse crawls from Freddy’s ashes, alive and well.

The Wizard Master and the back alley knife fight
“A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: Dream Warriors”

Early in “Dream Warriors,” the mentally disturbed children discuss what they can do in their dreams. Will, a wheelchair bound dork, reveals that he is the Wizard Master in his dreams. Taryn, an ex junkie, says she’s beautiful (her vision of beauty is wearing all leather and sporting a Mohawk). Makes sense, right? Anyway, it comes as a relief when both of these annoying characters are killed off. Freddy jams Taryn’s veins full of her favorite drugs sending her to overdose city, then faces the Wizard Master, which is just Will in a Dracula cape. Really. They just put a cape on him and said, “Yeah, he looks like a wizard now.”

Freddy vs. Dokken
“Dream Warriors” music video
Apparently, the only real way to defeat Freddy Krueger is with copious amounts of hairspray and really terrible music.

Fire pissing dog revives Freddy
“A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 4: The Dream Master”

At the end of part 3, Freddy’s remains are buried in a junkyard and splashed with holy water, successfully getting rid of the child murderer for good. Not so fast. There is one substance that can counter holy water. Flaming dog pee. At the beginning of “The Dream Master,” part 3 survivor Kincaid finds himself in the junkyard where Freddy is buried. Kincaid’s dog then runs up, urinates fire on Freddy’s grave, and ressurects Elm Street's most feared resident. I’m not sure if this is the most creative way to bring someone back from the dead ever filmed or lazy, stupid screenwriting at its finest.

Freddy vs. Freddy Jr.
“A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 5: The Dream Child”

Part 4 survivor, Alice, finds herself pregnant and Freddy is using the dreams of her unborn child to murder her friends. It’s Freddy’s intention to be reborn through Alice’s child, which results in a battle between mother-to-be and insane madman. The pinnacle in foolishness comes when Freddy faces Alice’s unborn son who takes on Freddy’s look and voice. In my younger years, if I had known Freddy could be defeated by a five-year-old, I probably wouldn’t have been so afraid of him. Who would?

The Dream People
“Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare”

During “Dream Warriors” we learned that Freddy gets his power by absorbing the souls of the kids he kills. So, who gave him the ability to harness souls into killer nightmares? The Dream People, of course. That’s right, three movies later, we’re briefly introduced to a trio of mutated sperm, referred to as the Dream People, during a fun-filled adventure through Freddy’s brain. “Freddy’s Dead” is arguably the worst movie in the series.

Pot smoking worm
“Freddy vs. Jason”

If you ask me, “Freddy vs. Jason” as a whole isn’t a bad movie. However, some of the parts that make up that whole are terrible. There is none worse than the cartoon Freddy worm that breaks out a hookah to get high with the stoner character (a blatant rip-off of Jay from the Kevin Smith movies). I realize that many of the “Nightmare” films feature some kind of Freddy/animal incarnation, but this one is so ridiculous it’s hard to believe the concept made it from the page all the way to the screen.

“A Nightmare on Elm Street”
Video Game
There’s nothing I can say about this awful game that hasn’t already been said by the Angry Video Game Nerd. Beware, this video is loaded with inappropriate content.