What If... Nancy did not survive A Nightmare on Elm Street? (Part 1)

So, I felt bad for the sin of not having an Elm Street film this year and decided to split the difference by hopping into a well I haven't touched with Mr. Krueger since...err... last year.

That is, the saga of "What If...?" stories that somehow remain the pages on my blog I get the most hits for and now throwing Freddy into another one. Namely, we'll be looking back into the original film's ending and answer a question:

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984)

Well, with the release of my New Nightmare review, I really don't have any Nightmare films to review. This is a weird feeling. Sure, I could review Freddy vs. Jason, but I really want to save that for when I finish the Friday the 13th reviews, of which we still have quite a few to get through... including my least favorite one this year. However, this creates a gap in my reviews for Horror Month that hasn't existed since at least 2015. What exactly could I fill it with?

...

...

...what do you mean I only reviewed the remake, not the original?!

What If... Freddy Krueger had never resurrected Jason Voorhees? (Part 2)

The last time we looked into this universe, Freddy Krueger had attempted to misuse the power of the Lament Configuration and the Leviathan with disastrous results. Trapped now within the moment of his death, forever and ever, Freddy Krueger burns for what he's done... but will he remain trapped forever? Let's take a peek into the world once more and ponder the question... What if?

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" (1994)

 

So we come to it at last. Wes Craven making his triumphant return to the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise after Dream Warriors, where he had said he was done with the series entirely, having intended for it to be the last entry.

As history shows, I believe "oops" is the correct term for what happened.

What If...Freddy Krueger had never resurrected Jason Voorhees?

Last time, we got to see a world where Tommy Jarvis stayed on as the killer for the Friday the 13th franchise. This time, we'll be moving to another killer in another universe not at all dissimilar to it. In this universe, after being destroyed by a pipe bomb in his "definitely final movie", Freddy Krueger was cast into the bowels of Hell. We know, in the main universe, he sought out and brought back Jason Voorhees, setting off the events of Freddy vs. Jason.

In this universe, though? Let's take a look.

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" (1991)

Jesus Christ, what a depressing note to start Horror Month 2021 on! A poster for an incredibly terrible movie that has a tagline that's an outright stinking lie. Really, by 1991, what was anyone expecting out of this franchise? Well, New Line was apparently expecting money seeing as despite being a wonderful cure for insomnia, The Dream Child somehow managed to make enough money to be the highest grossing slasher film of 1989. Of course, with it's competition being such lauded films as Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (we'll be getting to that in a few years), C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud, and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland.

. . .what's that? Why didn't I mention Halloween 5? Oh, that's simple: it doesn't suck.

Regardless, let's crack into "the best" that was saved "for last".

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child" (1989)

...this movie sucks.

...what? You were expecting something else? Nightmare on Elm Street was a series that was running out of steam by it's third (and far superior to this) entry. There was no new ground to cover that wouldn't be utterly ridiculous. The only way this could work is if Wes Craven came back to the franchise with a unique story about Freddy coming into the real world and Heather Langenkamp having to take him on one last time to put the series behind her.

Alas, such things only exist in the world of dreams. I imagine it would underperform at the box office anyway the universe is a cruel place to new and innovative ideas. Oh, well...

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master" (1988)

From Dream Warriors to...crap.

Yeah, I'm not gonna lie to you folks, we're not in for a good one this time. A Nightmare on Elm Street has never been one of my favorite franchises. I like the first three movies, Wes Craven's New Nightmare and that's about it. Why? Because they didn't turn Freddy into a slapstick comedian who occasionally murders people in gratuitous fashion.