This + The Original Film Only Two Worth Seeing in Entire Series

4 is better than Freddy's Dead. And Dream Child. And probably Freddy's Revenge as well.

As I said, I can understand why people don't like DREAM MASTER and indeed after DREAM WARRIORS it is a noticeable step down. If you can get past the deaths of the survivors in the beginning, as well as accept a more eccentric Freddy (though I still think he had a bit of menace left even if less than the last three, but definitely more than 5 & 6) than I think it is fine. For better or worse it does not shoot for high goals like the Top 3 of the series and in doing so achieved them with relative ease. Unlike DREAM CHILD which aimed high in the conceptual category, but missed because it became too tonally uneven to truly take its message seriously. Trying to do something deeper, but also sticking too much to what commercially sold. Gameshow-Host Freddy.

And perhaps I should have been more clear on my feelings towards FREDDY'S REVENGE. I think it's got some stuff going for it. I actually don't think the main ideas are bad. A demon trying to possess and eventually return through a confused kid and use it as a metaphor for repressed homosexuality (I always figured being indicative of the self-loathing that comes with it because of society's stigmas and how it can be destructive). When I say I don't think it belong in the ELM STREET series, I'm also trying to make it clear that I don't think it really fit in with what the first film tried to accomplish. The main problem being Freddy's plans and motives. The big thing that made A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET different from most of its contemporaries was the imagination put in at the setting of the dream scape. It was completely different and scarier, because we all dream and there's nowhere to run. DREAM WARRIORS took that concept and brilliantly expanded on it. FREDDY'S REVENGE nearly abandons the concept all together, except for the bookends. As most of it features him trying to influence Jesse to kill in the real world. We are never even told why Freddy suddenly wants to come back to real world given how in the dream world he's invincible and cannot be caught. Granted it is shown he still has environmental powers in the real world later in the film during the pool party, but we're never given any kind of explanation about how that works. And as I said before taking it out of the dream world takes away the what made the first so special. Though to me is an alright movie as is. I have come to appreciate the film more as the years have passed. It's definitely got its merits, especially Englund giving one of his scariest performances as Freddy in the entire franchise. And the moment where he tears his way out of Jesse's body is one of the scariest moments of the series. I think had it been a standalone horror film with a different (though could be similar) villain and location that wasn't made on a rushed production schedule with the same basic plot could have been really good. In my view it is basically the HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH of the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET franchise in that regard.

Except 3 which is terrible.