Nightmare on Elm Street movie order: Full Freddy timeline

(Pocket-lint) – Freddy Krueger is one of the most iconic horror villains of all time, and not just because he’s an easy Halloween costume. Freddy has rampaged through nine theatrical releases, spanning over three decades and leaving plenty of terror in his wake. Whether you’re in it for the witty quips or the creative kills, there’s a lot to love about the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.

But, if you want the whole story, then there’s a lot of watching to do. So, where should you start? We’ve broken down the best order to watch all of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, as well as providing a bulleted spoiler-free version at the bottom.

It’s basically chronological, but the names of the films can make it a little confusing, so we’ve laid it out for you, complete with info on how the story progresses. For true completionists, we’ve also outlined the extended universe order, which includes all of the Friday the 13th movies that lead up to Freddy vs Jason.

New Line Cinema
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A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

The best place to start is where it all began. Wes craven’s classic slasher introduces Freddy Krueger, a disfigured killer with a bladed glove who hunts down teenagers in their dreams.

The catch is, that if Freddy gets you in your dreams, you die in real life. It’s up to Nancy Thompson and her friends to uncover the dark truth behind the dream killer.

New Line Cinema
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A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)

Set five years later, a new family has moved into the fateful house on Elm Street. And, as you might expect, things start getting pretty creepy in the kids’ dreams.

This time, Freddy aims to possess a teenage boy in order to cause chaos in the real world. 

New Line Cinema
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A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

Part three is set one year after part two. In this instalment, the action takes place in a psychiatric hospital where the children’s dreams are being visited by our favourite blade-handed demon. We are reintroduced to Nancy, from the first movie, as she comes to work at the hospital.

All too familiar with the situation unravelling, Nancy discovers that one of the children, Kristen Parker, has a gift which may help to defeat Freddy once and for all.

New Line Cinema
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A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

The third film leads us to believe that Freddy has finally been defeated, but part 4 would be pretty boring if that were the case. Indeed, Freddy is seemingly resurrected and attempts to hunt down and kill the surviving Elm Street kids. New characters are introduced, including Alice Johnson, who may wield the power to finally put Freddy to rest.

New Line Cinema
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A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)

Alice, having survived the fourth film, becomes pregnant and finds Krueger infecting the sleeping mind of her unborn child.

Freddy has set his sights on being born into the real world. It’s up to Alice to save her son, and in turn, prevent Freddy from entering the real world.

New Line Cinema
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Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)

This title may suggest this is Freddy’s final outing, but fear not, there’s plenty more brutality to come. This one takes place a decade later, and Freddy has finally killed all of the children in his hometown.

Now, he seeks greener pastures and finds himself tormenting the inhabitants of a home for troubled teenagers.

New Line Cinema
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Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)

This entrant marks a new direction for the franchise and things get very meta. The story follows Heather Langenkamp, the actor who played Nancy in previous movies. She’s got a stalker and it becomes apparent that he bears some striking similarities to her fictional adversary, Freddy Krueger.

Somehow, a demonic force has willed Freddy into the real world and Langenkamp must reprise her role as Nancy in order to save the day.

New Line Cinema
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Freddy vs Jason (2003)

It’s time for the clash of the slasher titans. Many quiet years have passed on Elm Street, and local kids are fed dream-suppressing pills to keep them safe. But, Freddy’s not done tormenting, so he seeks another option.

Freddy manages to resurrect Jason and sends him over to Elm Street to terrify the inhabitants, but things don’t go according to plan. When Freddy feels that Jason is stealing some of his well-deserved kills, a battle for the ages ensues.

New Line Cinema
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A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Finally, we have the 2010 remake. We don’t feel that it’s essential viewing, but it does dive into Freddy’s origin story a little more than the original.

Meanwhile, Jackie Earle Haley, who you might recognise as Rorschach from the Watchmen, puts an extremely creepy spin on the character.

Spoiler-free movie order

  • A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
  • A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
  • A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
  • A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
  • A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)
  • Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
  • Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)
  • Freddy vs Jason (2003)
  • A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Freddy vs Jason complete order

If you want the whole story leading up to the Freddy vs Jason crossover, then you’ve got a whole lot of films to watch. The good news is, there are some absolute belters in the mix. This list will take you through the entire story behind Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger in chronological order, before culminating in their epic showdown.

  • Friday the 13th (1980)
  • Friday the 13th Part II (1981)
  • Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
  • Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
  • Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
  • Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
  • Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
  • Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
  • Nightmare on Elm Street III: Dream Warriors
  • Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
  • Nightmare on Elm Street IV: The Dream Master (1988)
  • Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
  • Nightmare on Elm Street V: The Dream Child (1989)
  • Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
  • Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
  • Freddy vs Jason (2003)

Did you like this?

Then maybe you’ll like our other movie order viewing guides:

We also have these rumour round-ups on upcoming movies:

Writing by Luke Baker.

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