Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare On Elm Street is one of the most popular slasher villains as he's instantly recognizable, he's very creepy, and his unique ability to chase people in their dreams makes him terrifying. Throughout the entire franchise, various characters including final girl Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) try to defeat him, but the focus is often on them being scared of Freddy. It turns out that there is something that this memorable killer is afraid of, and it haunts him just as much as he torments his victims.
Freddy Krueger's backstory in Springwood, Ohio is the reason why he goes on a killing spree that seems never-ending, and he is more fleshed out than many other slasher villains. His biggest fear says a lot about his motives and whether anyone can win against him.
Freddy Krueger Is Afraid Of Fire Because This Is How He Dies
Freddy Krueger's most creative kills all stem from his fear: fire. Several years before the events of A Nightmare On Elm Street, he killed many people and was known as the Springwood Slasher. The parents of his child victims wanted to get revenge on him and tried to kill him in a boiler room by setting him on fire. Freddy's fire of fear can be traced back to this moment. When Freddy visits characters in their dreams, if they knew that he was afraid of fire, then they might be able to survive.
While Freddy isn't a sympathetic figure because of the pain that he causes, he does have a more emotional backstory than many other villains in the slasher subgenre, and it's easy to see that he never forgets this part of his history. This makes him more compelling than most since it gives him something to think about besides killing again, and a major character in the sequel is able to use Freddy's greatest fear against him.
Jesse Uses Fire To Stop Freddy In A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
While many would say that the original A Nightmare On Elm Street movie is the best one, the 1987 sequel A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge does have one of the most memorable final boys in horror movies in Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton). Jesse is the vessel through which Freddy wants to come into the actual world and leave the dream world behind.
While the film has some corny moments and can't really be classified as scary, it's definitely unnerving to see this villain taking over Jesse's body in this way. Jesse sends Freddy to the dream world by setting him on fire in the boiler room. Although Jesse is given credit for defeating Freddy, the joy is short-lived, and in the final scene, it's revealed that Freddy has gotten back inside Jesse's body.
It's also worth noting that while Jesse is able to temporarily halt Freddy's killing spree, his girlfriend Lisa Webber (Kim Myers) is the one who figures out Freddy's story, and she uses her determined personality to get the job done. This scene also suggests that Freddy is afraid to love as well as being haunted by the memory of being burned to death, as Jesse's feelings for Lisa are what stop Freddy.
Can Freddy Be Defeated?
A Nightmare On Elm Street will always be considered one of the best 1980s horror movies thanks to Freddy's mastery of the dream world. While Jesse halts his power for a little while, there is another character who seems to defeat him, and he's another memorable slasher villain: Jason Voorhees. The 2003 horror movie Freddy vs. Jason is better than people think and it features an epic showdown between the two iconic killers, something that is still unforgettable all these years later. While Jason is able to remove Freddy's arm, Lori Campbell (Monica Keena) is the character who proves the strongest and most compelling here. She uses a machete to remove Freddy's head, and Freddy goes into the lake.
It's clever that the ending of Freddy vs. Jason is vague as Jason leaves the lake with Freddy's head and the machete and Freddy laughs and winks, suggesting he is still alive. This proves that Freddy is as powerful as he has always seemed to be and that no one can really defeat him.
Although Freddy Krueger is the king of slasher villains, if his intended victims could use his fear of fire against him, then they would be like Jesse and be able to defeat him, even temporarily. While Nancy impressively stands up to Freddy and does what she can to beat him, it's interesting to think what would have happened if she had followed the plan that Jesse and Lisa come up with in the sequel.