The Two Faces of Mildred Pierce

 

Before I dive deep into the phenomenon that is Mommie Dearest, I want to discuss the adaptations of James M. Cain's novel Mildred Pierce. Now, I'm gonna say right off the bat that between these two adaptations, I definitely choose the Todd Haynes version. Now don't get me wrong, the original is one of  Joan Crawford's iconic films, but Kate Winslet really knocked this off the park for me. 

Let's talk about the novel first. Now although Mildred is a character you can empathize with, she's not exactly portrayed as sympathetic here. First, she seems to favor Veda after the death of her youngest daughter, Ray, She marries a man whom she doesn't exactly care for to please her snobby, elitist daughter, and she embezzles money from her business to please said daughter. So while adapting the 1945 film version, the filmmakers had to make some accommodations to appease the Hays Code.

So screenwriter Ranald MacDougall and director Michael Curtiz decided to take a film noir approach to the story and this is where I make the comparisons to the novel and 1945 version.

Here's the story: After separating from her husband, Bert, Mildred is to take care of her two daughters, Veda and Ray. In desperate need of financial stability, Mildred takes a job as a waitress, at the behest of Veda. But eventually, Mildred learns the ways of the restaurant business and owns a chain of her own. She soon attracts the attention of Monte Beragon, a lazy playboy who's living off his inheritance. Monte sweeps Mildred off her feet and the two begin a love affair. Unfortunately, Mildred's youngest daughter, Ray, dies of an illness, which leaves Mildred in a devastated state. From then on, Mildred grows attached to Veda who becomes increasingly vain and spoiled. Veda even goes so far as to blackmail a boy's family by pretending to be pregnant with his child to receive money from them and when Mildred forgives her after disowning her, Veda has an affair with her now-husband Monty! Talk about some heavy stuff! but I'll stop there.

The movie starts with the murder of Monte. Yes, the murder of Monte and that's one of the key differences from the book. Monte doesn't die in the book. In the end, he gets away scot-free, running off with Veda to New York, leaving a drunken and depressed Mildred and Bert to their own devices. Though judging by the Hays Code, this was unacceptable. If anything, Monte would be considered an immoral character since he does have an affair with his own stepdaughter and he has an overall unscrupulous nature when it comes to his relationship with Mildred. So the filmmakers decided to kill off Monte to shake up the plot and it actually makes the story more interesting that way. In the first few moments of the film, it becomes a murder mystery. It's made to look like Mildred shot Monte and is putting the blame on her business partner and friend Wally Fay (Burgan in the book). But the story goes deeper than that. During her interrogation, Mildred narrates her life, which starts the story proper. 

One of the most important elements of the film is the relationship between Mildred and Veda, not just in the story but in characterization as well. There is an archetypal character well-known within the film noir genre called the Femme Fatale. She represents the woman who might lead the male main character into danger. She is a woman of intrigue and mystery and you can never quite figure her out until the climax of the movie. But Mildred Pierce provides a more female perspective. In the opening moments of the film, at first, you would think that Mildred might be this type of character as it is made to look like she shot Monty and is on her way to frame Wally. But when Mildred begins her narration, we slowly figure out who the real Femme Fatale is, which turns out to be her own daughter, Veda. For those of you who haven't read the novel, Veda does have some shades of this in the original source material. It's sort of built up to how Veda became vain and manipulative and in a way just like the Femme Fatale, Veda does lead Mildred to her doom. 

On top of that, she gains fame as an opera singer but the Hays Code thinks that this is too dignified for her character and turns her into a chantese instead, which is a common occupation for the Femme Fatale character. Although singing at a nightclub would be out of character for the book version of Veda, it's totally in character for the movie version of Veda. At this point of the movie, Veda is blossoming into a young woman who becomes more stubborn and independent. And also, Veda might use this job as a way to attract possible wealthy suitors and potential managers to jumpstart her singing career. 

Just as Mildred and Veda start to reconnect again...Boom! Mildred catches Veda and Monty in a passionate kiss. Without any remorse, Veda confesses to Mildred that she and Monty have been in love all this time and they're having plans to run off and get married. Now this may be accurate in the novel, but not in the movie version. 

Monty rejects her on the spot and declares his love for Mildred, whether that may be true or not. When Mildred runs out of the house...Bang! Bang! Veda is the one who shot Monty.

Seeing her daughter for who she truly is, Mildred phones the police but her maternal instincts prevent her from doing so. To add more salt to the wound, Veda gaslights her by saying it was her fault for turning out the way she did. Holy cow!

So as Mildred finishes her story, the police take Veda into custody, and strangely she accepts her fate. After that, Mildred reunites with her ex-husband, Bert and that's where the movie ends. 

I like that they took the film noir angle that not only adds layers to the Veda character but also Mildred herself. Joan Crawford would usually star in movies where her character goes from rags to riches with a fierce determination to break out of their working-class life and into the world of the upper class. This was the perfect role for Joan Crawford and she eventually won an Oscar for her performance. Special shout out to Ann Blyth who really nails the role of Veda with viciousness and ferocity. It was a rarity that film noir was shown through a female perspective and that's what makes this an instant classic. 

But what I really, really want to talk about is the 2011 miniseries by Todd Haynes and oh boy is it great!

The miniseries goes by the same beats as the novel but in a different context. It's framed as a melodrama but it's actually a character study about a woman going above and beyond the constructs of the time while trying to maintain a relationship with her selfish, manipulative, narcissistic daughter and her lazy, prideful, self-indulgent boyfriend. 

Unlike the 1945 film, the setting takes place during the Depression. This was at a time when families were struggling to keep up heap. These boiling frustrations take a toll on Mildred and Bert's marriage, which also stems from his affair with one of their neighbors. So when Burt eventually leaves, Mildred has to go out hand and foot to look for a job, even one she considers degrading. I like how Todd Haynes portrays Mildred's struggles realistically. She literally goes hand and foot to find employment. It's not glamorous, it doesn't pass in a quick montage and Kate Winslet doesn't wear much makeup than usual. Todd Haynes really shows the realities of what people were going through during the Depression and he displayed that beautifully. 

Mildred meets up with Mrs. Forrester, a rather arrogant woman who's looking for a new housekeeper. Right off the bat, Mildred is getting bad vibes and declines the offer. Though Mrs. Forrester would become an important character later on in the story. 

As much as she tries to fight it, Mildred eventually takes a job as a waitress, however, this turns out to be a blessing in disguise. She starts off a little shaky but Mildred gets the hang of it and befriends a no-nonsense waitress named Ida, played by the very underrated Mare Winningham. Once Mildred sells her famous pies, it's legit. She is slowly climbing her way into being a legit businesswoman.

During this time, Mildred begins a relationship with Wally Burgan(played by an actor-I've-seen-in-every-movie James LeGross), who just happens to be Bert's lawyer and friend. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they do indeed start a sexual relationship in the novel but I guess the Hays Code vetoed it and left it as a platonic relationship instead. The fling with Wally is more of a friends-with-benefits sort of thing and it's obvious that Mildred was sleeping with Wally to get back at Bert, however, at least she gets a new business proposition out of it. 

Although Mildred and Burt are separated, there is still love there. Unlike the 1945 film, Bert is very supportive of Mildred, lending her his car and even going so far as to finalize their divorce so she can jumpstart her business. The scene between Kate Winslet and Brian F. O'Byran where they agree to end their marriage is pure golden and shares that level of complexity that seems to be missing in the 1945 film. The scene is just pure golden.

Mildred's actual love interest is, of course, a debonair man-about-town named Monty Beragon played by the ever-so-handsome Guy Pearce. He arrives at the restaurant and Mildred is instantly smitten. When Monty invites her to his vacation home, things get steamy pretty quickly, showcasing how passionate their love affair is. But this newfound bliss doesn't last long, as Mildred gets a call that her youngest daughter Ray is very sick. As we all know, this doesn't end well...

The miniseries actually focuses on Mildred's grief from this, emphasizing the devastating blow she feels when the doctor informs her of Ray's death. Again, Kate Winslet's acting is phenomenal. The pain and the shock on her face without any dialogue are gripping to watch. Then when the scene ends, Mildred holds on to Veda as she breaks down crying, not to telegraph that Veda was her favorite but in the sense that she doesn't want to lose her too, therefore, her attachment to Veda is understandable.

So Mildred uses this tragedy to empower herself, honoring her late daughter's memory as a blessing to her newfound career as a restaraunter. As Mildred's business begins to boom, so does Veda's defiance. 

But beyond that, Mildred recognizes Veda's talent as a piano player, which wasn't expanded on in the 1945 film. Although Mildred sees the potential in Veda, her assigned piano teachers don't and it's up until Part 4 of the miniseries that Veda decides to do opera instead.

On one Christmas morning, Veda's ever-growing defiance takes a turn on Mildred when she doesn't give Veda the piano she wanted. Veda gets a little too big for her britches when she starts to smoke in front of her mother. When Mildred gives her a good slap on the face, Veda slaps her right back! May I reiterate this happens on freakin' Christmas of all days! Veda boastfully tells Mildred that Monty gossips to her behind Mildred's back. Yes, Veda is just shy of 14 at this point. Mildred is disgusted by this and after standing up to her vicious little brat of a daughter, she goes to confront Monty. The pair have been steady for a while, but Mildred realizes that it's beginning to be a take-and-no-give situation and whenever they do have an argument, Monty always finds a way to seduce her. But not this time. Mildred is not having it and asks him why he would even talk to her daughter about their relationship. And you know what his response is? He thinks Veda has the mind of an adult. What? Now as you all may know, Veda seems to have an infatuation with Monty and as she gets older, Monty seems to take notice of her too. You think about it, it's very weird and uncomfortable that he seems to think of her as an adult at a very young age. When Monty constantly jokes about being her gigolo, given that ever since she started her restaurant business, Monty has been a bit of a leech on her finances as his own inheritance has been drying up. So Mildred takes off in a heat of frustration leaving the relationship for good...or at least for now.

Some years have passed and Veda has grown up to be a stunning young woman played by Evan Rachel Wood. Now I'm going to say my piece about Evan Rachel Wood, she is okay in the miniseries. There are times when she is good and I do think she is a good actress, but there were times when she reminded too much of her character from True Blood, talking in an over-the-top posh tone. Anywho, let's continue the story. So Mildred's business has expanded, giving her best friend and neighbor Lucy Gessler (played by the ever-so-talented Melissa Leo) full ownership of a steak and fish restaurant.

After her piano teacher suddenly dies, Mildred goes in search of a new one in the form of Carlo Treviso, a renowned conductor. Right off the bat, he thinks Veda is a lousy piano player. Feeling detested, Veda quits and frets about her future, which eventually leads to her partying with her friends every night. She tells Mildred that she might get a casting call from a director who just so happens to be Mrs. Forrester's husband but little do Mildred know, Veda has something else up her sleeve. While opening up her restaurant, Mrs. Forrester pays her a visit with some troubling news. As we all know, of course, Veda is blackmailing Mrs. Forrester's son but being the good mother that she is, Mildred doesn't want to hear any of it and escorts Mrs. Forrester out of the restaurant. When Mildred confronts her about this, Veda pulls out the I'm Pregnant card, and Mildred, of course, falls for it. But as soon as she gets Wally on the case to have the boy put in jail or at least forced into a marriage with her daughter, Veda outright refuses and wants to take the money instead. Mildred is in utter shock and can't believe her daughter would stoop that low but Veda defiantly tells Mildred that she wants to use the money to get away from her. Appalled by her daughter's coldness, Mildred firmly tells Veda to leave...And a couple of months to a year pass. 

There's not a day that goes by where Mildred worries about Veda and begs Bert to tell her about her whereabouts. According to Bert, while she was away, Veda pursued a career in opera singing and is managed by Carlo Treviso, the same conductor who rejected her not long ago. Mildred hopes for a reunion but it just doesn't happen quite yet. However, Bert comes over to present Veda's very first radio appearance and when Mildred hears her song, she is moved to tears.

Determined to win back her daughter, she sees Carlo Treviso to discuss Veda's finances but Mr. Terviso knows better. He warns Mildred that Veda is like a Calcatta, a snake, it's nice to look at but you can't take them home with you. This might hint that Veda is a bit of a demanding diva that's difficult to work with. But Mildred's love for Veda withstands. 

While taking a drive in the city, she suddenly sees Monty and before you know it, they start reconnecting again. Their love affair is more passionate than before, to the point where Monty asks Mildred's hand in marriage. Mildred says yes...which is the beginning of the end.

During Mildred's wedding party, here comes Veda, back to her good graces again. So mother and daughter have a heartfelt reunion as Veda becomes the life of the party. She seems to have switched managers at this time and even gets offered a lucrative deal in New York but the new manager blocks her chance of doing so, to which again, Veda is boiling a plan in her head.

On the night of Veda's grand opening, she captivates the audience with her powerful singing, with one final song dedicated to her mother. Mildred cries tears of joy and for a second there it's pretty sweet. But you all know what happens.

So Mildred has been a financial hiccup because of her being distracted by Veda's singing career and also her new married life to Monty. So she has a meeting with Wally and the shareholder concerning her restaurant business when she gets the devastating news that her friend Ida has taken over her duties. She turns to Bert over her concerns about her dealings with Wally and fretting over her daughter's newfound success, which could help her out financially. It's at this point, that Bert becomes very supportive of Mildred as their relationship didn't get much development in the 1945 film. But as Mildred goes to search for Veda, she gets the shock of her life...

Mildred runs into Monty at their mansion and, he seems to be blocking their bedroom door. Put off by his strange behavior, Mildred pushes him out of the way and...

Lo and behold is Veda. And no, Mildred does not catch her in a loving embrace with Monty like in the original. Oh no, no, no, no. Veda is stark naked without a care in the world as if she's glad that her mother caught them in the act. All this time Mildred was worried that something had happened to Veda and something had happened to her alright, and Monty was the cause of it. Veda even smokes a cigarette to imply that yes, the sex was good. The complete nerve of this girl!  Monty goes on a rant about how Mildred used him to win back Veda. This is a true statement from the book,  this doesn't seem to be the case at all in the miniseries. Mildred seems to genuinely love Monty and it isn't like she was out looking for him, she just so happens to pop into her life again and, therefore, the passion in their relationship to pop into their life again. It seems to me that he was using Mildred to reel in Veda himself.

I just want to give my roses to Kate Winslet here. She absolutely owns this scene and the key to her amazing acting prowess is how she emotes without dialogue. The pain, the devastation, the repulsion, the anguish, the hurt, the betrayal. It's all detailed in her emotions. Kate Winslet, with all her hard work and talent, definitely deserved her Emmy award. 

Now Mildred doesn't go softly. She full-on attacks Veda (and rightfully so), choking her until her singing voice goes out.  Oh well, Veda, you should've never treated her mother like that.  but her knight in shining armor Monty comes to the rescue. Of course, he would defend the younger (at least young enough for him) Pierce woman. 

But this all transitions into the finale of the miniseries. 

Several months have passed by and Mildred gets a warm welcoming party from her friends after a long trip to Nevada with Bert. Ida feels guilty about taking Mildred's position and wants her to get back in the game again, signifying that there is hope for Mildred after all. But then, Mildred gets an unexpected visitor...

Veda comes to reconcile with her mother but seeing how manipulative and calculating her daughter is, Mildred is not buying it. Now let's dig deep into the main source a bit. The book kind of has a downer ending. Again, Veda uses the reconciliation with Mildred as a marketing ploy and uses her damaged voice to switch to a much more lucrative singing contract. As Veda leaves Mildred broken-hearted, Bert encourages her to say, "To hell with Veda," as they spend the rest of the day drunk and miserable.

However, the miniseries play this out much differently. Once Mildred catches onto Veda's plan, she chews her the fuck out and screams at her to never come back again. It's such a cathartic moment, which was very much well-deserved given what Mildred went through to win back the love of a daughter, who's incapable of receiving it. 

When Bert encourages her to say "to hell with Veda" and "let's get stinko", it's more celebratory and less tragic. This dialogue translates as to hell with all the hurt, pain, and betrayal that Veda has caused and now that we're finally done with her, let's give a toast to a new beginning. The ending is very poignant and although tragic, it's good that Mildred is around people who support and care for her, which leaves things on a bittersweet yet positive outlook. 

I just absolutely love this miniseries. Todd Haynes is a genius at his craft. The miniseries has the makings of a juicy melodrama, however, Todd Haynes peels into the layers of the characters and situations, adapting the psychological feel of the novel, which he does brilliantly. The cast is phenomenal with some heavy supporting players but the real star of the miniseries is Kate Winslet. She really gives it her all and, again, I give her my roses. I can't imagine any other actress playing this role but her. She got the Emmy and Golden Globe! Definitely, definitely deserved. 

So there you have it. Two completely different adaptations but with the same level of complexity.  Both are equally measured as classics of their time and go above and beyond the source material's popularity. But the true core of the story is about how far you go for the person you love, even the ones that don't deserve it. 

A Nightmare On Elm Street Ranking

 

Aw, yes, we have reached to the first boogeyman who affected my childhood, the one and only Freddy Kruger. This is one of my all time favorite horror franchises but sadly, this series also has it's ups and downs. It's a shame because based on the concept of it's premise, it has so much potential. Not to mention, Freddy Kruger is one of the most recognizable villains in the past century and some part of me wished he was utilized well throughout the series. Though I still enjoyed some entries of the list, I have to sort out the good and the bad. So let's begin, shall we:

9. A Nightmare On Elm Street (The Remake) - Holy Crap! This remake is the worst of the worst. It's stale, it's boring, and it's mind-numbingly awful. The filmmakers totally missed the point of what made the original so effective. It's a very slow, methodical, and psychological film, and although the remake attempts to replicate that, it's bombarded with flash cuts, jump scares, and music video edits. It never gives you time to breathe or even engage with the atmosphere. It starts, then it stops, and that's it. It's downright horrible filmmaking and a total headache to watch. Even though I think Jackie Earle Haley is a good actor, he does not make a good Freddy Kruger in my opinion. Though it's not all his fault, it's the awful script that brings him down. Although the main cast aren't bad actors themselves, their characters are extremely bland, the worst being Nancy herself. And lastly, let me repeat, CGI is not scary and there's a ton of it in this film. It just strips off all of the personality of the original, making this the most bland, insipid, uninspired, and unnecessary horror remake of all time. 

8. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare - This was the film that finally put the nail in the coffin for the series. Turning Freddy into all out jokester is not a good idea in my opinion. I know some people are fans of jokester Freddy but I'm not one of them. Freddy is a full-on parody of himself and it's kind of embarrassing to watch. I get that Robert Englund is naturally funny and charismatic but that's not what Freddy Kruger is. He's supposed to be terrifying with a very dark sense of humor. Instead, the filmmakers gave him the Wile E. Coyote approach. There's actually a scene where Freddy sets up a trap and literally looks at the camera. It's fucking ridiculous. Not only that, the writing is equally bad. I just don't picture Freddy as this 1950s family man. It doesn't make sense to the narrative and doesn't make sense to the character who's supposed to be this working-class weirdo who hides out in the depths of the boiler room. Nothing about this movie works. The side characters are goofy, the deaths, instead of creative and elaborate, are cartoonish and silly, the main characters are either bland or unlikable, including the main heroine who happens to be Freddy's daughter, and lastly, it's a dense and unmemorable film. This is, hands down, the worst of the series. Period. 

7. A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child - This one is more disappointing than outright bad. This is where the series was going to go back to its darker roots and, in the beginning, it had potential. But as soon as Freddy showed up, it all went downhill from there. The tone is very uneven. It doesn't know whether it wants to be like the original or follow up with the much campier fourth film. Whereas the special effects from the fourth film were the highlights, the effects for this one are its low point. It looks like something out of Pee-Wee's Playhouse or even Goosebumps. Yes, it looks that juvenile and if Claymation can be used to great effect (Like the early Evil Dead movies I might add), it isn't here. Although the deaths are somewhat creative, Dan's being the most brutal in my opinion, the execution is clearly lacking. Greta's death could be horrifying if it wasn't cut and less comical, but the final result is ludicrous. They literally puff up her cheeks to make her look like a Muppet, it's baffling. Mark's death could be great too if the execution wasn't poor. The filmmakers had the gall to have Freddy riding a freakin' skateboard, it was asinine. And Super Freddy? Were they kidding? I think they were kidding. Who thought that was a good idea? Freddy is probably at his most obnoxious. He's not a complete self-parody like he will be in part 6 but he's heading up there. Not to mention, this was one of Freddy's worst makeup jobs. He looks like an ancient old man with clown makeup. The overall rushed nature of the film squandered the potential that this should've had but without any thought process or a finished script, what can you do? Lisa Wilcox's performance is probably the best thing about this movie where everything else such as the character writing, special effects, and Freddy falls flat, she remains unscathed. Other than that, its a forgettable sequel with nothing else to offer. 

6. A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master - Although this was an entertaining Nightmare sequel, compared to the previous film, this really isn't all that great. This came out during the writer's strike and just a year after Dream Warriors, so it's very apparent that the movie was going to have some problems and one of those problems was killing off the Dream Warriors in the most unceremonious way. At this point, the fans have grown attached to these characters and the way they're used here was just uncalled for. First of all, they dumb down Kincaid and Joey in order for Freddy to be easy prey for them. For some reason, they don't believe Kirsten when they're actually inside Freddy's house in Kirsten's dream, and, for some reason, Joey thinks that since the pipes aren't hot that means Freddy won't be coming back. Oooookay...Also when Kirsten shows the bite wound from Kincaid's dog, they still don't believe her, and it's kind of frustrating to watch. Second of all, the chemistry between them feels off. Instead of a heartfelt reunion between friends who bonded through trauma, there is this looming tension between Kirsten and the boys. This has to do with the recasting of Tuesday Knight, which didn't sit well with Rodney Eastman and Ken Sagoes. Third of all, when they were killed off,  the Dream Warriors were treated more like an afterthought, which was very disrespectful in my opinion. Nancy's death in Part 3, was poignant and heartfelt, and she died with dignity, saving Kirsten from Freddy's grip. But when The Dream Warriors are killed, they die with no dignity at all. Kirsten, the last kid of the Elm Street mob, doesn't even get a funeral scene. Instead, it's a rather cliched scene of Alice looking at home videos and a brief glimpse of her gravestone. What a waste. Now I know the special effects are the film's highlight and it's definitely an achievement but there's this one particular scene that rubs me the wrong way. The dog-pissing fire scene is one of them. Who's idea was that and why? Why not just get one of the cars in the scene to drip oil, creating a ring of fire around Freddy's grave? That would've been way much better. However, one of the worst aspects of the movie is that the Dream Warriors are killed in favor of some bland and forgettable characters. The only character that I was totally invested in was Alice and she's the only one that gets any semblance of character development. The second half gets a little better but the first half is really rough. I know it seems like I'm going on a rant at this point but the flaws in this movie stick out like a sore thumb.  Freddy has been officially commercialized and this is the beginning of the end of what was ever good about the series, which was the story and characters. With the exception of a captivating heroine, cool special effects, and a cool soundtrack, Dream Master is a below-average film at best. 

5. Freddy Vs. Jason - Like I said before, Freddy and Jason are the best characters in this movie where everybody else is stranded on the waste side. There would've been an interesting mix of the Friday the 13th and A Nightmare On Elm Street characters. But instead, the filmmakers go for the usual cardboard cutouts that don't hold a candle to either one of those characters. Ironically, the two leads are probably the worst of the bunch, particularly the male lead Will. Jason Ritter has become a better actor over the years and he seems like a really nice guy too but he is terribly wooden in this movie. I would much preferred Brendan Fletcher's Mark as the film's lead. Not only does he have the better acting chops but he has just amount of the character development for the audience to give a shit about him to where Will has none. Also, if fate would have it, Brad Renfro would've been a good choice, too. He has the right level of intensity that could've fit the character better. I will stand by my opinion and say that Lori Campbell is one of the worst final girls of either franchise. Monica Keena seems like a cool person too, but she's really not good in this. Though it's not entirely her fault, the script does nothing for her character. Even Monica says the script is terrible and I agree with her. Yes, one of the takeaways from this movie is the script. It's just not great and the only thing that has going for is the special effects, Freddy, and Jason. That's it. So, Freddy Vs. Jason may not hold up well but at least a dumb fun popcorn time waster. 

4. A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge - I know this is a very divided movie for some people but Freddy's Revenge is kind of decent in my opinion. Sure, it breaks a lot of rules and doesn't live up to the original in terms of story, however, the movie is underrated with it's hidden themes. Freddy is still creepy in this and the makeup effects by Kevin Yahger is well-done. Freddy has a little bit of a personality in this one but he's still very sinister here. Now I know most of the characters are nothing to write home about, but I think Mark Patton's performance as Jesse really stands out to me. He's not the typical male hero you see in every horror film, Jesse is quite vulnerable and you can tell he's struggling internally, particularly in that it's not only Freddy is haunting him, but his burgeoning homosexuality is too. Sure, the screenwriter's intention was not pure but Mark Patton really sells the role and it's shown through his own struggles as a gay actor at the time. Now had they got rid of the more campier aspects of the film such as Jesse's dance scene, the demonic parakeet scene, the bouncing balls scene, and some of the pool party scene, this would've been a solid sequel right between the first and third film. Overall, this was an interesting entry. Not great mind you, but still interesting. 

3. A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors - This is the best of the best right here. The all-time great horror sequel to a highly inventive slasher film. It expands the backstory of Freddy without giving too much away and still adds that level of mystery that's needed for a concept like this. Speaking of Freddy, the filmmakers do a good job of balancing out his character, making him both comical and sinister. However, the characters are what made this film so memorable. They bring back Nancy, which I love and she's there to be a sort of mentor to the new kids. And what makes this so interesting is that they're not your typical slasher victims. They're portrayed as real teens with real problems and they're so vulnerable in fact, that you can't help but feel for them. That's what makes this sequel so pure. But to top it all off, the special effects are the real star of the show. The inventiveness on display is just masterful and it shows how you can put any idea on the table with a concept like A Nightmare On Elm Street. This was the sequel that set the series in motion, forever encapsulating the cultural zeitgeist of 80s horror sequels and I love every minute of it. 

2. Wes Craven's New Nightmare - This is the top tier Nightmare sequel and one of the true finales of the franchise. All of it is not all perfect but thanks to the greatness that is Wes Craven and the amazing performance from Heather Langencamp, it has this special quality that sets it apart from the other Nightmare sequels. It has all the elements of a "final" sequel: Bringing back a female heroine that we know and love, special callbacks, and honoring the tone and feel of the first film. Craven goes for the meta approach, commenting on the state of the Nightmare films and Freddy's impact on pop culture. But the strongest element of the film is the exploration of Heather Langencamp along with the juxtaposition between reality and fiction. My favorite part of the film is when the script completely takes over the real world where Heather must play Nancy...one last time. It's beyond epic! I like how Wes Craven made Freddy creepy  again, without the usual wisecracks. When it comes to Wes Craven's vision of A Nightmare On Elm Street, it's very psychological. So instead of gaudy special effects and disposable teens, it's about a mother protecting her child from Freddy's grip, which makes us sympathize with the central characters easily. There was actual care put into this film moreso than the later Nightmare films. With it's clever commentary and engaging plot, this definitely deserves to be on the top of the list. This is a must-see.

1. A Nightmare On Elm Street (The Original) - There is without a doubt that the first film is the best of them all. The tone, the look, the feel, it all works here. The film is also a great example of less is more, considering that it was made on a low budget yet the special effects holds up really well. My motto will always be less is more when it comes to state of the art effects. I also feel like a horror movie works best is when the monster is rarely shown. Freddy is only seen in darkly lit shadows with very little dialogue and even when he's not onscreen, you can still feel his presence. You can tell that Wes Craven wanted to focus on the psychological horror instead of the usual hack and slash routine that was prevalent in 80s slashers at that time. Freddy is at his best when he's dark and sinister and this one takes the cake. Robert England is very effective in his first outing without a wink or nod to the audience. Furthermore, the characters are utilized well, especially Nancy Thompson. She's more than just an interchangeable final girl who defeats the killer at the end, she's an actual character that we care about and know so much about that we as the audience become attached her narrative. It's a good versus evil story that texturizes the concept without being formulaic. But here's where I'm gonna pull a What If: Instead of Ronee Blakely in the role of Marge, I rather much prefer Abby Dalton from Falcon Crest, who has better chemistry with John Saxon and is a lot more intense than Blakely. With the ending, I would just have Nancy drive away with her friends happily while Freddy attacks Marge out of the blue. So there you have it. Besides all that, this movie is a bonafide 80s classic and remains the top of the horror film food chain.