Freddy Krueger

“Come to Freddy!”

**Frederick** **Charles** "**Freddy**" **Krueger** is a character and the main antagonist from the ***A Nightmare on Elm Street*** film series. He first appeared in Wes Craven's *A Nightmare on Elm Street* (1984) as a burnt serial killer who uses a gloved hand with razors to kill his victims in their dreams. He is portrayed by Robert Englund.

## Why He Rocks

1. Even though he‘s the villain, he’s actually quite likable and steals the show throughout the franchise.
2. Unlike Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers who are very serious horror movie killers, Freddy has a dark, twisted sense of humor when it comes to killing his victims, much like IT.
3. Robert Englund gives an amazing, unforgettable performance as him.
4. He’s got many tricks up his sleeve, especially when it comes to invading his victims’ dreams.
5. His design is very creepy.
6. He has become one of the most unforgettable, iconic horror movie villains in cinema history.
7. The idea of a child murderer that kills people in their dreams is pretty original.
8. He has many unforgettable lines of dialogue.

## Bad Qualities

1. While the first movie managed to balance horror and comedy, the sequels delved more and more into straight up comedy.
2. His version of the character in the 2010 remake is absolutely awful.

## Quotes

* “WELCOME TO PRIME TIME, BITCH!”
* “Come to Freddy...“
* “You forgot the power glove!”
* “Now I'm playing with power!”
* “I’m your boyfriend now, Nancy.“
* “How's this for a wet dream?”
* “Wanna suck face?”
* “What a rush!”
* “How sweet, fresh meat!”
* “I'll get you my pretty, and you're little soul too!”
* “You are all my children, now!“
* “Every town has an elm street.”
* “Welcome to my world, bitch!”
* “No running in the hallway!”
* “This is God.”
* “*♪1, 2, Freddy's coming for you.♪ ♪3, 4, better lock your door.♪ ♪5, 6, grab your crucifix.♪ ♪7, 8, better stay up late.♪ ♪9, 10, never sleep again.♪♪*“ (song that warns victims of Freddy)
* “*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.*“

## 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 Charlie Manson, while Freddy's appearance was based on Klaus Kinski's portrayal of Dracula.
* Although the backstory of Freddy being a pedophile was removed before the film's release, it is implied in *Freddy vs. Jason* that he very well still could have been more of a pedophile in nature, given he licked the photos of the children he killed. Either way, his actions do have sexual undertones.
* Freddy Krueger is featured in the 2018 sci-fi movie called *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 being 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.
* 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 three 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 couldn't 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 isn't 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 on 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.
* 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 this film.
* The only "Nightmare on Elm Street" film 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 film for the day, Robert Englund would tear off all of his makeup.
* For the Castilian Spanish language dub version, Fred Krueger's voice was dubbed by José Guardiola.
* 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 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).

## All Appearances

* 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)
* Jason Goes to Hell:  The Final Friday (1993) (camo appearance)
* Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
* Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
* Angry Video Game Nerd "A Nightmare on Elm Street NES" (2007)
* A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
* Ready Player One (2018)