The Nightmare on Elm Street franchise might be my second favorite, but it's a tough call if you're adding the new Chucky series into the contest. Minus that series (to be fair) I'd put the Freddyverse (just made that up) at number two (behind Evil Dead) because of its outlandish creativity. The two-decade-long onslaught of imaginative nightmares this franchise produced from the eighties into the nineties was a Wonderland of morbid absurdities and I loved the vast majority of it. Often dumb, but always fun, this is the sort of franchise that inspires me more than most. Creativity and imagination may be the single most important thing in human society. And pushing the boundaries of the status quo and scoffing at what society deems to be "appropriate" is nearly as essential for overall progress. Censorship is the death of creativity. Horror is just an extension of this concept. Be bold. Push the limits. But be sure you're doing it because it's what you believe in, not simply for the sake of sensationalism. I believe in freedom of expression. Horror is how I protest those who want to silence the outliers. Recently, our society has seen a lot of pushback against anything deemed "triggering" or inappropriate. Freddy is melting... But he never stays dead for long. The more they try to silence expression, the more visceral it will emerge. So keep fighting, horror fans. Kickdown doors and breakthrough walls. Art is an extension of the imagination, and without that imagination that fuels innovation at every level, the human race will just wither up and fade away. -an0m
