A Very Freddy February! Ranking the Nightmare on Elm Street Movies
Join Kit-Kat Kristen and Jazzy James as the take a walk down memory lane — or, more accurately, a walk down Elm Street
By: James Swift
When it comes to iconic slasher movie villains, very few — if any — have had the lasting legacy of one Freddy Krueger, the ubiquitous star of six canonical Nightmare on Elm Street films, a meta-laden deconstruction made before meta-laden deconstructions were cool, a crossover with a certain hockey mask-sporting genre stalwart and at least one full-fledged remake/reboot to date.
And of course, that’s to say nothing of all of the OTHER appearances the notorious Springwood Slasher has made over the years, popping up in everything from a syndicated TV show to a Nintendo video game to talking dolls that drew the ire of concerned parents coast-to-coast (who wouldn’t want their kids playing around with a character oft-described as “the bastard son of a thousand maniacs,” anyway?)
There’s no denying the Elm Street mythos has had quite the impact on pop culture over the last 30 years (and counting.) And with another frigid and formidable February in full swing — and it being peak gaudy red-and-green sweater weather, at that — what better time to reflect and reminisce on the Freddy Krueger filmography? Join Kit Kat Kristen and Jazzy James as they wax nostalgic on the exploits of cinema’s most beloved burn victim and cherished child murderer, along the way touching upon such pertinent topics as:
— Where, if any, did the universally reviled 2010 Elm Street remake go right?
— Was the video game that killed Spencer in Freddy’s Dead more entertaining than the ACTUAL Elm Street game that came out on the original Nintendo Entertainment System?
— Is it technically apropos to call A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child a proper “body horror” movie?
— In a movie notorious for its overall campiness, what’s the one ultra-campy performance from A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge that Jazzy James thinks STILL doesn’t get enough credit?
— In what ways did the work of Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch possibly influence Wes Craven’s New Nightmare?
— Did Home Alone directly or indirectly rip off the ending of the first Elm Street flick from 1984?
— Will there ever be a soundtrack as awesome as the one A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master had (and is it really all that controversial to say Tuesday Knight was a way better Kristen Parker than Patricia Arquette?)
— And, of course, which cult-favorite character actor from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors does Jazzy James share a very special collegiate connection to?
It’s nearly an hour of whimsical insights, tantalizing trivia and sometimes irreverent recollections of one of the greatest horror franchises of all-time — and dare we say it? — one countdown that’s well worth staying awake for ...
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