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“ | ♪1, 2, Freddy's coming for you.♪ ♪3, 4, better lock your door.♪ ♪5, 6, grab your crucifix.♪ ♪7, 8, gonna stay up late.♪ ♪9, 10, never sleep again.♪ | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger's haunting nursery rhyme |
“ | Come to Freddy. | „ |
~ One of Krueger's most famous quotes |
“ | My children. From the very beginning, it was the children who gave me my power. The Springwood Slasher, that's what they called me. My reign of terror was legendary. Dozens of children would fall by my blades. Then the parents of Springwood came for me. Taking justice into their own hands. When I was alive, I might have been a little naughty, but after they killed me, I became something much, much worse. The stuff nightmares are made of. The children still feared me and their fear gave me the power to invade their dreams. And that's when the fun really began. | „ |
~ The story of Freddy Krueger being told by Freddy himself in Freddy vs Jason |
Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is the main antagonist of the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and the 2003 crossover film Freddy vs. Jason.
He was a serial child killer in life, and in death, a malevolent spirit who kills his victims in their dreams, often by torturing them to death, having gotten his powers from the three original Dream Demons. He eventually becomes well-known for the sick pleasure he displays while targeting children.
He was portrayed by Robert Englund, who also played one of the 100 Maniacs of the Hathaway House in the fifth episode of the same saga, the Riddler in The Batman, Bill Gartley in The Mangler, the title character in the 1989 adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, Lucifer in Married with Children, Scarecrow in Injustice 2, and Anti-Pops in Regular Show. In Jason Goes to Hell, where only his hand armed with the famous clawed glove is seen taking the mask of Jason Voorhees, Freddy is played by Kane Hodder, who played Jason in the Friday the 13th franchise and Victor Crowley in the Hatchet saga.
Wes Craven's New Nightmare
- Main article: The Entity (Wes Craven's New Nightmare)
Remake Timeline
- Main article: Freddy Krueger (remake)
Other Media
Freddy's Nightmares
- Main article: Freddy Krueger (Freddy's Nightmares)
Child's Play on Elm Street
There are plans for a crossover between Freddy and Chucky from the Child's Play franchise, in a similar way to Freddy vs. Jason. Chucky would end up in a home of a child living on Elm Street. He eventually goes to sleep and meets Freddy. They begin liking each other, but realize that Elm Street isn't big enough for both of them. They have a contest - "Who can kill the most teenagers before the sun comes up?".
Mortal Kombat (2011)
Freddy Krueger is a guest DLC character for the 2011 reboot of the Mortal Kombat franchise. It should be noted that while he is on the good side or at least desire's Shao Kahn's death, Freddy still retains his sadistic personality from the movies as he plans on going back to the Dream Realm in order to continue killing children. He displays this in both his fatalities and his ending.
Freddy's Story
When Freddy Krueger encountered Shao Kahn when he was attempting to steal souls. Freddy and Shao Kahn fought each other, but Shao Kahn was too strong for him. Freddy ended up getting pulled out of the Dream Realm, turning him mortal, and thus defeated by Shao Kahn. Not wanting to surrender to his injuries, Freddy is determined to kill Shao Kahn by any means necessary, and return to the Dream Realm with his immortality, thus continuing his sadistic reign of terror. He finds himself teaming up with Raiden's forces despite their contrasting goals. However, as shown below, Nightwolf is well-aware of his true nature.
Freddy's Ending
Freddy Krueger's bladed hands tore through Shao Kahn. The demonically-enhanced weapons had been more than a match for the emperor's dark magic. Though Freddy had saved Earthrealm, Nightwolf recognized him as an evil spirit and in a shamanistic ritual, sent him back to the Dream Realm. But that decision proved ruinous. Freddy did not resist. He welcomed the return to immortality. From the Dream Realm, he will again create a Nightmare in Earthrealm. He takes advantage of Nightwolf's mistake by killing a girl that looks a lot like Nancy Tompson.
Fatalities, Babality, X-ray move
Like all of the Mortal Kombat characters in Mortal Kombat (2011), Freddy Krueger has 2 fatalities, a Babality, and an X-ray Move.
Fatalities
- Tell 'Em Freddy Sent Ya: Krueger teleports at the back of the opponent. He impales the back of the opponent and then summons a hole underneath them. He then drags them into that hole, making them scream. Afterwards, the hole spews a HUGE amount of blood, presumably killing the victim.
- I'll See You in Hell: Freddy summons a large furnace behind the opponent. He stabs the opponent in the neck and stomach, and then throws them into the furnace. As the opponent is being burned alive trying to escape the furnace, Freddy waves goodbye and then slams the door shut. At the same time the opponent's arm is hanging out of the furnace, and as Freddy slams the door the arm gets cut off, as the opponent burns to death.
Babality
A baby carriage appears out of nowhere and the camera zooms in to reveal a teddy bear with some cuts on its stomach. A baby version of Freddy then jumps up from behind the carriage and attempts to take a slash at the camera.
X-Ray Move
- What A Rush: First Freddy uppercuts the opponent before impaling the opponent through the chest with his knives, causing the ribs to break and the lungs to be punctured. After that he swipes the opponent across the face with his knives, causing damage to the opponent's skull and knocking them back.
Halloween Horror Nights
Carnival of Carnage:
During 2007's Halloween Horror Nights: Carnival of Carnage at Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood, Freddy was one of the sub-icons along with Jason Voorhees and Leatherface, while Jack "The Clown" Schmidt takes the role as the main icon of the event. Freddy, along with the other two aforementioned horror movie villains appeared in the live show titled The Carnival of Carnage with Jack the Clown as the host.
Freddy vs. Jason:
Terrordrome:
Freddy was featured in the popular 2007 fan-game Terrordrome as playable character
Freddy's Story
Freddy wasn't easily scared, but this time he was in trouble.
Cenobites in the Dream World? Probably looking for him.
He cheated death once and escaped their hell with the help of dream demons.
But he knew they would find him eventually. He needed a plan and a good one.
Freddy's Ending
Freddy tried his best but the Cenobites were far more powerful.
"Come back with us now Freddy, enough games!"
Freddy was about to lose. Pinhead had him already chained.
But Freddy always had a trick up his sleeve.
He gave his ally Candyman the opportunity to strike back.
As the fight had already weakened Pinhead, his end was near.
Freddy then took advantage of the situation and betrayed Candyman.
Parodies and Homages
Robot Chicken
Freddy has appeared in some Robot Chicken episodes, one of which he is in the Big Brother show alongside Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Ghostface, Pinhead, and Leatherface. Freddy wanted Ghostface voted out because he shrunk his sweater, but apparently decided to evict Michael when Michael stabbed him multiple times (which merely annoyed him).
In another sketch, Freddy is seen as a typical male character with a loving wife and daughter. The daughter buys items like his signature hat and sweater. After constructing his bladed hand to help him scratch due to the itchy sweater, the daughter buys another gift, causing Freddy to go mad towards the School Bazaar. When he barges into the school wearing his glove and the school made gifts, the parents assume that Freddy is out to harm the children. When trying to calmly explain the situation, Freddy starts a fire, unable to escape.
The three souls from hell approach him and offer him immortality, which he accepts to get him out of the mess he made. After asking for a second to take off the sweater and fedora, the souls state that it is done, locking Freddy in his current appearance. After complaining for a bit, the skit ends with him stating "At least I have my Complexion..."
The Nightmare Ends on Halloween
Freddy also appeared in Chris .R. Notarile's fan video "The Nightmare Ends on Halloween", where Freddy, after his death in Freddy vs. Jason, is stuck in limbo, where he meets Michael Myers (whose mind is in limbo for most of the year, except on Halloween). He tries to get him to spread fear (much like he did with Jason), but Michael refused. When his mind became active, he began dreaming, causing Freddy to return, but Michael fought him. In the end, Freddy was cornered by both Michael, Jason, and Leatherface, all of whom were sent by Pinhead to return Freddy to Hell. Freddy is then torn apart by the three silent slashers, and is presumably taken to the Labyrinth in Hell.
The Simpsons ~ Treehouse of Horror IX
Freddy appeared in the opening sequence in the Simpsons Halloween episode "Treehouse of Horror IX". He is seen watching TV on the couch with Jason, commenting on why the Simpsons are not at the couch yet.
In The Simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror V Freddy Krueger appears in Moe's band of ghouls who came to take Homer out much to his dismay.
In the episode Treehouse of Horror VI, in the second segment Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace, the character Groundskeeper Willie is portrayed as a Freddy Krueger-like villain wielding his rake as a murder weapon. Like Freddy, Willie kills the children in their sleep but the result of being burned was over Homer's failure to heed Willie's warnings of not turning up the thermostat, not by the angered parents of children he murdered. He then appears as a bagpipe spider and tries to kill Bart and Lisa and Groundskeeper Willie is killed by Maggie when she uses her pacifier to seal the vent on his spider body.
Stan Helsing
A parody of Freddy name "Fweddy", appeared as an antagonist in the spoof movie Stan Helsing. Like the original Freddy Krueger, he still attacks people in their dreams on Elm Street. He has a similar appearance to that of Freddy: he wears an oversized orange and black sweater, a bowler hat, and a big clock on a chain around his neck. While the original Freddy's glove has finger blades, Fweddy's glove has different tools on each of the fingers. He was defeated when Stan took off his clawed glove, and ran out the door.
South Park
Freddy made an appearance in the Imaginationland Trilogy of South Park amongst the other evil imaginary characters.
He then appeared out of Imaginationland in "Insheeption", where he now has a different design. Apparently having retired and living in the mountains with his family, he refuses to help the government, not wishing to kill again. After they explain that innocent lives are at stake, he agrees to help, killing Woodsy Owl and rescuing Stan Marsh and Mr. Mackey. He later no longer wears his fedora and now sports a bushy beard. This version of Freddy is arguably entirely different to the Imaginationland version who was truer to the film version.
Gravity Falls
In the episode Northwest Mansion Mystery, as Dipper Pines was flipping through Journal 3, a page on a ghost with an appearance similar to Freddy Krueger can be seen on Category 9. This ghost is called the Dream Hipster, who wears a sweater with zigzags and his glove has culinary on each of the fingers of his glove.
Danny Phantom
A female parody of Freddy called Nightmerica appears in the episode Memory Blank. Aside from wearing one glove, she can wear two bladed gloves on each of her hands, much like Freddy's Mortal Kombat counterpart.
Tiny Toons
In the segment "Duck in the Dark" of the episode Best O' Plucky Ducky Day, a villainous character Eddy Cougar is a parody of Freddy Krueger, as he wears a fedora and a red and green-stripped sweater. However, on his right hand, he wears a claw instead of a bladed glove.
Angry Video Game Nerd
Freddy Krueger also makes an appearance in an Angry Video Game Nerd episode while The Angry Nintendo Nerd was reviewing A Nightmare on Elm Street for the NES. The Nerd spawned several clones of himself just to say how bad the game is. After one of the Nerd's clone took a dump on the game, Freddy came in and killed each of the clones one by one. When he was about to kill the actual Nerd, the Nerd used the Power Glove to kill off Freddy Krueger.
Family Guy
In the episode "Love, Blactually", Freddy Krueger is referred to when Brian Griffin is at his family's costume party and meets a girl dressed as an aborted fetus. He asks if she is one of Freddy Krueger's victims.
In "The Splendid Source", Glenn Quagmire goes into the dream world and pays Krueger to tell Peter Griffin a dirty joke in his dreams so he can poop in his bed. Peter then wakes up and realizes when one defecates in their dreams, they defecate in reality.
In "And Then There Were Fewer", it was revealed that Tom Tucker once auditioned for the role of Krueger until James Woods convinced him to back out. The extended version of the episode expands upon this, showing Tucker act out a scene in-character during filming.
The Grim Tales From Down Below
Mandy's Vault is a secret chamber found within Castle Evergrim. It appeared in "Grim Tales From Down Below". Mimi went inside of here to find the Horror's Hand for Him to retrieve Jeff again.
After returning from her worst memory, Mimi screamed so hard that she broke all the glasses in the vault thus also the artifacts that were inside the vault were freed, much to Mandy's anger. Freddy Krueger's Claw is an object that was seen in the background in Mandy's Vault.
Freddy himself is never seen in the webcomic but this implies that he and Mandy met sometime before the events.
How It Should Have Ended
Freddy Krueger also appeared in two of the HISHEepisodes "How Scream Should Have Ended" and "How Interception Should Have Ended". In "How Scream Should Have Ended", a guy is telling his friends 6 rules about how to outsmart and gain the upper hand against the killer, Ghostface. After he tells the 6th rule, Freddy appears and says: "I have a question; What do you do if the killer attacks you inside you're dreams?" And then reveals himself and attacks them and they start running.
How Inception Should Have Ended: Freddy Krueger also made a short appearance in Interception when everyone falls asleep and starts dreaming and are in the dream world, they see Freddy blowing a trumpet. Freddy replies by saying "Well, excuse me, I'm new at this!" and that was the part that the viewers saw him in.
Three Russian Bogaturs
Freddy Krueger is a minor antagonist in the Russian mini-series Three Russian Bogaturs.
Every time when the night begins, one of the Bogaturs Dobrinya goes asleep. But in one day, when Bogaturs played "Rock, Paper, Scissors", very soon the night began, and Dobrinya fell asleep. Then, two other Bogaturs Alesha and Ilya saw that Dobrinya has nightmare dreams, and someone is trying to kill him (as it was seen by scratched T-shirt. Ilya and Alesha were horrified and tried to wake Dobrinya up, but nothing was working. Then they called for the help Baba Yaga. She understands what to do and makes the magic soporific.
Alesha and Ilya drank it and fell asleep. They appeared in the dream of Dobrinya and they both saw that he was trying to fight Freddy Krueger. Magic soporific had the limit of time, so Bogaturs drank the liquid several times, so they could defeat Freddy. Last time when they drank the soporific, it made somehow Freddy to appear in real world. When Bogaturs woke up, they were going to beat Freddy, but he decided to do it by himself. Then he pours out the petrol on himself asks for a match. In the end, he got himself burned, and only eyes and dust have left.
GARO: Makai no Hana
Ilgishin, a villain from GARO: Makai no Hana, is depicted to be "part Freddy Krueger" due to its host, Harima, has passion on horror films. The proof of this was in his true form, Ilgishin has Freddy's signature clawed gloves as his right hand and his face also resembled the latter. One of Ilgishin's illusory world appeared to be based on dreamworld where Freddy Krueger would appeared as well.
Hazbin Hotel
Freddy Kruegar was featured along with Jason Voorhees in the final Halloween sale promotion for Vivziepop's Hazbin Hotel.
The Goldbergs
Freddy appears in Mister Knifey-Hands, aired in 2018 with Robert Englund reprising his role for the first time in many years. Beverly Goldberg is watching one of his movies when she suddenly falls asleep, causing her to arrive in the dream world. After Beverly is questioned the three little girls singing the nursery rhyme in the middle of a field of corn if they saw her son Adam, Freddy suddenly appears behind her, telling her that her son is not here and then taunts her for having lost him before showing his claws and proclaiming himself her worst nightmare.
Beverly attempts to flee through a dilapidated house only so that Freddy doesn't immobilize her with some living sweaters. He prepares to kill her until she claims to have already experienced her worst nightmare, which intrigues Krueger who thought he was more than convincing. The two start talking about parenting issues until Beverly decides to go work things out with Adam. Before she leaves, Freddy declares that he's the one swearing around here, just to get Beverly to misrepresent his name. Angry Freddy corrects her over it.
Comics
Freddy Krueger appeared in several "A Nightmare on Elm Street" comics as the main antagonists. He commits more heinous crimes much like the movies. In the final comic he appeared in was when he, Jason and Ash Williams end up fighting. In the crossover comic Freddy Krueger ends up summoning Jason to aid him; soon he would end up killed by Ash after Ash had unleashed several spirits to aid him in fighting. Upon doing this Freddy's mom appeared and disapproved of his actions Freddy immediately felt guilty for actions after his mother told him this, Freddy then begs for Ash to kill him so that he could see his mother again so that he could finally find peace. Jason ends up dying as well and Jason is killed by his niece however he ends up "living" and should Freddy come back in the future the government made sure to permanently have him arrested and or killed every time he forms in the real world, thus ending Freddy finally and forever.
Appearance
In all of his appearances, Freddy is depicted as an undead, demonic serial killer who is commonly identified by his burned, disfigured face, red and dark green striped sweater and brown fedora. His most distinguishing feature is his clawed glove, a semi-metal gauntlet with four blades attached to each finger which he uses to stab and cut his victims into shreds and even capable of slicing through flesh with ease.
Personality
“ | When I was alive, I might have been a little naughty, but after they killed me, I became something much, much worse. The stuff nightmares are made of. | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger |
Freddy is psychopathic, twisted, and driven by the desire to kill. An insatiable sadist, Freddy takes enjoyment in terrifying his victims before killing them and will often spend weeks twisting the dreams of his quarry before moving in for the fatal blow. For a professional killer, he showcases very little composure; he is prone to fits of emotion such as joy and rage. Unresponsive to reason and deaf to pleas for mercy, Freddy is a nightmare made flesh, just what he's always wanted.
Despite his abominable character, he's not without superficial charm. When he was alive, he was able to hide the fact that he was a child murderer by putting on the guise of a loving husband and mourning father. However, once his wife found out and he killed her, he was still able to get acquitted by the legal system. As a malevolent spirit, one of his most notable characteristics is his flamboyant personality and depraved sense of humor. He's frequently bombastic and likes to crack puns and jokes while he torments his targets. He seems to be a bit egotistical, as he made a comment alluding to the idea that he views himself as a god-like entity.
Unlike many other slasher villains, Freddy Krueger kills his victims out of sheer enjoyment and nothing less. He doesn't kill because of any particular external or personal-driven motive, he kills because he enjoys every moment of it. He doesn't have to look like a deformed, burned corpse, as he does that simply because it terrifies people and he loves to make sure they are filled with fear before they die.
In Freddy vs. Jason, he strongly hates it when he is forgotten, as this renders him powerless. When he takes the form of Pamela Voorhees to convince Jason Voorhees to start a killing spree in Springwood, he banks on the idea that he himself will be blamed for the killing spree and that it will make people fear and remember him again. There's also the idea that he specifically preys on the victim's greatest fears in their dreams to get the largest reaction from them. Even when he isn't in their dreams, Freddy would still try to wear them down and get them to sleep, as he'll either tear them into shreds in their nightmares or make them die of sleep deprivation.
Not only that, but he also tries to leverage his past of abuse as a way to gain sympathy in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. He shows that he was raised by a sleazy pimp and was bullied relentlessly into isolation as a child. The problem is that he also shows telltale signs of sociopathy even then. And while he attempts to paint himself as a victim, he gets no sympathy.
In The Nightmares on Elm Street: Freddy Krueger's Seven Sweetest Dreams, one of the short stories is set after the fourth film, with Freddy having returned by unknown means after his defeat. Neil Gordon returns with a new plan to kill Freddy utilizing mental time travel, basically a hypnotism technique that allows people to experience moments from the past as if they were really there. He wants to use this technique to have someone go back and raise up a good "Anti-Freddy" capable of destroying the original. Gordon and Curtis use this to have Curtis experience Freddy's conception. Eventually, they execute the plan that was proposed initially, with Curtis being the one to go back and raise up the good Anti-Freddy, who he calls Fred. The two meet in the dream world and, like matter and antimatter, destroy one another. However, Freddy survives this, revealing to Curtis later on that he's an embodiment of hate who feeds off of hate and will linger so long as hatred exists.
Powers and Abilities
Freddy Krueger can invade people's dreams and kill them within their nightmares, which will also kill them in reality. He usually uses his clawed glove, but can also manipulate the dream world in any way he wants, such as sucking them into a bed, a comic book, or a videogame, making them fall, extending himself, or turning them into an insect. On some occasions, he can possess people, though unlike when Jason does this in Jason Goes to Hell, the victim can survive.
Freddy is impossible to kill in the dream world. However, he is mortal while outside the dream world. He loses all his powers (though he can still disguise himself as his human form) in the real world. Even if he is killed, he can return from Hell if there is enough fear in the area he wishes to appear.
If a person touches fire (unless it is caused by Freddy to kill them) or anything burning hot, it can take them out of the dream world. Freddy also cannot leave Springwood unless inside the dreams of someone who is, in which case he still cannot invade other people's dreams unless the one whose mind he is inside is related to him. Freddy also seems to hate fire as it is what the parents used to burn him alive.
Quotes
“ | Come to Freddy. | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger |
“ | I'm your boyfriend now, Nancy. | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger after murdering Glen Lantz |
“ | Go ahead, Jesse. Try it on for size. Kill for me! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger to Jesse Walsh |
“ | You are all my children now. | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger to all the teenagers at Lisa Webber's party |
“ | This is it Jennifer, your big break in TV! Welcome to prime time, B***H! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger murdering Jennifer Caulfield |
“ | Sorry, kid. I don't believe in fairytales! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger murdering Will Stanton |
“ | You shouldn't have buried me. I'm not dead. | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger upon returning in A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. |
“ | Tell 'em Freddy sent ya! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger after Roland Kincaid said he would "see him in Hell" |
“ | How's this for a wet dream? | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger drowning Joey Crusel in his water bed |
“ | Elm Street's last brat. Farewell! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger before murdering Kristen Parker |
“ | Welcome to Wonderland, Alice! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger to Alice Johnson |
“ | I've been guarding my gate for a long time, b***h. | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger to Alice Johnson about his dream gate at the Nightmare Church within the dream world |
“ | It's a boy! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger upon his rebirth |
“ | We'll see, b***h. We'll just see. | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger to the spirit of his late mother Amanda Krueger |
“ | Bon apétit, b***h! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger |
“ | You are what you eat! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger |
“ | Faster than a bastard maniac! More powerful than a loco-madman! It's Super-Freddy! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger turning into a supervillain in Mark Gray's dream |
“ | Told ya! Comic books was bad for ya! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger |
“ | Hey! You forgot the Power Glove! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger |
“ | I had to search the bowels of Hell. But I've found someone. Someone who'll make them remember. He may the blood and I'll get the glory. And that fear is my ticket home. | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger after he finds Jason Voorhees |
“ | Oh, that's right! Everyone forgot! That's why they weren't afraid anymore! That's why I needed Jason to kill for me to get them to remember. But now he just won't stop! That hockey puck! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger explaining his plan before he murders Mark Davis |
“ | How sweet. Dark meat... | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger after being distracted by Kia Waterson |
“ | Welcome to my nightmare. | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger fighting Jason Voorhees in the dream world |
“ | Why won't you DIE?! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger questioning how Jason Voorhees is still alive after all the abuse he put him through |
“ | Aww, how sweet. (Pulls off Jason's mask) You ugly little s**t. Now there's a face...(Shows the head of Pamela Voorhees) only a mother could love! (laughs) Yeah! Now we're getting somewhere. Let's see what really scares you. And dig a little deeper. | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger torturing Jason Voorhees |
“ | I had a right to remain at large cop, I had a right to remain silent! (laughs evilly) | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger taunting the parents that tracked him down in the boiler room |
“ | Kung... Fu... THIS, b***h! | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger to Tracy after she surpises him with her fighting skills |
“ | Not strong enough yet. Oh, I will be soon enough. Until then... (chuckles evilly) I'll let Jason have some fun. | „ |
~ Freddy Krueger explaining his plan to get people to fear him again |
Victims
Victims killed by Freddy Krueger |
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Before the films
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
|
Reception
Freddy Krueger is widely considered an icon in horror. Wizard Magazine rated him the 14th greatest villain of all time, and he was ranked 8th on British channel Sky2's Greatest Villains of All Time and ranked 40th on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains. He was also ranked #17 on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments (2004).
Trivia
- Freddy Krueger was created by the late Wes Craven.
- Freddy Krueger was based on the late real-life American criminal and cult leader by the name Charles Manson, while Freddy's appearance was based on the late Klaus Kinski's portrayal of Dracula.
- Freddy Krueger is featured in the 2018 sci-fi movie Ready Player One.
- Freddy appeared in the gripping YouTube fan film "Don't Fall Asleep", a direct sequel to "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and a prequel to "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors". He was portrayed by William Adams.
- A Yo-Kai called Freddy J from the 2014 anime TV series adaption of the roleplaying game franchise Yo-Kai Watch was based on Freddy Krueger himself.
- Robert Englund cut himself the first time when he tried on the infamous Freddy glove.
- In the original script, Freddy was a child molester. However, the decision was made to change him into a child murderer to avoid accusations of exploiting a series of child molestations in California around the time of production. He was re-written as a child molester in the 2010 remake starring Jackie Earle Haley. Furthermore, as mentioned above, many of his murders still have sexual overtones meaning he possibly did molest some of his victims beforehand.
- The scene where Freddy's arms elongate were achieved by having men with fishing poles on each side of the alley operating a set of puppet arms attached to Robert Englund.
- It would take about 3 hours to get Robert Englund into his Freddy make-up.
- The inspiration for the character of Freddy came from several sources in Wes Craven's childhood. Fred Krueger was a schoolmate of his, with whom he had shared a paper route, and who had bullied him for several years. In The Last House on the Left (1972), Craven also used this experience as inspiration, calling the villain Krug. Freddy's appearance (especially the dirty clothes and hat) was inspired by a hobo, whom Craven saw staring at him through his window one day when he was ten.
- Wes Craven's original concept for Freddy Krueger was considerably more gruesome, with teeth showing through the flesh over the jaw, pus running from the sores, and a part of the skull showing through the head. Make-up Artist David B. Miller argued that an actor could not be convincingly made up that way, and a puppet would be hard to film, and wouldn't blend well with live actors, so these ideas were eventually abandoned.
- According to Wes Craven, Robert Englund was not the first choice for the role of Fred Krueger. Craven had initially wanted a stuntman to play the part, but upon testing several stuntmen, he realized he needed an actor.
- The very first time we see Freddy in the movie, he is not being played by Robert Englund, but by special effects man Charles Belardinelli, as Belardinelli was the only one who knew exactly how to cut the glove and insert the blades.
- According to Robert Englund, he based the physicality of Freddy on Klaus Kinski's performance in Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979). Englund also says in his DVD commentary that in his mind, the backstory for Freddy was based on something from his own childhood. On Valentine's Day when Englund was in school, everyone in the class made Valentine cards for one another, but there was one boy who received no cards from anyone. Englund theorized that this boy went on to become Freddy.
- In the original script, Freddy's famous red-and-green sweater was red and yellow (based on the colors worn by Plastic Man, who, like Freddy, could change his form; the idea was that whatever Freddy changed into would be yellow and red). However, when Wes Craven read an article in "Scientific American" in 1982 that said the two most contrasting colors to the human retina were red and green, he decided to alter the colors.
- The scene where Freddy presses through the wall above Nancy was shot by stretching a sheet of spandex across a hole in the wall and pressing against it. In the shot, Freddy is played by special effects designer Jim Doyle.
- Originally, Freddy Krueger was designed by Wes Craven to be the typical "silent" serial killer, such as Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers. However, in the sequels, Freddy developed a cheeky persona that enabled him to be the black-humored villain.
- Although he is credited as Freddy Krueger in the sequels, he is credited as "Fred Krueger" in the first film.
- The original Nightmare on Elm Street is the only one where Freddy does not have stripes on the sleeves of his infamous sweater.
- A popular myth surrounding this film is that David Warner was originally slated to play Freddy Krueger and that make-up tests were done, but Warner had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. This has been proven false by the filmmakers and by Warner himself in the recent book "Never Sleep Again".
- Sometimes after finishing on the original film for the day, Robert Englund would tear off all of his makeup.
- The scene where Freddy is set on fire, chases Nancy to the top of the stairs, falls back down, and starts back up again, was all shot in one take, with several cameras, and was the most elaborate fire scene ever filmed up to that time. Stuntman Anthony Cecere won the best stunt of the year for the scene.
- Robert Englund has stated that his favorite kill in the "Elm Street" franchise is Carlos' death in the sixth film. Carlos dies by having Freddy replace his hearing aid and causing his head to explode.
- Robert Englund says he based Freddy Krueger on serial killers Ted Bundy and Denis Rader (the BTK killer).
- In Gravity Falls, Freddy Krueger takes on the role of a category 9 ghost known as the "Dream Hipster".
- In Freddy vs. Jason, one of Freddy's stunt doubles was portrayed by the famous pro-wrestler Rey Mysterio, one of those being the scene where Freddy jumped out of Crystal Lake and another in his infamous boiler room.
- He, alongside It/Pennywise and Pinhead served as inspirations of Stranger Things villain Vecna.
- Ironically, Englund played Vecna's father, Victor Creel.
- In A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Freddy actually did win. He succeeded in his goal to murder all the children of those who killed him to avenge his own death when he killed Kristen Parker, the then-Last of the Elm Street Children.
External Links
- Freddy Krueger on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Freddy Krueger on the Wikipedia
- Freddy Krueger on the Horror Wiki
- Freddy Krueger on the Ready Player One Wiki
- Freddy Krueger on the Mortal Kombat Wiki
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