The Many Faces of Robert Englund

A Quarter-Century of Krueger: Variations on Freddy

When you're virtually omnipotent in the dream world the way Freddy Krueger is, you can take an almost limitless host of different forms and appearances. This is part of what makes Fred such a memorable slasher. Here's a look back at some of the most famous (and infamous) incarnations of Elm Street's favorite psycho...

"Snake Freddy" devours Patricia Arquette in Dream Warriors.

In a twisted ode to Lewis Carroll, Krueger appears as a stoner caterpillar in Freddy vs. Jason.

It's a bird, it's a plane... no, it's Super Freddy, from The Dream Child.

"Welcome to prime time, bitch!" So says the rather crass Krueger in Part 3.

Freddy's charred skeleton battles the swarthy John Saxon, also from Part 3.

The very creepy marionette Freddy from Dream Warriors--damn, that movie has some good ones...

Cool, dude! Freddy on the beach in The Dream Master.

A cross-dressing Krueger, also from Part 4.

The notorious Power-Glove Krueger from Freddy's Dead--which leads to...

Video-Game Freddy! Probably not the franchise's finest moment.

And finally, also from Part 6, Wicked Witch Freddy. "I'll get you, my pretty! And your little soul, too!" Ugh.

A Quarter-Century of Krueger: Happy Birthday, Dear Freddy...

For this week's edition of QCK, I'd like to very simply wish a happy and healthy 60th BIRTHDAY (really??) to the one and only Robert Englund, a.k.a. the original Freddy Krueger himself.

As much as I'd like to talk a bit about Englund and his impressive career, the fine blog Monsterland has already done an excellent job, so I'll just point you there. Plus, I have my grade school reunion to attend in Brooklyn tonight, and need some time to make myself pretty and for the grueling 70-mile drive...

And incidentally, if you'd like to read a terrific post on Englund's co-star in the original Nightmare on Elm Street, Heather Langenkamp, head right over here. Just sayin'...

Freddy: The Early Years?

File this one under "long -standing and incredibly stubborn rumors." This probably is far from news to anyone who closely follows the horror movie scuttlebutt on the internet, but the persistent talk of a Nightmare on Elm Street prequel is something that, much like Freddy Krueger himself, just won't die.
It's been whispered about ever since a March 2006 interview that Nightmare star Robert Englund gave to the Pit of Horror, in which he described a film tentatively titled A Nightmare on Elm Street: The First Kills (also rumored to have the far superior title Elm Street: The First Murders) The proposed flick would deal with Freddy's often-recounted backstory, in which he sliced up a bunch of schoolkids and was burned alive by revenge-minded parents after his acquittal.
New Line is said to still be eyeing the project, but there hasn't been any movement in months, despite great interest from the fanbase. It's expected that Englund would reprise his role as everyone's favorite bastard son of a thousand maniacs. Hey, if studios are willing to greenlight every half-assed remake that comes down the pike, surely they can give this a chance.