Ranking of the best murders in A Nightmare on Elm Street

Dan’s death begins with one of those incredible events Nightmare on Elm Street fakes that lead us to believe that Freddy will kill him in a car crash. However, Dan manages to escape this scenario, only to find a motorcycle nearby, which he buys to escape. We soon learn that the motorcycle has been taken over by Freddy (never trust anything red or green in these movies), who proceeds to fuse with Dan until Dan becomes a car/human/Freddy hybrid, hurtling down the highway to his fiery death. It’s one of those visuals that belongs in a much better movie, but that shouldn’t rob this scene of the respect it deserves.

3. Glen Goes in the Blood Blender – Nightmare on Elm Street

As the most visually elaborate murder in the original Nightmare on Elm StreetGlen’s death helped set the standard for what was to come. You might argue that even the more conceptually elaborate deaths that followed couldn’t beat the sheer spectacle of it. In this scene, Glen (a young Johnny Depp) is dragged into his bed before a fountain of blood flows from his sheet-covered grave. A trippy nightmare was reportedly achieved with the help of an upside-down room and several hundred gallons of fake blood that quickly became a fire hazard.

Despite how over the top this kill is, there’s a level of restraint applied to this sequence that really makes it special. The camera barely moves as we watch Glen and his nearby possessions being sucked into bed. The incredible soundtrack and Glen’s slowly receding screams actually inform us of the unspeakable action taking place just out of sight, and the payoff is greater than we might have hoped given that the build is so effective in its own right.

2. Phillip Gets Strung Along – Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors

In a film filled with death scenes that rank high among the franchise’s best kills, Phillip’s kill still feels like the biggest show. It begins with a puppet that looks like Freddy coming to life in stop-motion animation (a truly incredible effect) before Freddy himself appears to transform Philip into a puppet. Not by magic, mind you, but rather by turning Philip’s skin and ligaments into strings that Freddy guides him through the hospital corridors. His harrowing journey culminated in a trip to the balcony where Freddy slowly cut the strings before Philip died (mercifully at the moment).

Few deaths in a nightmare can challenge all the things this scene does so well. The quality of the effects on display is objectively admirable, but what makes them effective is the way they contribute to a truly gruesome death without diminishing its impact. More importantly, the scene doesn’t compromise the point of the series: the very real fear of being in danger while sleeping. Phillip’s habit of sleepwalking is effectively used as a weapon during this scene, and the fear in the eyes of the other patients as they realize they are watching him walk to his death would be just as horrifying even if Freddy wasn’t pulling the strings.

1. Tina sets the standards – A Nightmare on Elm Street

Some would argue that Tina’s death isn’t complicated enough to top a list like this, I’d argue against that considering that amazing dressing room finale ranks high among the most impressive effects in the franchise’s history. Ultimately, however, taking the argument this way takes us too far from the point.