20 Awesome Freddy Krueger Death Scenes
There will be blood...
Rod A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
The Victim: Rod Lane.
Cause Of Death: Banged up in jail on suspicion of killing his girlfriend, Rod (Jsu Garcia) is Freddy's second ever victim. Trapped behind bars, he's easy prey for Krueger, who wraps a blanket around Rod's neck and strings him up. Naturally, it's assumed he committed suicide...
Freddy's Killer Quote: N/A
Dan A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)
The Victim: Dan Jordan.
Cause Of Death: Dan (Danny Hassel) is all about the hot wheels, so naturally he meets his maker while astride a motorcycle. Slipping into the dream world, he's confronted by Freddy, who materialises as part of the bike – his face is a metallic monstrosity. Worse still, he skewers Dan using the bike's parts, finally killing him. Speed demon, indeed.
Freddy's Killer Quote: “Fuel injection!”
Debbie A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
The Victim: Debbie Stevens.
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Cause Of Death: One of the most surreal deaths in the franchise, poor Debbie (Brooke Theiss) really gets put through it. As if having her arms snapped while working out wasn't bad enough, she's then turned into a gooey fly. David Cronenberg would approve.
Freddy's Killer Quote: “No pain, no gain!”
Glen A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
The Victim: Glen Lantz.
Cause Of Death: Despite girlfriend Nancy warning him not to fall asleep, skinniest-jock-ever Glen (Johnny Depp) finally succumbs to the lure of sleep. And before you can say 'see you in Hell', Glen's sucked through his bed and a torrent of blood explodes upwards, signalling that Freddy's just claimed another victim...
Freddy's Killer Quote: N/A
Taryn A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
The Victim: Taryn White.
Cause Of Death: Freddy turns Taryn's worst fears against her in one of the franchise's nastiest but most iconic kills. Despite Taryn dressing herself up as a punk (with impressive towering 'do), Freddy finds her weakness when he transforms his fingers into syringes and injects her with a deadly cocktail that looks like something you'd use to clean the toilet. Poor Taryn.
Freddy's Killer Quote: “Let's get high.”
Jennifer A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
The Victim: Jennifer Caulfield.
Cause Of Death: Aspiring actress Jennifer gets a taste of what being inside a TV's like, literally, thanks to a little Freddy meddling. Unaware that she's fallen asleep, Jennifer sits watching TV, only for the set to transform into a Freddy monster that grabs her and smashes her head into the screen. Bonus points for including a Zsa Zsa Gabor cameo.
Freddy's Killer Quote: “Welcome to prime time, bitch!”
Nancy A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
The Victim: Nancy Thompson.
Cause Of Death: Nobody's safe when it comes to Freddy Krueger. Despite having survived her first encounter with the dream weaver, Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) finally meets the pointy ends of his claws during this threequel's emotional climax. Believing Freddy to be dead, Nancy embraces her father, only for him to be revealed as Freddy in disguise. Night night, Nancy.
Freddy's Killer Quote: “DIE!”
Sheila A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
The Victim: Sheila Kopecky.
Cause Of Death: Asthmatic Sheila (Toy Newkirk) gets the kiss of death when she falls asleep in class – surely these kids should have learnt by now that snoozing at school is the worst thing they could do? Clasped in Freddy's hands, Sheila's forced to pucker up and receive a smooch from Freddy, who sucks the life out of her, leaving her skin empty. Hollow victory, if you ask us.
Freddy's Killer Quote: “Wanna suck face?”
Phillip A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
The Victim: Phillip Anderson.
Cause Of Death: Freddy turns puppet master in this singularly grisly death scene, which only just misses out on the franchise's top spot. Marionette-obsessed Phillip finds out what it's like to have somebody pulling your strings when Freddy uses the tendons in his arms and legs to turn him into a walking, talking puppet. Then he walks him off the edge of a very tall building...
Freddy's Killer Quote: N/A
Tina A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
The Victim: Tina Gray.
Cause Of Death: Freddy's first ever kill remains his most horrific and memorable. After stalking Tina (Amanda Wyss) good and proper (taunting her by chasing her through a boiler room... making his arms go all long and wibbly...), Freddy turns gravity on its head by dragging Tina up the wall onto the ceiling, all while shredding her to pieces. Searing, bloody, nightmarish stuff.
Freddy's Killer Quote: “THIS is God.”
Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.