TOP FIVE of UNAUTHORIZED! - A Nightmare on Elm Street Kills!
Kevin MacLean
The Nightmare on Elm Street franchise is one of the most enduring horror series in the history of Hollywood. Eight times (and one more for a remake) Freddy Krueger has terrorized teenagers in their sleep, leading to a whole lot of screams and a very impressive body count. But when you’re on Elm street, it’s not the quantity of the kills, it’s the quality. From turning a girl into a cockroach to force feeding a teen their own guts, Freddy always manages to find new and horrifying ways to bring those sleepy teenagers to their demise.
In honor of our next production, “A Bad Dream on Elm Avenue”, we at Unauthorized! are ranking our TOP FIVE favorite Nightmare deaths! So hold onto your lunch and remember those we’ve lost to Freddy!
Honorable Mention:
Jesse - Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
Nightmare 2 is simultaneously the most interesting and most frivolous of all the Nightmare films. Rushed into production, it was inferior to the original film in just about every imaginable way yet found second life in the cultural zeitgeist for its gay overtones. The film did manage one really fantastic effects sequence, however, which would’ve been a contender for the top on the list except for one small problem: No one dies. Technically a “possession”, Freddy gets all up in the body of Nightmare 2’s fabulous hero, Jesse Walsh, and really lets it all hang out.
5. Jennifer - Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Full of fun characters, imaginative special effects, memorable killings, and a rocking hair metal song, Dream Warriors is arguably the most beloved of all the Nightmare films. Jennifer’s death early in the film is not especially gruesome or shocking, but it gets on this list for two reasons. First, it has the bonus death of Zsa Zsa Gabor (who was hand picked by Dick Cavett because she was quote, “The dumbest person I’d ever met”) and Second, it gives us the best one-liner from the entire series!
4. Glen - A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
When I first saw A Nightmare on Elm Street, this was the death I remembered best. Sure other, more impressive deaths have come along since Johnny Depp’s big screen debut but the sheer audacity of this scene leaves everyone who has ever seen it saying the same thing: “Wow, that’s a lot of blood.”
3. Freddy - A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Nightmare 4 was the highest grossing horror film of the 80s in U.S. theaters and launched Reny Harlin’s career. While not quite as dark as Dream Warriors, Dream Master had no shortage of memorable kills. None more so than Freddy’s own comeuppance. All of those teens slashed up by Freddy finally get their revenge (at least until the sequel)
2. Tina - A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
You only have your first time once. Tina’s death in the original Nightmare was sensational at the time but compared to some in later installments it feels understated. Relying more on Amanda Wyss’s acting rather than crafted molds and prosthetics, what makes Tina’s death so terrifying is the simple helplessness of it.
1. Philip - A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
While many a Nightmare death would make me cover my eyes as a 9-year-old, most are a mixture of interesting and amusing as an adult (the reason why Debbie’s famous “roach motel” death didn’t make the list). One big fat exception to this is Philip’s death in Dream Warriors. A major reason why Roger Ebert decried the film for not receiving an X-rating, Philip’s “marionette” death takes teenage suicide and brings it to a truly stomach churning place. Inventive, well-executed, and wholly disgusting, this is without question the top Kill on Elm Street!
That's our list. See what inventive ways Unauthorized! comes up with to off kids in "Bad Dream on Elm Avenue" coming to the People's Improv Theater September 21st and 22nd, and remember, don't go to sleep!
