h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There were 7 Nightmare on Elm street movies?
I remember the first three and the last one, but did the others ever make it to the big screen or go straight to video?

Every Nightmare film made it to the big screen. They are currently available in a sweet DVD box set from New Line Home Video in DVD Region 1.

Additionally, there was a syndicated spinoff horror series called Freddy's Nightmares. Freddy introduced the tales much like the cryptkeeper character does in "Tales From the Crypt".

I remember that series. If I remember right it didn't last to long.

No it didn't, but it was interesting in that each story actually involved Freddy himself, as opposed to him acting as the host like the Cryptkeeper.

Anyway, for the record, the seven films in the "Elm Street" series are:

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge

Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors

Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (The best one in my opinion)

Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare

and

Wes Craven's New Nightmare

NOTE: Nightmare 2, Freddy's Dead, and New Nightmare are basically all self contained films, whereas Nightmares 1, 3, 4, and 5 all form a coherent story arc.

---Erin M.

Kind of...

The Final Nightmare doesn't fall into the original story line?

Well, what I mean is that while Freddy's Dead does follow the mythos surrounding the Elm Street series, it is kind of it's own self contained film.

The main reason being that if you look at the previous five films, wherever in the "dreamscape" that Freddy has supposedly been killed, he returns from the dead in roughly the exact same place. You see his latest "ressurection" and the plot proceeds from there, usually starting with the survivors from the previous film being killed off.

However, in Freddy's Dead, apparently Freddy has been ressurected for quite some time already and has wiped out the entire under 25 population of Springwood, causing the remaining adults in the area to go completely around the bend. There is also no sign of the survivors of Nightmare 5. It's generally presumed that they left Springwood, or Freddy already dealt with them.

Nightmare 2 is outside the story arc, as there is no hint of any of the characters from the first film, and this primarily deals with Freddy's attempts to possess the kid who has moved into the former Thompson residence.

As for New Nightmare, well, that one is self contained as it takes place in what we laughingly call the "real world."

---Erin

I guess that it's time to go to Blockbuster and see for myself how the 3 movies that I havn't seen play out.
Looks like there is a lot of popcorn in my future.