To pass the time until this movie comes out I decided to go see all the other ones, except for Freddy vs Jason.
1. A Nightmare on Elm Street 9.5/10 - classic, most agree the first was the best. The movie had a threatening, creepy Freddy, and a great buildup in tone and atmosphere to each of one of the horrifying kill scenes/Freddy appearances. Craven played with various literary themes involving childhood innocence being unable to escape pressure and terrors of life and weaved them into the film effectively and passionately. I removed half a star for the ending, but overall great film.
2. Dream Warriors (Part 3) - 8/10 - Most agree this was the best sequel, I liked how they continued the storyline in a very reasonable and consistent manner. The kill scenes were little bit more 'fantastical' and slight more camp but I think Freddy's depiction was still solid. This one was first to really explore theme of dying by your worst nightmare or dying ironically (--the first one didn't really do that, the first one had horrific deaths, but they weren't relevant to character). This had a pretty good ending.
3. Wes Craven's New Nightmare (Part 7) - 7.5/10 Craven experiments with theme of how horror franchises impact pop culture and childhood development. I liked the concept and it was executed effectively. The movie started kind of slow and Heather's acting during some scenes could have used some work, but the overall the buildup to climax was more than satisfying. The child actor's bizarre performance and questions about life/God/ really saved the movie. Some of the blending of the reality/dream was bit bizarre but acceptable. Freddy's characterization and costume were effective and I was startled by the climax scene.
4. the Dream Child (Part 5) - 6.5/10 it was a near tie between this and Dream Master. I gave this one better ranking because I felt it was a bit more original than Dream Master. The idea had potential and if a good writer was put in place a truly horrifying film could have been made. The movie starts out well re-introducing Alice. The concept of an unborn child being able to control mother's dreams and life was interesting, but the movie didn't execute properly. The film was also bit too campy and too much dark fantasy than horror.
5. Dream Master 6/10 (Part 4). This was a decent sequel, not bad but not great. Freddy starts becoming too comical here, he's too exposed in the film (one scene he's standing out at the beach) he's not as mysterious or threatening anymore. The prologue and ending didn't make any sense to me. This is the point where the franchise started incorporated too many Hollywood/pop culture references. The acting in the film was ok but not consistent.
6. Freddy's Revenge (Part 2) - 5.5/10. This film had potential to be great but you can tell the director/studio were rushing the film out for profit. I didn't mind that the director experimented with other ideas outside of Wes Craven's mythos (teenage angst and emotional/sexual supression, Freddy possessing teenagers instead of running after them), but the movie suffers from lack of consistency and poor execution. The exploding parakete and the toaster burning didn't come across as threatening but more confusing distractions. The ideas here had potential but the screenwriting/buildup atmosphere could have been way better. The only upside to the film was that Freddy was still pretty dark (maybe darkest in the entire series), but unfortunately the director doesn't give him much to do (the pool scene was pretty ridiculous). The ending was also pretty bad. I would have rated this sligthly better than Dream Master if it weren't for the lack of consistency.
7. Freddy's Dead (Part 6) 3/10- this isn't a horror film, its pretty much a comedy, but not a very good one.
Anyways, I'm looking forward to the remake and seeing what Haley can do, although I don't have high expectations.
