A Nightmare on Elm Street in order
Six sequels in one line, a meta-sequel set in the real world, a crossover, and a remake.
Updated 5 August 2026 · 9 titles tracked
Elm Street is simpler than Halloween but not simple. Six films form one continuity, and Freddy vs. Jason continues it. Two entries sit outside.
The interesting one is New Nightmare, and it is the reason this franchise is worth a page.
Every Elm Street film in order
Grouped by continuity. Most of them are one line; two are not.
- 1A Nightmare on Elm Street1984 · The Original Run · Essential
- 2A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge1985 · The Original Run
- 3A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors1987 · The Original Run · Essential
- 4A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master1988 · The Original Run
- 5A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child1989 · The Original Run
- 6Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare1991 · The Original Run
- 7Wes Craven's New Nightmare1994 · New Nightmare · Essential
- 8Freddy vs. Jason2003 · The Crossover
- 9A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)2010 · The Remake
New Nightmare is not a sequel
Wes Craven's 1994 film is set in the real world. Heather Langenkamp plays herself, an actress who starred in a horror film called A Nightmare on Elm Street. Craven plays himself. Freddy is a fictional character trying to break out into reality.
It came two years before Scream and does the same self-aware trick first, considerably more strangely. Watch it after the original — ideally after the whole run, when you know exactly what it is commenting on.
Which sequels are worth it
Dream Warriors (Part 3) is the best of them. Craven co-wrote it, the dream sequences finally have rules, and it brings back Nancy from the original.
Part 2 is worth watching for different reasons — it has been reassessed for decades as one of the most openly queer horror films of the 1980s, which was not the intention at the time.
Parts 4, 5 and 6 are the decline, as Freddy shifts from a genuinely frightening figure to a wisecracking mascot.
Freddy vs. Jason and the remake
Freddy vs. Jason (2003) continues both this continuity and Friday the 13th. It is very silly and knows it.
The 2010 remake with Jackie Earle Haley is its own continuity, and no sequel followed.
Common questions
What order should I watch the Nightmare on Elm Street movies?
Release order: the 1984 original through Freddy's Dead, then New Nightmare, then Freddy vs. Jason. The 2010 remake is a separate continuity.
Is New Nightmare a sequel?
No. It is set in the real world with the cast playing themselves, and Freddy as a fictional character breaking into reality. It sits outside the main continuity.
How many Nightmare on Elm Street movies are there?
Nine, counting Freddy vs. Jason and the 2010 remake.
Which Nightmare on Elm Street sequel is the best?
Dream Warriors (Part 3), co-written by Wes Craven and the only sequel widely rated alongside the original.