A Nightmare On Elm Street: Can Freddy Be Killed? Every Way Explained
A Nightmare on Elm Street’s iconic madman Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) has been a formidable villain in a successful line of films, but can he be killed? In each entry, the dream killer has been defeated, but always with a menacing caveat in the end. Is it even possible to get rid of a figure that exists within a dream? Aside from disappointing box office grosses, can Freddy really be killed? Here is every way he has been defeated in the series, and how the Springwood slasher might really be vanquished in dreamland.
When A Nightmare on Elm Street was released in late 1984, slasher movies were seeing a decline on box office grosses. The surprise indie hit revitalized the sub-genre and spawned a franchise that included a television show and endless merchandising. The appeal of the film’s antihero grew with every new sequel, making each ending a challenge for the screenwriters to resolve. Each new entry had to tie up the narrative in a satisfying way, yet keep the door open for another installment. This was easy enough in the beginning, as Wes Craven’s original film included a terrifying coda that inferred that Freddy could never really be killed. However, as the series continued, it became harder to create any suspense in defeating Krueger.
In Craven’s original film, protagonist Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) eventually discovers that she can defeat him by pulling him out of her dreams and simply not fearing him. In A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985), which has a complicated legacy, Krueger returns five years later and possesses the body of Jesse (Mark Patton). The dream killer is defeated in the sequel when Jesse’s girlfriend declares her love for him. In 1987’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, a religious component is introduced, and Krueger is ultimately put to rest by putting his bones in the ground, dousing them with holy water, and burying them with a cross. With Freddy’s popularity as the antihero, it became increasingly difficult to “kill” him in further installments.
In Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), Krueger is subdued by hearing a nursery rhyme and looking at his own reflection in a mirror. Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) has Alice’s unborn infant, in dream form as a young boy, help weaken Krueger, who is ultimately stopped by the power of his mother, Amanda. In Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) it is established that Krueger gets his powers from dream demons and can be killed by pulling him out of the dream world. His secret daughter Maggie (Lisa Zane) ends up luring him into reality, blowing him up with a pipe bomb, and freeing the demons.
Freddy’s next film appearance was in Craven’s self-reflexive New Nightmare (1994), which brought the character into the “real world”. In the film, actress Heather Langenkamp plays a fictional version of herself battling the Krueger character. In this version, the killer is defeated by Heather and her son pushing him into a furnace and igniting it. 2003’s matchup film Freddy Vs. Jason, which bridges both franchise timelines, the slasher icons do battle and ultimately finish in a draw. In the 2010 reboot, Krueger, played this time by Jackie Earle Haley, is subdued by slashing off his gloved hand, slitting his throat, and then setting him on fire.
If Englund were to ever return to the role for another round of nightmares following the original timeline, creatives would be wise to follow Craven’s lead. Killing Krueger once and for all should include a battle that takes place in both the dream world and reality. Pulling him out of the dream world and setting a series of traps would be a classic Craven strategy; weakening the physical Krueger before finishing him with a psychological final blow. Using a variation on the original film’s “no fear” coda, but this time turning and facing the fear (Freddy) might be a clever way to finish him for good. Though there are no current plans for a new A Nightmare on Elm Street, audiences have learned that it is nearly impossible to keep a good slasher down.