Frederick "Freddy" Krueger, also known as the Nightmare, is the main antagonist of the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. He is based on his original incarnation with the same name.
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 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 nature, he's not without his 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 cracking 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 external or personal reasons, he kills because he enjoys every minute of it. He embraces evil by his most common form and can look like whatever he wants. 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.
History[]
Past[]
Freddy was a gardener who worked at the Badham Preschool. He was liked by the parents and adored by the children, on whom he seemed to dote. However, he was merely using this façade to get the children to trust him enough to lure them down into his "Secret Cave" in the school's basement, where he would torture and sexually abuse them. His favorite victim was Nancy Holbrook.
Eventually, the children's parents discovered the scratch marks on their bodies (from Freddy's clawed gloves) and realized what Freddy was doing to them. Desiring revenge and wanting to spare their children the trauma of a trial, the parents ganged up on Freddy and prepared to kill him. Freddy ran into a nearby abandoned factory, and the parents locked him inside and set the building on fire, killing him.
Years later, Freddy returns as a ghost to haunt the now teenagers who told on him in their dreams to kill them.
Present[]
Freddy is first seen following Dean through the diner where he pops out from a corner and slices Dean's hand open as he's dreaming. When Dean falls asleep again, he tries to stab Freddy with a knife which Freddy turns on him and makes him slit his throat.
He later appears when Kris falls asleep in class, but she wakes up before he can kill her. After Kris falls asleep again, she sees Freddy who's in the classroom who suggests that they play "hide and seek". Kris runs away and she thinks that she wakes up, but then Freddy appears and kills her.
Then, he goes after Jesse who falls asleep in jail. Freddy taunts Jesse a bit before shoving his arm through Jesse's chest, killing him. After that, Freddy shows Quentin what happened to him when Quentin falls asleep during swimming practice. Quentin begins to question whether or not Freddy truly was evil, to begin with, and was wrongfully accused. Nancy watches some videos online by Marcus Young who seems to be suffering from a nightmare about Freddy. In the final video, Marcus falls asleep and is killed via having his head smashed through the computer screen.
Then, Freddy goes after Nancy in a convenience store when she experiences micro-naps and he ends up slicing her arm but manages to pull a piece of his sweater out with her. Then, Quentin and Nancy go to the old preschool Badham, and begin to remember what Freddy had done to them in his room, realizing that he was indeed a pedophile as the kids said.
Later, Nancy falls asleep to get Freddy out of the nightmare. After a short fight with Freddy, Quentin injects adrenaline into Nancy and she wakes up, bringing Freddy out with her. Freddy goes for Nancy first, but Quentin stabs Freddy in the leg to distract him and Freddy injures Quentin. When Freddy is distracted, Nancy slices off his claw hand and slits his throat with a broken paper cutter blade which kills Krueger.
Then, Nancy and Quentin burn down the school and his corpse, thinking it is all over. But when Nancy gets home, Freddy appears behind Nancy's mom in a mirror, stabs her mother through the head include the eyes and pulls her into the mirror, causing Nancy to scream in horror.
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 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:[]
- Main article: Freddy Krueger (Halloween Horror Nights: Freddy vs. Jason)
Parodies and Homages[]
Robot Chicken[]
Freddy has appeared in some Robot Chickenepisodes, 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 Michael, Jason, and Leatherface, all of whom were sent by Pinhead to return Freddy to Hell. Freddy is 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.
Stan Helsing[]
A parody of Freddy also appeared as an antagonist in the spoof movie Stan Helsing. He is named "Fweddy". He still attacks people in their dreams on Elm Street. He has a toothbrush on his glove. He was defeated when Stan took off his clawed glove, and ran out the door.
South Park[]
Freddy also made an appearance in the Imaginationland Trilogy of South Park amongst the other evil imaginary characters.
He then appeared out of Imaginationland in "Insheeption", he made another appearance, with 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. This version of him is arguably entirely different to the Imaginationland version who was truer to the film version.
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", he is referred to when Brian Griffin is at the 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 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. 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.
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.
Other Media[]
Dead by Daylight[]
| “ | This place plays tricks on your mind…constantly I question whether I dream or if I am awake. This most recent horrid ghoul seems to bridge that gap – between the states of being awake or asleep. I saw him hunting another poor soul, someone who was not as lucky as me. A man with a hat and a claw clad hand, a scarred man of sorts. He spotted me and what actually happened next is still a mystery to me. Dreams took over, and I was sure to die. But I woke up. Not like in the manner where I awake at the campfire, but instead I just woke up…inside this wretched forest, with memories of nightmares within. I am now afraid to sleep, but also to stay awake. | „ |
| ~ An unknown person (possibly Benedict Baker) about Freddy |
Freddy appears in the game Dead by Daylight as a playable killer known as the Nightmare while Quentin Smith is a survivor. They both were brought by The Entity for them to play its game. The story for them is set after the 2010 remake with Freddy getting revenge on Quentin for him saving Nancy, with both of them ultimately entering the Entity's realm.
His power allows him to pull survivors into the Dream Realm, where he can manipulate the environment to create snares to catch them.
Againts later on Sora's Team[]
Freddy joined the Xehanort team but after meeting Class 3-E, Rokuro, and other heroes, He finally betrayed even though several other heroes considered it an act they felt sorry for about his suffer however Sugino, Nagisa, Karma, Chiba, Rokuro, Mimura, Kimura, Takebayashi, Maehara Isogai, Itona, Keiichi, and other similar heroes just like Quentin as a boys willing to be used by Freddy because Freddy turns out to be Yanagisawa's enemy who knows Class 3-E turns out revenge to Yanagisawa because their teacher Aguri was killed by Yanagisawa not Korosensei from Class 3-E dream about real teacher murderer then Freddy feels sorry for Class 3-E who was treated unfairly by his own main school building, and Rokuro has nightmares of his friend's death due to Yuto's actions until he want protect Class 3-E as a their protect guardian because he is see their class very poor to that's class, especially Freddy apparently helps Class 3-E to kill some of the most inhuman killers who don't like peasant, and commoner especially Freddy is commoner before then Freddy also became a new teacher for Class 3-E and several other heroes to care for each other, especially students Class 3-E is his favorite protégé especially He is friends with Korosensei as a killer who loves Class 3-E as his own favorite child so Freddy gives his hope miracle to Class 3-E, and the other heroes as heroes to save innocent lives so that it is not like him to become a criminal that hated by world.