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August 13, 2003
Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) was a disturbed young man who murdered small children, but after lawyers managed to get Krueger off on a technicality, the community of Elm Street rose up in anger. The parents on the street (including those of the murdered children) hunted down Krueger, set his house on fire, and burned him alive.
Because he was killed so violently, Freddy was unable to go to Hell, instead winding up in some nether region where he has been able to stay connected to the Elm Street families by entering their dreams. Attacking the children of Elm Street, Freddy has been able to exact some revenge for his own murder. By killing them in their dreams, the children die in real life. So, it would seem, if you can avoid falling asleep, you can avoid Freddy. It's just not that simple as we have seen in the Elm Street movies.
Freddy's appeal as a villain is universal because everyone has had a nightmare at one time in their life. To think a madman like this could crawl into your head and screw with you is terrifying; when he actually does it to the kids on Elm Street, it is. Part of his advantage in dream land, besides knowing how to manipulate it for his own use, is his signiture look. The hat, the striped sweater, and of course, the glove full of razor-sharp knives.
In the various sequels, Freddy's learned to embrace his sense of humor, torturing the children (and anyone in his way) in deliciously disgusting ways. In 2003, he will finally square off against another horror icon, Jason Voorhees, and perhaps we will discover who will win the long-awaited battle. However, I think we all know Freddy vs. Jason will merely be the Round 1 of a new fight. One can only imagine who else may get involved.
INTELLIGENCE - 5: From the cleverness of the original to the dumbness of the later flicks, it all averages out.
POWER - 8: His only drawback is that he hasn't figured out a way to kill people while they're AWAKE. In dreamland, he rules.
VILENESS - 10: Slicing, dicing, and exploding teenagers on ceilings, in beds - he's done it all and more.
SWAY - 9: Extremely intimidating, but also loves to turn on the charm.
PURITY - 8: A complete nutbag, he's been known to show occasional weakness.
PHYSICAL - 10: The glove is an immortal horror icon. Nothing creeps you out more than this guy in a dark alley.
TOTAL: 50
Posted by Destro at August 13, 2003 04:31 PM