It goes without saying that Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the most iconic horror movies around since it introduced a villain that could strike at his victims in a way that was insanely hard to defend against and gave him all the advantages. Freddy Krueger, the famed dream-time villain of the franchise, was one of the most vicious and deadly villains ever created and as such terrorized audiences throughout his run as one of cinema’s most vile antagonists. However there are other movies that have taken elements of this franchise and worked them into their own twisted tales, creating other iconic horror villains that have frightened people in a very big way if not quite as much as Freddy. The supernatural after all is something of great interest to horror fans since it happens to provide one movie after another and creates villains that are nearly impossible to beat, even if you see them coming.
Here are a few movies that are similar to Nightmare on Elm Street for a few reasons.
5. The Ring
Samara is no less evil than Krueger but she’s not a trickster and she’s not quite as vindictive. The moment you watch the tape she’s coming for you, and unlike Freddy she can’t really be stopped as it’s been seen in this movie and the sequel. In many ways Samara is worse than Freddy since she’s an evil that never stops and doesn’t care to talk or play with her victims. She comes up the well looking to kill whoever watched the tape last, and in grisly, terrifying fashion. The popularity of this movie came and went once it hit the US, but it’s still considered to be one of the scarier films around.
4. Sinister
It’s a great mark of a horror film that the scariest part, the villain, never really seems able to appear until their name or their symbol is presented, and with Bughuul. The moment he’s seen however is the moment that things start to happen. The family that is targeted in this movie has no clue, well, the father does, but none of the others seem to know what’s going on when things start happening. This is one of those horror flicks that a lot of people liked and praised but some people sat confused while wondering just why anyone would see it as entertaining. That’s the draw of it though, you really have to pay attention to what’s going on, and once you do it becomes that much scarier.
3. Poltergeist
The realms that separate human beings from otherworldly creatures is a fun tool to use for many movies since it’s widely unknown and highly theorized. Dreams are scary enough when it’s been seen that a monster can affect the earthly realm through them, but the poltergeists in this movie pierce that veil rather easily. The truly horrifying thing is that the world they inhabit seems to be just beyond reach but so close that Carol Ann can be heard when she speaks. How frustrating would that be to realize that you can hear your child but you can’t touch them due to some metaphysical boundary that you can’t see or touch?
2. Shocker
A deal with the devil is sometimes the best way for a killer to go since when they’re on death row there’s not a lot left to lose. But when the villain in this movie gets his wish he becomes able to transfer his consciousness not just into anything with an electrical current, but into other people as well. This makes him slightly more dangerous than Freddy since he can operate when people are awake or asleep. All he needs is a current of some sort and he can travel back and forth with ease. Of course one of his biggest weaknesses is that if he’s trapped in a closed system he’s not going anywhere. That has to be one of the strangest weaknesses of any killer in movie history.
1. IT
It should be easy to admit that Pennywise makes Freddy seem like a bad dream. This demonic clown is a beast that hails from a different dimension entirely and feeds off of the fear of others much as Freddy does in a way. But where Freddy is limited to dreams, Pennywise can move with impunity. Both Freddy and Pennywise need the fear of their prey to sustain them, but it would appear that Pennywise is almost helpless without it, whereas Freddy can survive but loses his efficiency as a killer. But comparing who’s the scariest it would seem like a close call with this one since both monsters are known to scare the living hell out of people before finishing them off. It almost cries out for a death battle to be honest, but that’s not likely to happen.
Nightmare on Elm Street has been a huge inspiration throughout the horror genre as you can clearly tell.
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