The first two films were dark in a gritty nightmarish way. The third film was a mix between that and a colorful horror-fantasy. The fourth was pure colorful fantasy, but still horror of course. The fifth was more a gothic type of darkness. Freddy's Dead was an abomination that tried and failed to capture the weird Twin Peaks vibe. Wes Cravens New Nightmare is supposedly a return to the dark style of the first....but I've never thought that. It looks like any other horror movie made in Hollywood in 1994. FvJ had had some good lighting and colors but no real dark streak. The remake was dark but in that really boring Platinum Dunes way that's a dime a dozen.