MovieChat Forums > A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) Discussion > What IS Freddy?!?!

What IS Freddy?!?!

posted 10 years ago by CGlMDB
12 replies | jump to latest

So earlier today I was trying to explain Freddy to someone who's never seen any of the Elm Streets, & I realized something interesting that never occurred to me before.

What IS Freddy?!?!

Really, think about it.

He was once a living person, but he's not really a ghost in the traditional sense.
He's not a demon, because again, he was once human.
He exists in some parallel realm, so is he like an astral-projectionist?

I've also been trying to think of another horror character who's the same sort of being, but I really can't. The closest I can come up with is the demon in Insidious, but he was never a living being.

Anyone? Anyone?

[–] haroldbishoplives 10 years ago

Good point! The best I can come up with is that he is a wraith, like the Grim Reaper. When he decides he is coming for you, you are dead. Not necessarily a ghost, but he can reveal himself at will.

In the originals he is a demon in the later sequels.

[–] CaptainClaudius9 10 years ago

The villain Candyman from the first Candyman film, not the sequels, is probably the best illustration as to what Freddy is or could be. The Candyman is an urban legend who becomes personified when someone doubts that he exists. He then becomes real because he is real and corrects the person who doubted that he was real.

With that in mind I think Freddy is a concept personified. The rage and revenge that lead to his death becomes personified and takes the from of Freddy who then takes his own form of revenge and rage against the kids of those who killed him.

The tie-in with the nightmares is not as easily explained, other than the psychological trauma that the teenagers suppressed that must somehow allow Freddy to enter into their dreams.

[–] CGlMDB 10 years ago

You're RIGHT, Candyman is a great comparison! Good call!

[–] actionmanrandell 10 years ago

In the originals it explains that he is a dream demon. well not really a dream demon but the agent of some dream demons it explains in one of the originals that when he died he went to hell and was contracted by 3 dream demons. they said they would grant him immortality if he killed for them. being a murderer he agreed and they gave him power over dreams.

in short he is a dream master

[–] CGlMDB 10 years ago

Is that the one where all of the teens are in a mental hospital & their therapist kind of looks like Bill Maher?

[–] actionmanrandell 10 years ago

it was in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare aka A Nightmare on Elm Street 6: Freddy's Dead

also another thing it actually explains in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

that the reason he is insane is because his mother was a nun in a luny bin and was raped by 100 criminally insane men. in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors it states that he is actually the bastard son of all 100 of his mothers rapist.

[–] CGlMDB 10 years ago

You're right, they did get into his background more in a couple of the movies. I think what tripped me up was this damn remake, which I regret seeing at all. They simplified the story down to almost nothing, as if the teenagers were supposed to be interesting enough on their own when they were totally one-dimensional. I think Freddy is probably the most fascinating horror villain ever & he was reduced to a cartoon!

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] michaeluk26 10 years ago

I swear to God in reading your post I thought it was something I posted. I have literally said all of the exact same things as you on this board. Well done.

Haters gonna hate

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] the_secret_door 9 years ago

Great question! Much as I love the character, I'd never really thought about it before. Freddy is an excellent, original creation, isn't he?

I haven't seen all the sequels...the deal with three demons sounds corny. Thinking of him like a mythic concept or living urban legend like the Candyman or Bloody Mary is cool.

[–] artivash 9 years ago

Freddy is "evil" plain and simple.
A legit personification of evil.
He was so evil in life that he became a demonic-type entity after death.
Honestly, IMO it's best not to bog down a fictional supernatural character with any sort of scientific RL logic lol.
It defeats the purpose of such mythical monsters.
Like trying to logically define the anatomy and ecosystem of The Kraken.

But as far as fantasy monsters go, I'd set Freddy firmly in the murderous poltergeist camp, or perhaps a "legit" demon who has adopted his mannerisms and persona (since he was so evil and all).
Definitely a spook/ghost type of entity.
His spirit was SO evil that it lingered behind as a horrible ghost.
Think of the ghosts from "The Grudge".
When something that evil goes down, that evil lingers in this world. The ghosts are not truly the people they once were, just a hollow mockery of their former selves.
It's that evil that lingers.
Freddy was, indeed, a man, and that man is now dead. But his evil lingers...

That's the best way I can make logic of fiction lol.