Ranking Every Freddy Krueger Portrayal: From Scariest to Silliest

in Movies & TV

Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Kruger in his boiler room in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' reboot

Credit: Platinum Dunes / New Line Cinema

Freddy Krueger is the most iconic figure in horror. Any villain who’s able to terrorize and kill his victims in their dreams was always going to rank high in the annals of cinema history, but his unforgettable appearance and equally memorable one-liners certainly helped.

But while there have only been two actors who’ve donned the dream demon attire, there have been multiple portrayals. With nine films under his hat, Freddy has undergone many changes over the past 40 years, so let’s have a quick nap and take a trip down memory lane.

Goofy Freddy Krueger — Dream Master, Dream Child, and Final Nightmare

Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) in 'Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare'
Credit: New Line Cinema

We thought it would be best to lump these three A Nightmare on Elm Street sequels together seeing as they’re just as bad as one another (although there is a case to be made that the franchise-killing Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare is the worst of the three).

Following the critical and financial success of A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: Dream Warriors (1987), the series inexplicably took a sharp nosedive in quality, spewing out three more sequels between 1988 — 1991, each of them absolutely dreadful in their own right.

While Robert Englund does his best with what he’s given, gone is the sadistic ruler of the dreamworld — instead, we get an absurdly goofy villain more akin to The Looney Tunes‘ Bugs Bunny. The face prosthetics are also really cheap-looking in these three films.

Related: ‘Elm Street’ Reboot May Feature a Female Freddy Krueger

Jackie Earle Haley’s Freddy Krueger — A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Kruger in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' reboot
Credit: Platinum Dunes / New Line Cinema

Jackie Earle Haley also drew the short straw when it came to playing Freddy Krueger in 2010’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, which is a direct remake of the original 1984 film by Wes Craven. He also had very big boots to fill, so it’s fair to say he was doomed from the start.

To date, Haley is the only other actor to have portrayed the dream demon Freddy Krueger in an official capacity. Like Englund in the fourth, fifth, and sixth Elm Street films, Haley does his best with the script, and even manages to sneak in some semi-memorable one-liners.

Ultimately, though, he doesn’t hold a candle to Englund, and he’s also bogged down by a dreadful film. But A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) isn’t just boring — it lacks imagination, which is a pretty serious crime in a franchise that spends a lot of time in the dream world.

Related: Original ‘Elm Street’ Actors on Returning for Anime Reboot

Battle-Ready Freddy — Freddy vs. Jason

Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger (L) and Ken Kirzinger as Jason Voorhees (R) in 'Freddy vs. Jason'
Credit: New Line Cinema

Freddy vs. Jason (2003) acts as a sequel of sorts to both the previous A Nightmare on Elm Street films and the Friday the 13th films (although it feels more like an Elm Street installment). But the crossover flick tries to return Krueger to his darker roots, somewhat.

In parts three, four, and five of the Elm Street series, Robert Englund’s Freddy Krueger is a horrible parody of his former-self, and though Freddy vs. Jason certainly leans into the darkly comic side of the iconic dream stalker, it also tries to retain those darker elements.

Freddy isn’t scary in the film, though, but he’s certainly the main villain of the piece. Given the absurd premise, it’s understandable why the filmmakers chose not to abandon his more crowd-pleasing side — after all, that side of his persona helped make him a horror icon.

The Freddy Krueger Who Isn’t Freddy Krueger — Wes Craven’s New Nightmare

Freddy Krueger in 'Wes Craven's New Nightmare'
Credit: New Line Cinema

Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) might not be part of the original Elm Street series canonically, but it gives Robert Englund’s Springwood Slasher a much-needed makeover following the disasters that were the final three installments in the main franchise.

Set in the “real world” in which the Elm Street movies are just movies, the seventh entry follows franchise final girl Nancy Thompson actress Heather Langenkamp as herself, when she starts to become terrorized by an entity that appears in the form of Freddy Krueger.

Freddy, once again played by Englund, is pretty terrifying. With a more witch-like appearance (there are Hansel & Gretel breadcrumbs everywhere), and a new look, which includes new scars and an overcoat, he’s the stuff of the nightmares as always intended.

Related: Brand-New ‘Elm Street’ Sequel Is Now Available to Watch Online!

The OG — A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Freddy’s Revenge

Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger in 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' 1984
Credit: New Line Cinema

The original portrayal of Freddy came in Wes Craven’s landmark horror movie A Nightmare on Elm Street. With his red-and-green-striped sweater, fedora hat, razor-clawed glove, and terrifying burns, the Springwood Slasher is the most iconic horror figure in cinema, period.

For the most part, Robert Englund maintains the same appearance and tone for Freddy in both the original 1984 film and the first sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street: Freddy’s Revenge (1985) — a pure evil, insanely sadistic, and cackling monster straight from hell.

The original Freddy Krueger from the first two films remains the darkest and most menacing version in the entire franchise (although you could probably argue that Jackie Earle Haley’s iteration is equally vile and wicked). But, he still isn’t the best portrayal of them all.

The Perfect Freddy Krueger — Dream Warriors

Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) in a tunnel in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors'
Credit: New Line Cinema

The most memorable portrayal of Freddy comes from A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: Dream Warriors. Often touted as the best film in the entire series after the original 1984 classic, the threequel gives us a Freddy that embodies darkness and humor in equal measure.

Robert Englund strikes a perfect balance between pure evil and crowd-pleasing horror movie villain — but that doesn’t mean it’s split right down the middle. Dream Warriors‘ Krueger is mostly terrifying, but his menacing quips are among the most memorable in the franchise.

This version of Freddy Krueger also benefits from being part of a pretty outstanding Elm Street sequel — some argue that it’s even better than the original, which isn’t all that surprising. The film has some of the best kills in the series, and a truly eerie atmosphere.

Do you agree with this ranking of all the different portrayals of Freddy Krueger? Let us know in the comments below!

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