Cover art for the first film

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a series of horror films that were exceptionally popular in the 1980s. The series takes its name from the first film, A Nightmare on Elm Street, which was released in 1984 and was written and directed by Wes Craven. The central character of the films is supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger, played by Robert Englund. Krueger is able to attack and kill people through their dreams and does so with considerable violence and gore. Whatever happens to someone in their dream happens to them in real life. A Nightmare on Elm Street video tape cover File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A Nightmare on Elm Street video tape cover File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American horror film set in the fictional Midwest town of Springwood, Ohio. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... The 1980s refers to the years of 1980 to 1989. ... A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American horror film set in the fictional Midwest town of Springwood, Ohio. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Wesley Earl Craven (born August 2, 1939 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American film director and writer best known as the creator of many horror films, including the famed Nightmare on Elm Street series featuring the redoubtable Freddy Krueger character. ... Look up Supernatural in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Serial killers are individuals who have a history of multiple slayings of victims who were usually unknown to them beforehand. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Robert Englund costumed as the diabolical child-killer Freddy Krueger. ... A dream is the experience of envisioned images, sounds, or other sensations during sleep. ... Violence is any act of aggression and abuse which causes or intends to cause injury, in some cases criminal, or harm to persons, and (by some definitions) animals or property. ...

The series' effectiveness can be attributed in part to the relatively inspired nature of its villain. Rather than a simple murderer or any other form of villain who exists on screen, Krueger exists in dreams and thus could hypothetically attack anyone, even in reality (a theme explored in the final film of the series). The generic location of "Springwood" is akin to "Springfield", a very common town name, and intended to be every small town in the world. As Krueger himself states in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, "Every town has an Elm Street." A dream is the experience of envisioned images, sounds, or other sensations during sleep. ... Wes Cravens New Nightmare (1994) is the seventh in the Nightmare on Elm Street series of slasher films. ... Look up Springfield in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A Nightmare On Elm Street was the first film in the A Nightmare on Elm Street series of slasher films. ...

Sequels

The original film was directed by Wes Craven and remains among his most famous features. A Nightmare on Elm Street was followed by five sequels culminating in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991). Craven was largely not involved in these sequels, but did receive a producer credit for Part 3. (He also co-wrote the first pass of the screenplay). In 1994, Wes Craven returned to the series with Wes Craven's New Nightmare, in which Krueger appeared in (a fictionalized version of) the real world, plaguing Craven and the actors who had appeared in the original film. Wesley Earl Craven (born August 2, 1939 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American film director and writer best known as the creator of many horror films, including the famed Nightmare on Elm Street series featuring the redoubtable Freddy Krueger character. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... Wes Cravens New Nightmare (1994) is the seventh in the Nightmare on Elm Street series of slasher films. ...

As the series progressed, the films got gorier as new, creative ways were found to slaughter teenagers. The series managed to feature many up-and-coming young performers before their rise to fame (notably Johnny Depp, Patricia Arquette, and Laurence Fishburne). Johnny Depp (born John Christopher Depp II [1] on June 9, 1963) is an Academy Award-nominated and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actor, known for his affinity for strange character roles. ... Patricia T Arquette (born April 8, 1968) is an Emmy Award-winning and a Golden Globe Award-nominated American actress. ... Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in The Matrix Revolutions Laurence Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an Academy Award-nominated American film and occasional stage actor. ...

Almost every director involved with the sequels has gone on to direct higher profile films, as opposed to the fates of other slasher film directors, including veterans of the Friday the 13th series. The most successful among them was Renny Harlin, who would go on to direct the enormously successful Die Hard 2: Die Harder and the Sylvester Stallone vehicle Cliffhanger. Chuck Russell, the director of Part 3 directed 1994's The Mask starring Jim Carrey and 1996's Eraser with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead. DVD cover for Friday the 13th (1980) Friday the 13th is a popular series of American slasher films. ... Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola on March 15, 1959 in Riihimäki, Finland) is a film director and producer mostly known for action movies. ... Die Hard 2: Die Harder, the second Die Hard movie, was released on Wednesday, July 4, 1990 and starred Bruce Willis as cop John McClane. ... Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (born July 6, 1946), is an American Academy Award-nominated film actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. ... Cliffhanger is a 1993 action movie directed by Renny Harlin and starring Sylvester Stallone and John Lithgow. ... The Mask movie poster. ... James Eugene Jim Carrey (born January 17, 1962 in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada) is a Golden Globe winning Canadian comedic film actor. ... Eraser is a 1996 action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vanessa Williams. ... Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): ) (born on July 30, 1947, in Graz, Austria) is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor and Republican politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of California. ...

Eventually, a declining interest in gory teen slasher films towards the end of the 1980s led to the series' fade in popularity. Though the films still make profit when released, they have never matched the success they found in the first four. The slasher film is a sub-genre of horror film typically involving a masked, psychopathic killer who stalks and graphically murders a series of victims in a random, unprovoked fashion, usually teenagers or young adults who are away from adult supervision and involved in illicit activities (e. ... The 1980s refers to the years of 1980 to 1989. ...

Over the years Freddy has become a cult figure with his burnt face, red and green striped sweater, brown hat, and the metallic glove with sharp knife blades attached to the fingers. In the original film Krueger was a nearly silent, remorseless killing machine. As the series progressed, Krueger became a progressively more wisecracking, black-humoured character - frequently making a short witticism as he dispatches each victim. Englund described the character they had turned Krueger into as "Shecky Greene with claws" (later apologizing to classic comedian Shecky Greene, who took offense at the remark). Part 6, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, represents the zenith of this trend. Many horror critics and fans, claiming it to be a lazy way to reach potentially wider audiences and appeal to the lowest common denominator, have often criticized the sequels for this reason. Part 5 and 6 are the most common targets of this disapproval. A cult figure or cult icon is a person who attracts the attention of a small band of aficionados. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Look up Wit in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Shecky Greene (born Sheldon Greenfield, April 8, 1926), is a stand-up comedian who was best known for his live performances in the Catskills and on television in the 1950s and 1960s. ...

A constant feature throughout the series of eight films has been the nursery rhyme, which Krueger's victims hear in their dreams shortly before being confronted by Krueger. Sung by a group of young children (usually young girls) in the films and set to the rhythm of One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, it runs:

There was also a TV series Freddy's Nightmares that featured Freddy introducing scary stories involving the nightmares of the citizens of Springwood, in the style of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The show managed to produce 44 episodes over the course of two seasons, before being canceled. Freddys Nightmares was a late-night television anthology series, which premiered in October 1988 and ran until March 1990. ... Screenshot of opening sequence of Alfred Hitchcock Presents Alfred Hitchcock Presents was a half-hour anthology television series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. ...

In 2003, the Krueger character was pitched against Jason Voorhees from the popular Friday the 13th film series in Freddy vs. Jason. The film opened on August 15 and was immediately the most financially successful film in either series. It cost $25 million to make and grossed $47 million in its opening weekend. Several propositions for a sequel to the film, involving additional characters from other horror franchises, have been proposed. The first idea involved the use of Bruce Campbell's Ash Williams character from the The Evil Dead franchise. This idea was apparently halted when Evil Dead director, Sam Raimi, decided against it. A second idea involved using the Michael Myers character from John Carpenter's Halloween franchise. According to an interview with Englund, from March of 2006, New Line Cinema has participated in talks with Carpenter concerning the film. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... DVD cover for Friday the 13th (1980) Friday the 13th is a popular series of American slasher films. ... Freddy vs. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958 in Royal Oak, Michigan) is an American actor. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Evil Dead series started as a series of films created by Sam Raimi. ... Samuel Marshall Raimi (born October 23, 1959) is an American film director, producer, and writer. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, film score composer and occasional actor. ... Michael Myers peers over the stairs from the original Halloween film The Halloween films are a financially successful series of horror films. ... New Line Cinema logo New Line Cinema, founded in 1967, is one of the major American film studios. ...

In the same interview, Englund discussed A Nightmare On Elm Street: The First Kills, a prequel documenting Krueger's child killing years, set before the events of the first film. While the prequel is currently under review by New Line Cinema, Englund stated that John McNaughton, director of Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer, is attached to direct. New Line Cinema logo New Line Cinema, founded in 1967, is one of the major American film studios. ... John McNaughton (born January 13, 1950) is an American film director, originally from Chicago, Illinois. ... ...

Other media

Comic Books

• The popularity of the film series also led to the creation of several comic book series published by companies such as Marvel Comics, Innovation Comics, Trident Comics and Avatar Press. Writers such as Steve Gerber, Andy Mangels and Brian Pulido have all contributed stories to the various series.

The popularity of the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series led to several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, Innovation Comics and Trident Comics throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. ... Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Entertainment, Inc. ... Trident Sampler:A free preview issue given away by comic shops in early 1989 Cover of Trident #4, art by Dominic Regan. ... Avatar Press is an smaller American comic book publishing house based out of Urbana, Illinois. ... Steve Gerber (born 20 September 1947) is an American writer of comic books. ... Brian Pulido Brian Pulido is a multi-talented creator, writer and producer of various comic books, films and related properties. ...

Novels

• All films in the series except for Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare had a novel adaptation release. In 1991, a non-canonical novel titled: Freddy Krueger’s Seven Sweetest Dreams was released, containing seven short Freddy themed stories.
• Tor Books produced a six entry young adult series in the mid-1990’s titled: Freddy Krueger’s Tales of Terror.
• In 2005, Black Flame, a subsidiary of Games Workshop, began publishing a series of paperback books based on the Nightmare mythos.

Tor Books is an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC which publishes popular fiction, and is particularly noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. ... Black Flame is an imprint of BL Publishing, the publishing arm of Games Workshop and a sister imprint to the Black Library and Solaris Books. ... For the defunct company, see Game Designers Workshop. ...

Soundtracks

• The Elm Street series, especially the first film, is often praised for its use of music to influence mood. The theme from Part One became a recurring motif, and is one of the more well known horror movie themes. Most of the films in the series have had both a score and soundtrack release. Only the first, second, and seventh film had just a score release.

Video Games

• In the mid-1980’s, video games for the Commodore 64 and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) were released based on the series. In the early 1990’s, a pinball game was also produced. There is also a Nightmare on Elm Street flash game.[1]

Title screen from the NES Nightmare on Elm Street game Nightmare on Elm Street is the name of a video game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System by LJN in 1989. ... NES redirects here. ... Internet games (also known as online games) are games that are played online via the Internet. ...

Filmography

Title screen from the NES Nightmare on Elm Street game

1. A Nightmare on Elm Street, 1984, $25.2m US box office takings
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, 1985, $30.0m
3. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, 1987, $44.8m
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, 1988, $49.4m
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, 1989, $22.2m
6. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, 1991, $34.9m
7. Wes Craven's New Nightmare, 1994, $18.4m
8. Freddy vs. Jason, 2003, $115m

This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... NES redirects here. ... A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American horror film set in the fictional Midwest town of Springwood, Ohio. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... The term box office can refer to either: A place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to a venue The amount of business a particular production, such as a movie or theatre show, does. ... Wes Cravens New Nightmare (1994) is the seventh in the Nightmare on Elm Street series of slasher films. ... Freddy vs. ... A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American horror film set in the fictional Midwest town of Springwood, Ohio. ... Wes Cravens New Nightmare (1994) is the seventh in the Nightmare on Elm Street series of slasher films. ... Freddy vs. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Amanda Krueger Amanda Krueger (1907-1968) is a fictional character in the Nightmare on Elm Street series of movies. ... Nancy Thompson Nancy Thompson is the fictional heroine of the first A Nightmare on Elm Street film. ... Kristin Parker is a fictional character from the A Nightmare on Elm Street films. ... Alice Johnson is a fictional character who was portrayed by Lisa Wilcox in the 1988 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master and the 1989 sequel A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. ... The popularity of the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series led to several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, Innovation Comics and Trident Comics throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. ... Freddys Nightmares was a late-night television anthology series, which premiered in October 1988 and ran until March 1990. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Springwood, Ohio is the fictional town in which the A Nightmare on Elm Street series takes place in. ... The following is the timeline of the Freddy and Jason universe, the fictional universe in which the events of the Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street movies take place. ... Title screen from the NES Nightmare on Elm Street game Nightmare on Elm Street is the name of a video game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System by LJN in 1989. ...

External links

• The Nightmare On Elm Street Companion
• A Nightmare On Elm Street at the Internet Movie Database
• A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge at the Internet Movie Database
• A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors at the Internet Movie Database
• A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master at the Internet Movie Database
• A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child at the Internet Movie Database
• Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare at the Internet Movie Database
• Wes Craven's New Nightmare at the Internet Movie Database
• Freddy Vs. Jason at the Internet Movie Database
• Freddy Krueger Fan Page