Summary
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master may not be as memorable as other entries, but its kills are awesome, particularly Sheila's gruesome death.
Wes Craven's New Nightmare is an underrated film with a meta approach, and Julie's death is its best kill, reminiscent of a classic moment from the first film.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is considered one of the best in the franchise, and Taryn's cruel death stands out, showcasing Freddy's ability to use her personal battle against her.
Since 1984, Robert Englund has been the man of everyone’s nightmares. Freddy Krueger is one of the most famous faces in horror, accompanied by his trusty glove of knives. Krueger was brought to life by director Wes Craven, who allegedly saved New Line Cinema with the success of A Nightmare on Elm Street. New Line Cinema would later become known as "The House That Freddy Built."
There is no doubt that the first A Nightmare on Elm Street is the scariest of the franchise. As the sequels progressed, Freddy became less and less menacing. The once-feared child murderer soon would be a wise-cracking sleep demon who tried to make you laugh before a gruesome kill. However, that’s not to say that the franchise doesn’t host some of the best slasher kills in horror. Here are Freddy's top kills in the A Nightmare On Elm Street franchise.
Update October 31, 2023: In honor of Halloween, this article has been updated with more great kills from one of horror's greatest monsters, Freddy Kreuger.
Spoiler alert: A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise
10 Sheila Kopecky - A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master is one of the nightmares that people remember less than the other entries. Perhaps, it's not that interesting, or perhaps it feels too much of a downgrade after Dream Warriors. In any case, this doesn't match the creativity of the film's kills. Most of them are awesome.
Among those, there's Sheila's. Sheila is the nerdy gal in the group of friends surrounding Kristen and her nightmares. Early on, Sheila’s shown to be asthmatic, and by that point it becomes kind of obvious that it will become useful to the plot. And it does. Her kill involves Freddy literally sucking the life out of her. In the nightmare, her lifeless body becomes a mashup of flesh and bones. It's one of Freddy's kills where the glove takes a break.
9 Julie - Wes Craven's New Nightmare
Wes Craven's New Nightmare is one of the underrated films in the series. Its meta approach involving the real actors, crew and director is incredibly ambitious and has never been retried again. This time it worked. But we don’t see this taking place again. In the film, Heather Langenkamp is living outside the Hollywood spotlight, but her participation in the Nightmare series seems to be having an effect on this realm.
The film's best kill is Julie's, the babysitter of Heather's son Dylan. It's reminiscent of a moment in the past as it takes place in a hospital room when Freddy shows up while Julie is trying to keep Dylan awake. Sadly she fails, and her death becomes a much better shot version of Tina's death in part 1. A rotating set, lots of blood and Miko Hughes' perfect performance as Dylan.
8 Taryn White — A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
For many, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors sits among one of the best in the franchise. The third installment saw the return of final girl Nancy Thompson (reprised by Heather Langenkamp), who works to help the new generation of "dream warriors" that are battling Freddy. Taryn White, played by Jennifer Rubin, is a patient at Westin Hills Asylum and one of the teens facing Krueger. Taryn finds herself at the asylum after an attempted suicide due to her drug addiction.
Unfortunately for her, Freddy uses the battle that she overcame against her. In her dream, Taryn transforms herself into a street fighter with switchblades. Freddy's glove transforms from knives to needles and after an unfair fight, Taryn meets her demise, easily making it one of the cruelest deaths in the franchise.
7 Jennifer Caulfield — A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Jennifer Caulfield, played by Penelope Sudrow, was at Westin Hills Asylum in Dream Warriors. Her dream was to be a Hollywood actress, and while at Westin Hills, she would sneak into the rec room to watch TV. On a night like so many others, Jennifer falls asleep, but this time is greeted by Freddy as he appears on a TV program. As she approaches the TV set, two robotic arms emerge from the sides and grab her. Shortly after, Freddy's head pops out of the top of the set to then slam Jennifer's head through the screen.
Dream Warriors sets a different tone for the franchise, as it is the first film to really gloss on Freddy's comedic side. The image of Freddy's head appearing out of a television saying a comedic zinger before he kills sets a new tone for the killer in the franchise.
6 Tina Gray — A Nightmare on Elm Street
Wes Craven set a tone with 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street, giving horror not only one of its most notable villains, but a beloved final girl whose legacy has withstood the test of time. Craven's first film is by far the most gruesome and horrifying in the franchise, and sees Krueger as more of a menacing killer than a predator who likes to toy with his food.
Tina Gray, played by Amanda Wyss, is Freddy's first victim in both the film and the franchise as a whole. Due to a nightmare that she had the night before, Tina asks her friends and boyfriend to stay at her house while her mom isn't home. However, nobody is able to save her from Freddy. As Tina is levitating off the bed, her boyfriend Rod (portrayed by Jsu Garcia) watches in horror until she eventually drops to the floor. Yet, Freddy isn't finished with her just yet. He later uses an image of her in a body bag to lure Nancy (portrayed by Heather Langenkamp) into his boiler room. The image of a levitating body while someone screams in terror while a loved one watches them die let audiences know this would be a very different type of slasher.
5 Dan Jordan - A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
By the point when A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child was released, the franchise had lost its steam. Dream Master hadn’t been exactly well-received, and the premise of Freddy coming back in some sort of newborn-related plot didn’t make audiences excited.
The Dream Child is exactly what you would expect. A generic Nightmare film with a cool idea that isn’t firmly executed, and some memorable kills. Dan’s among those. His death was so gnarly, it had to be slashed to bits in the editing room. Dan’s kill takes place as he takes ride on a motorcycle, falls asleep and Freddy comes in the form of the bike fusing itself with Dan’s body. We’re talking Tetsuo-like fusion. In the end, whatever’s left of Dan rides off into the sunset in a machine-human mix that will give you nightmares.
4 Greta Gibson — A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
Greta Gibson, played by Erika Anderson, may not be a household name in the Nightmare franchise like Nancy Thompson, and yet her death is one of the most memorable of the sequels. The fifth installment of the franchise shows Freddy using a pregnant teen's unborn baby as a conduit to invade her friend's dreams, and unfortunately for Greta, she becomes Freddy's second victim.
In Greta's dream, she is seated at a large dining room table, where Freddy is the over-attentive server. Krueger reveals that the food on the platter is actually Greta in doll form. He proceeds to force-feed her the doll's human organs until her face swells with food, eventually causing her to suffocate. Part 5 may not be the most notable in the franchise, but definitely holds a fair ranking as far as Greta's death goes.
3 Debbie Stevens - A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Debbie is also part of Kristen’s posse in the very MTV-influenced installment of the series. Debbie is almost obsessed with working out, and she has a particular dislike of insects. Care to guess how her kill is planned taking this into consideration.
Debbie’s is one of the best kills in the Freddy-verse. No doubt about it. During an intense workout session, Debbie decides to lift some weights. When she’s bench-pressing, Freddy shows up from behind and grabs the barbell. For some reason, Debbie doesn’t let go of it and eventually Krueger pushes down. Too hard. Her arms break elbow-level, and the audience stares in shock as the pain is visible. Not only that but from her wounds, insect-like limbs start to emerge, and slowly she begins to turn into a cockroach. We see her trapped in a small hallway where there’s some kind of glue in the floor. Debbie falls and when she tries to stand up, her skin comes off, and she’s revealed to be cockroach trapped in a roach motel that Freddy holds, but soon squishes to a pulp.
2 Phillip Anderson — A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors holds a hefty stack of some of the best Krueger kills, and Phillip Anderson's is one that can easily make you squirm. Phillip, played by Bradley Gregg, literally becomes Freddy's puppet when his arms and legs get slashed open so that Freddy can use his tendons as strings. As Phillip walks to his demise, Freddy can be seen pulling the string from above.
When ready, Freddy cuts the tendon bound strings and allows Phillip to fall from a window to his death, making it appear as though he jumped. Puppet master Freddy gets extra creative on this kill. The image of Freddy in the night sky, hovering over like a giant while Bradley falls to his death is one of the most visually striking moments in the series.
1 Glen Lantz — A Nightmare on Elm Street
Glen Lantz, played by Johnny Depp in his first film role, goes home after seeing his girlfriend Nancy, only to fall asleep on his bed with the TV on his lap. Freddy's arm emerges from below the mattress to pull Glen under, resulting in an absolute bloodbath. About 500 gallons of fake blood and an upside-down rotating room were involved in delivering one of the most memorable scenes on the franchise.
Yet, it turns out that the Glen's death was supposed to by longer, but Craven had to cut the scene due to its gruesome nature. Glen was supposed to re-emerge from the mattress covered in blood before falling limp on the bed making it all the more terrifying. This less is more death approach though is certainly the most memorable death in the series, and the fact that it involves a soon-to-be mega movie star, makes it all the more iconic.
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