Come to Freddy!
✯✯✯✯ 1/2
Wes Craven thought of Paprika and Inception's ideas more than twenty years before either of them burst onto the silver screen. That's right, I said that, and I'm sticking with it. If there's one horror villain that I had to define as the face of true terror, there's no doubt in my mind that face would be Freddy Krueger. With his ten long scraping nails and his horribly disfigured face, he would truly make a formidable central horror character, and Craven pulls him off perfectly in this freshman outing.
One, two, Freddy's coming for you...
Krueger himself doesn't have a lot of lines or a bulky amount of real screen time, but his presence is always felt by the audience and the characters. Like "It" from It Follows, Freddy has a tendency to stalk his victim, preferably through their subconscious, terrorizing their dreams and powerful enough to enter the dimension we know as "reality." Each of the teenage protagonists are fully aware of Freddy's presence, and yet the adults vehemently deny his existence. Are they hiding a deep, dark secret from the kids for their own protection? Or is this really all just one, big nightmare in the mind of one of the teens? Craven playfully toys with the psyche of his audience to keep us on our toes, and even after it's over you'll find yourself questioning which side of the story was reality or a dream.
Three, four, better lock your door.
The power of Freddy Krueger knows no bounds. Even in the daytime, if any victim falls prey to the tempting snare of sleep, he will entrap the victim, in an attempt to destroy them from the inside. Even locking your door at night doesn't help matters, as Freddy can easily transport through people's subconscious. He doesn't need a physical method of moving from place to place, he only needs a live mind, and a dormant body.
Five, six, grab your crucifix...
As with all supernatural horrors, the biggest protection one may have against the menacing Freddy Krueger is to keep a Crucifix in a visible spot at all times. The power of the vessel that bears a portion of the Holy Spirit will banish any and all demons from your domain, guaranteeing protection against the most dangerous of invisible threats. Problem is, Freddy isn't a demon. He probably isn't even a ghost at this point. At one time, he was just a regular guy, like you and me, yet he continues to roam the earth, searching for victims to devour and pull into the abyss. If you're not careful, Freddy will get you next.
Seven, eight, better stay up late.
So how exactly do you combat a horrific villain who murders through the subconscious dreams of his victims? It's quite simple, really. Just stay awake. If Freddy can't find a dormant mind to enter, he can't cause subconscious nightmares, and you are pretty much invincible. But no one is that strong. What happens when you fall asleep? How will you ever defend yourself against the terror of the undead serial killer? While the subparDream Warriors chooses to answer this for us, I always prefer to go for the classic standard...
Nine, ten, never sleep again.
That's right, kids. You don't. There's no real defense against a dream killer, the only real way to defend yourself is to have a friend awake at all times watching you intently, stirring you awake if you begin to have a terrifying, Freddy-induced nightmare. Once you are awake again, you're guaranteed safety from his menacing ways. Unless...
The problem is, we all need sleep. So there really is no final defense against Freddy, unless the victim wants to subject himself to endless hours of hospital observance while sleeping. The real horror in Wes Craven's Nightmare on Elm Street is the unrelenting feeling of complete and utter helplessness. You can try all you want to repel the vicious rampages of Freddy Krueger, but at the end of the night, you will find yourself beaten, half-asleep, and completely defenseless.
Then he takes you.