Freddy Krueger

From Freepedia

Image:Freddyk.png Frederick Charles Krueger a.k.a. "Fred" or "Freddy", is the central villain in the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films and the television series Freddy's Nightmares. Robert Englund portrays the character in every film. He is the spirit of a serial child killer who can attack new victims supernaturally from within their own dreams. Basic details are revealed about him in the first film, while additional backstory is added in the following films. The events of the movies take place in and around the fictional town of Springwood, Ohio.

During the Christmas holiday in the early 1940's, nun Sister Mary Helena (Amanda Krueger) was accidentally locked in the tower for the criminally insane at 'Our Lady Of Sorrows' mental hospital. For days, she was raped numerous times by the one hundred patients confined there. Months later, after a breech birth, Frederick Charles Krueger was born and given up for adoption.

Mr. Underwood (portrayed by Alice Cooper), an alcoholic and abusive man that lived on 1665 (sometimes 1428) Elm Street, adopted young Freddy. Throughout his childhood, Freddy endured physical and mental abuse from his adoptive father and displayed sociopathic tendencies, including killing small animals. At school, Freddy was ridiculed by the other students. In his late teens, after he learned "the secret of pain" from self-mutilation, he killed his adoptive father.

Later in life, Krueger married a woman named Loretta. They soon had a daughter named Kathryn. The Krueger family resided in Freddy's childhood home on 1665 Elm Street. Unknown to his family, Krueger was also a serial killer who preyed on neighborhood children. In his basement he had constructed various torture devices, including gloves with blades on each finger. He killed his wife after she discovered his workshop; a very young Kathryn witnessed the murder.

Krueger worked at the local power plant, and used its boiler room to torture and kill neighborhood children. The police were unable to solve the cases, and newspapers soon dubbed the mysterious killer the 'Springwood Slasher'. Krueger was eventually arrested for the crimes.

Though put on trial, Krueger was not convicted due to a technicality and was subsequently released. The night of his release, the enraged parents of the slain children tracked Krueger to his lair at the power plant and set fire to it, burning him alive. In death, three "dream demons" approached him and allowed him to continue his killings through dreams. Krueger took on a form that resembled his last moments being burned alive: charred and disfigured flesh, a red and green sweater, a fedora, and his clawed glove.

He continued slaying the children of Springwood, particularly those who resided on Elm Street, through their dreams. however, he seemed to focus on teenagers, specifically those whose parents had formed the mob that killed him. As long as a victim was dreaming, he could inhabit and control their dreams, twisting them to his own ends. Any physical harm done to a person in this dream world would carry over into the real world, allowing him to easily commit multiple murders. Krueger often toyed with his victims by changing his form and surroundings, usually resembling the factory where he was burned. Krueger's powers increased whenever the younger generation believed he existed. At the height of his powers, he could cause severe damage in the real world.

In a person's own dream, Krueger would use their fears and personality against them. A few victims managed to use their own imagination to consciously manipulate their dreams against him (a technique known as lucid dreaming), but this had little effect on Krueger, who was completely in control of their dreams already. Another power involved absorbing the souls of his victims in to his own body after they had been killed.

Krueger was eventually brought into the real world by Maggie Burroughs, where he was physically killed by an explosion. Maggie was actually Krueger's daughter, Kathryn, whom had since been raised by adoptive parents and had suppressed the horrible memories of her childhood. The townspeople covered up Krueger's existence; leaving the town of Springwood in peace.

Because many people no longer remembered him or his crimes, Krueger remained in limbo, unable to escape. If he could get people to fear him again, he could gain enough power to return. From this, entered the plan to resurrect serial killer Jason Voorhees.

Krueger, in the guise of Voorhees' mother, Pamela, manipulated him into killing the teenagers living on Elm Street - to make the residents of Springwood think that Krueger is back. Voorhees commits a few murders, which are then blamed on Krueger. A small group of youths and a sheriff's deputy discovered that it was not Krueger who had committed the murders, but it was already too late and the town's fear had made Krueger strong enough to come back. Since Voorhees had done what he was expected to do, Krueger wants him out of the way, but he went on killing. Thus, a bloody fight began between the two that raged between the dream world to the waking world. The ending of this fight was left deliberately ambiguous by the writers of Freddy vs Jason. It ends with Jason walking out of the waters holding Krueger's decapitated head, which winks to the camera.

As the "Nightmare" series progressed, Wes Craven's original vision of Krueger as a true personification of evil was changed and Krueger became the anti-hero of the 80's. On two occasions, Craven was drawn back to his creation in order to try and "rectify" the producers alteration of his creation. "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" was in essence the true sequel to the original and thanks to Craven's scriptwriting gave the series a new lease of life. Craven wanted Dream Warriors to be the end of the series but the studio refused. Craven and New Line ex-communicated each other for a number of years. As the series progressed, Craven finally had the opportunity to revisit his creation a final time by creating "Wes Craven's New Nightmare." Regarded as a horror-masterpiece by fans and critics alike, this film departs from other "Nightmares" by taking place in the real world.

See also

• Wes Craven's New Nightmare
• Freddy vs. Jason
• Friday the 13th
• Michael Myers
• Pinhead
• Jason Voorhees
• Leatherface

External links

• The Nightmare On Elm Street Companion
• A Nightmare on Elm Street Forums
• A Nightmare On Elm Street at the Internet Movie Database
• A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge at the Internet Movie Database
• A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors at the Internet Movie Database
• A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master at the Internet Movie Database
• A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child at the Internet Movie Database
• Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare at the Internet Movie Database
• Wes Craven's New Nightmare at the Internet Movie Database
• Freddy Vs. Jason at the Internet Movie Database