Five Bad Sequels That Were Almost Good

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Wicked Horror is the author of Five Bad Sequels That Were Almost Good. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Many horror sequels don’t live up to the original. Many more are simply bad. But nobody sets out to make a bad sequel. Things just get in the way, whether it be time budget or any other considerations that have to be made. Today, we will be looking at some sequels that didn’t turn out great, but had the potential to be something special. These follow ups dealt with numerous factors, from studio intervention to extreme budget cuts to simply not knowing how to please the audience. Also See: Early Slasher Films That Should Have Become Classics  A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child Dream Child may be the least-effective of the Elm Street films because of its completely inconsistent tone. The movie tries to be a dark, serious story but Freddy is completely over-the-top funny. The movie had the potential to be one of the better, more imaginative sequels. It has a stronger core concept than Dream Master. The story is topical, with Freddy trying to invade the dream-space through the dreams of the lead character’s unborn child. The characters are fleshed out, but not much is done with them. It could have been the perfect opportunity to return Freddy to his darker roots which were explored in the first three films, but instead he became a wise-cracking clown and wound up feeling almost out of place in his own movie. Related: Why The Dream Child is the Least Effective Nightmare on Elm Street Film Seed of Chucky  The comedy in Seed of Chucky is not the problem, as the franchise had always held a sense of humor. Nor is there a problem with the gender-bending plot, that’s more inventive than anything else. The true problem with Seed of Chucky is how unfinished it feels. It was clearly a lower-budget Chucky movie, which is odd considering the enormous success of the previous sequel, Bride of Chucky. There are funny moments and funny subplots, but they run all over each other. Seed of Chucky feels almost like three movies at once and none of them are altogether whole. It’s good for the occasional laugh, but isn’t as enjoyable on the same level as the other movies in its series. Related: Defending Seed of Chucky (Sort of) Hellraiser: Bloodline  There was a lot that went into Hellraiser: Bloodline in order to make it one of the worst entries in its series. The studio wanted to make it much cheaper than the story would allow. What could have been a great, ambitious tale instead became a sad, rushed production. The movie needed a healthy run time in order to work, but instead, a story meant to be nearly three hours was cut down to around 80 minutes. Pinhead still got some great one liners but his scenes didn’t add much to the overall quality of the film. The space sequences that were meant to be bookends wound up taking up too much time when most of the middle was cut out. Related: How Hellraiser: Bloodline Went From An Ambitious Franchise Saver To The Pin In The Coffin Texas Chainsaw  Texas Chainsaw started out promising. It offered an ambitious new direction. With a little more focus on the math and the smaller details, it could have worked. Instead it feels almost like a project that was accidentally released theatrically. Everything about it feels straight-to-video. It doesn’t know entirely what it wants to be, at least not until well into the second act. With just a bit more polishing and a bit more money, it could have been one of the most memorable in the Chainsaw franchise. Instead, it’s a silly, sort of half-assed attempt at doing something new and original. Even the respect paid to the original movie feels half-hearted after the opening scene. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan Jason Takes Manhattan isn’t a bad movie simply because of its concept. But it’s a bad movie for numerous other reasons. One of its greatest problems is that it can’t even deliver on what its title promises to a satisfactory extent. Manhattan doesn’t enter the film until over an hour in. But the original script used much more of the New York sights. Both the Statue of Liberty and Madison Square Garden were chief factors in the first drafts. But many original ideas had to be cut for budgetary reasons. There was no way they would be able to film that much in New York, so instead we have a final film with only one scene actually filmed in the city. Related: Why Jason Takes Manhattan is the Most Misleading Horror Sequel, Ever

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The Lighthouse is a Dazzling Must See [DVD Review]

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Wicked Horror is the author of The Lighthouse is a Dazzling Must See [DVD Review]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

“Doldrums. Doldrums. Eviler than the Devil. Boredom makes men to villains.” It may not come as a shock to learn that one of my favorite pastimes is going to the movies. Preferably alone. A group of strangers come together, shut off their phones, munch on their favorite snacks, and collectively experience someone’s labor of love? It’s oddly therapeutic. It’s the ultimate form of self care. It’s something I cannot recommend highly enough. Out of my countless trips to the theatre I can say, with confidence, that my most immersive and utterly jarring movie watching experience came in the form of Robert Eggers’ (The Witch) The Lighthouse. Also See: Robert Eggers Helmed Nosferatu Remake off the Table for Now [Exclusive] Eggers’ highly anticipated sophomore film follows two fellows (Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson) stationed at a lighthouse located on a remote area in New England. Tensions quickly rise as the two men butt heads over every decision. Things only get stranger when they slowly begin to lose their sanity thanks to an approaching storm that leaves them stranded on the island. I’m still not able to wrap my head around how such a visually pleasing film could leave such a deranging impression. Being shot in 35mm film, in a narrow, nearly square 1.19:1 aspect ratio, The Lighthouse permeates such a terrible sense of anxiety and dread throughout most of the film. The aspect ratio evokes a kind claustrophobia that makes for an outstanding and rare movie watching experience that I know I won’t soon forget. And the symbolism! The one eyed seabird, the deal with the mermaid, the mysterious enchantment of the light, I imagine this will be a major conversation starter among film students for decades. Also See: Your Savior Arrives in A24’s Saint Maud Trailer Of course this ripping ride would be nothing without the superb performances by Dafoe and Pattinson. Dafoe was wild, entertaining, and comes across like he was born to play the role of such a gruff and gross individual. Pattinson emerges as a total powerhouse, I can’t recall the last time I’ve witnessed a performance so alienating and distant, yet so warm at the same time. It’s a beacon of vulnerability in the middle of all the existential peril. It’s almost comical to remember that this is the same guy that once played a sparkly vampire. I feel like I’m having a proud mother moment. Oh, how far we’ve come. Well, what else can I say? Honestly not much else without totally ruining the movie for you. It really is one of those things you need to experience for yourself just because it’s so weird. Weird in a wonderful way. But weird nonetheless. Eggers’ The Lighthouse is an instant classic that unapologetically deals a swift but heavy blow, guaranteed to leave a lasting impression. Whether or not that’s a good thing is completely up to you, dear reader. It’s one of those movies that is damn near perfect. It leaves you in a constant state of dread as to what might happen next; which is basically impossible to predict thanks to the lunatic characters. Hypnotic, gorgeous and unsettling, The Lighthouse is an absolute must see that I cannot praise enough. It would be a great disservice to you film buffs out there to miss out on such a dazzling flick. Lucky for you, you have the chance to make this a permanent part of your collection. Rewatching the film at home, I was delighted to see that the DVD release includes an insightful commentary with director Robert Eggers, a handful of deleted scenes, and a behind-the-scenes featurette. The Lighthouse is available on home video now. WICKED RATING: 9/10  Director(s): Robert Eggers Writer(s): Robert Eggers and Max Eggers Stars: Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson and Valeriia Karamän Release Date: January 7th (Home Video) Studio/ Production Co: A24 Language: English Runtime: 110-Minutes Follow us on social media! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.

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The Butcher of Paris #2 “Reign of Beasts” [Comic Review]

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Wicked Horror is the author of The Butcher of Paris #2 “Reign of Beasts” [Comic Review]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

The shorter a story is, the less room it has to sag. At four issues, The Butcher of Paris is going to be about as short as limited comic series get. Unfortunately, the second issue, “The Reign of Beasts,” doesn’t do much to advance the plot or help readers better understand the characters.  “The Reign of Beasts” opens like an episode of Law and Order. Three children, playing in the river Seine, find what they think is a treasure chest. When they dredge it up, what they find is as far from gold as it can get. From there, the story hops to the coroner, who’s trying to reconstruct the mess of limbs discovered last issue. Dr. Petiot is nowhere to be seen, and while our protagonist—father and son detectives Massu and Massu—are still chasing him, the Nazis occupying Paris are less interested. One commander, distracted by a sex worker, agrees, “You can have ten men if it’ll get you to leave me and this woman in peace.”  The theme of this issue, and maybe The Butcher of Paris as a whole, seems to be that the Nazis didn’t care much if someone else was killing Jews. Writer Stephanie Phillips and artist Dean Kotz do a good job showing how a serial murderer slipped through the bureaucratic cogs, which is all the more chilling knowing the series is based on a true story. There’s an especially poignant scene early on where the coroner puts the systemic apathy into words: “It’s a convenience.”  Outside of that emotional highlight, Phillips and Kotz also make good use of color while the elder Massu is having a flashback to one of his previous investigation. The setting disappears, and the panel bleeds red behind him. It’s a quick, effective way to communicate his mental state.  Of course, none of this really advances the story. “Reign of Beasts” slips into a holding pattern, but The Butcher of Paris is an important story. Phillips and Kotz are shedding light onto a tragedy that could have and should have been stopped.  The Butcher of Paris #2, “Reign of Beasts” from Dark Horse Comics will hit shelves January 8, 2020.  Wicked Rating – 6/10 See our coverage of previous issues here –  Issue 1  Follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube

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Wrinkles The Clown Shows Exactly How Not to Make a Documentary [Review]

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Wicked Horror is the author of Wrinkles The Clown Shows Exactly How Not to Make a Documentary [Review]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Michael Beach Nichols’ documentary Wrinkles the Clown sets out (in part) to explore modern folklore and the way that information and urban legends are circulated in the digital era. Unfortunately, it spends very little time offering a thorough and balanced analysis and instead opts for cheap gags and misdirection.  One of the first problems I had with the flick is that the collection of footage is haphazard, random, and often pertains only tangentially to the topic at hand. The film’s 78-minute runtime is padded with clips from film, television, and YouTube. Some of the excerpts further the story that is being told but a lot of the content is way off topic or simply overkill. In one such instance, we spend what feels like eons with a young boy explaining just how he would take down the titular clown.    Another issue I had is that the story bounces around to the point where the film often feels almost directionless. There is a startling lack of subject matter experts weighing in. Where we should see talking heads pontificating on why our society is so terrified of clowns, we instead have endless clips of YouTubers calling Wrinkles to prove that he really exists and or showing their friends how brave they really are.  Also See: New Killer Klowns from Outer Space Film in Development! My biggest gripe with Wrinkles the Clown is that it features an incredibly frustrating reveal at the 50-minute mark. There’s really no call for misdirection in a documentary. A good doc should present the viewer with all of the information, provide commentary on both sides of the issue at hand, and allow the viewer to draw their own conclusion from there. Wrinkles The Clown utilizes deliberate and intentional misdirection, which calls into question everything else being reported in the ‘documentary’. I will refrain from saying any more about that to avoid giving too much away for anyone still interested in checking out the film.   The footage that follows the ‘twist’ (for lack of a better descriptive word) more closely adheres to the template of a documentary film, but there are fewer than 30-minutes remaining in the picture’s runtime at that point. I strongly suspect that director Michael Beach Nichols knew he didn’t have enough material to make a full length doc, so he tried to get creative. Often, creativity is a good thing but it’s rarely, if ever called for in fact-based accounts such as this.  The most terrifying aspect of Wrinkles the Clown (and perhaps unintentionally so) is that it suggests that parents voluntarily enlist Wrinkles’ ‘services’ for the sole purpose of scaring the living s**t out of their children. Said parents do so in the hopes that their hellion(s) will thereafter be better behaved. But what does it say about our society when parents will knowingly and willingly terrify their children. If your child is so unruly that you are willing to hire someone to scare them, maybe it’s time  to pick up a parenting book.  The most compelling aspect of the doc is that we are given the opportunity to see the impact Wrinkles has had on young children. Some of them are so frightened by the masked man that they are unable to fall asleep. If this documentary does one thing, I hope that it makes parents more aware of the fragile nature of their child’s psyche.  Wrinkles the Clown is now available on DVD from Magnet Releasing.  WICKED RATING: 4/10  Director(s): Michael Beach NicholsWriter(s): Michael Beach Nichols, Christopher K. WalkerRelease: 01/07/20 (Home Video) Studio: Magnet Releasing Language: English  Length: 78-Minutes  Follow us on social media! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.

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Was Freddy Krueger’s Body Just Identified?

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Wicked Horror is the author of Was Freddy Krueger’s Body Just Identified?. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

On the first day of the new year, it was reported that the bones of Joseph Henry Loveless, bootlegger and murderer, had finally been identified. In 1979 his torso was found in in a burlap sack in a cave buried in an 18 inch grave. In 1991, his disembodied hand and legs were found in the same area. However, the body parts were unidentified until 2019 when it was discovered they were the remains of Joseph Henry Loveless. Loveless has many aliases, including Charles Smith, Walter Currans, and Walter Cairns. However, his picture, as depicted above, looks similar to an unburned version of A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger. Interestingly, Joseph Loveless had a religious upbringing as he was born in Utah in 1870 to mormon parents that followed Brigham Young to the new promised land. Also see: Ten of the Most Vicious Freddy Krueger Kills Loveless himself had already fathered one daughter from a previous marriage before he met his second wife, Agnes Caldwell. After being married to Agnes for 8 years and having four children with her, Loveless brutally murdered her with an ax and was subsequently arrested on May 5th, 1916 under the name Charles Smith. Just 13 days later, Loveless escaped jail after he sawed the bars of his cell using a saw blade he had in his shoe. After he escaped, a wanted poster (pictured below) was issued with a physical description of him, but he was never seen again. Thanks to the DNA Doe Project, a volunteer organization that seeks to identify remains using forensic genealogy, the discovery was made in late 2019. During their search for Loveless’ identity, about 32,000 people were compared to the remains over a 40 year span until a living grandson of Loveless was identified. The grandson, who is unnamed, is 87 years old, and volunteered a DNA sample after being contacted. Overall, while the comparison to Freddy Krueger is an interesting one, the reality of Loveless’ life makes his untimely end unsurprising. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of accessible information about what happened during Loveless’ criminal career, but it appears that Agnes Caldwell was avenged. _____________________________________ Follow us on social media! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Youtube.

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Nat’s Top 10 Horror Movies of 2019

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Wicked Horror is the author of Nat’s Top 10 Horror Movies of 2019. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

2019 was an incredible year for horror. I saw more horror theatrically this year than I have in a long, long time. Some of these were movies I was anticipating right out of the gate, either for the property being adapted or for the filmmakers themselves. Some took a different approach than I expected and others just completely took me by surprise. We got a ton of original films that really leaned into their originality and weirdness, as well as many remakes and sequels that thankfully took a very different approach and proved to be much more refreshing than expected, reinterpreting their respective worlds as all good sequels and remakes should do. Before I get into the list, though, I should definitely clarify that there is still a ton that I haven’t seen, even a lot of really celebrated stuff that I have yet to get around to. Otherwise, I’m sure so many others would make the cut. And likewise, there’s stuff I really enjoyed that I had to leave off the list as well. With that in mind, and without further ado, here are the ten horror movies that I loved the most in 2019. Also See: Tyler’s Top Five Horror Films of 2019 and Joey’s  Top Ten Horror Films of 2019 Happy Death Day 2U I loved the original and I loved the sequel, it’s a smart and snappy follow-up and the only reason it ranks a little lower is because it largely abandons the horror elements in favor of taking the story in a new direction. Still, it’s a franchise rooted in horror, so it certainly counts. Tree Gelbman is one of the best heroines in horror to come along in a long time and Jessica Rothe’s performance continues to be absolutely dynamite. She doesn’t so much as lose a step between movies. Child’s Play I could not have been more skeptical of this, largely because I think what Don Mancini’s been doing to keep the original franchise alive this past decade has been great. Neither Curse nor Cult of Chucky were throwaway DTV sequels. Both were carefully constructed and unexpected expansions of the mythology. However, taken on its own, the new Child’s Play is an incredibly impressive remake because it takes an approach we really haven’t seen since the ‘80s, when we were treated to the three best remakes of all time: it takes the concept, strips everything else away, and does something completely different with it. Both of the remakes on this list do the same thing. It’s not beholden to voodoo just because it’s what fans expect. And it’s a shame there was so much behind-the-scenes stuff going behind Mancini’s back, because this is a love letter to his original idea. This literally almost feels like an adaptation of Mancini’s original Blood Buddy script, before it was rewritten by Tom Holland and evolved into Child’s Play. The focus on the company, the doll’s growing attachment and jealousy toward Andy, attacking people Andy is subconsciously mad at, all of that came from Mancini’s original idea. Also, considering the enormous shoes to fill left by Brad Dourif, casting one of the world’s best voice actors, Mark Hamill, was a great idea. It Chapter Two A lot of people had a lot of problems with It Chapter Two and I understand and share many of them. I do think it leans too heavily into comedy and as a result doesn’t let itself get nearly as emotional as it should. There’s a toughness that feels like we shouldn’t be expected to see grown adults get terrified or cry to the film that’s completely at odds with the novel. But the things it does right, it does really right. First and foremost, just like the kids, the adults are perfectly cast. As everyone has already said, Bill Hader steals the show but that’s also honestly because it’s kind of his movie. The feature’s opening, adapting the murder of Adrian Mellon from the book, has been incredibly divisive. It’s an intense gay bashing scene and the movie doesn’t warn you it’s coming. As others have pointed out, it is based on something that really happened, but I think people gloss over its importance to the book and why it’s there. That event is tied directly into the DNA of It, because it was King’s reasoning for setting this story in Bangor, by telling his story in a town where something like that could happen and life would just move on. And the movie actually makes that opening better by tying it more closely in to the rest of the narrative thanks to Richie’s struggle with his own sexuality. In addition to that, there was so much mythology from the book that was a treat to see on screen, this one really embraced the weirdness of the text and as imperfect as it is, I love it for that. Us Going into Us I honestly expected it to be my favorite of the year, right out of the gate. I really didn’t expect any competition just because of how incredible Get Out had been. Us is still, make no mistake, one of the best of the year. But it definitely didn’t top Peele’s previous effort, for me. The thing that really pushes it over the edge is Lupita Nyong’o’s absolutely incredible performance. The twist at the end is pretty loudly broadcast from the beginning, but that doesn’t do anything to take away from how smartly it changes the story you think you’re watching and how well everything falls into place after the twist is made clear. Even if it gets so exposition-heavy that it feels like a first draft from a great writer, Us is so inventive and incredibly well made. Black Christmas I am so happy I waited to see this movie before making this list, because it’s not just for sure on it, it’s pretty high up as well. This one is by no means widely beloved—though, mark my words, it will catch on—and even the people who enjoy it say it has no business being called Black Christmas. After all, the only thing it has in common with the original is that it’s about girls getting stalked in a sorority. Having said that, “man turns into fly” is the only thing that David Cronenberg’s The Fly has in common with the original.There are no similar characters between the two and the approach to transformation is completely different. I’m frankly completely down for more remakes that just take the basic concept and do their own thing. Absolutely everything else about the approach is different and that’s regarded as one of the best remakes of all time. There’s such a smart and layered depiction of women standing together, of the struggle to get anyone to believe them even before the supernatural slasher elements begin to unfold. I know we don’t really need a man’s opinion on this movie, but guys should watch it because, come on, we’ve all seen people exactly like every single guy in this movie. It nails that misogynist professor that every university has at least one of. But what really pushed it over the edge for me was how well it conveys that one “nice guy” who has to feel the need to stand up for men and feels he deserves points for not being a rapist. I really think this would have played so much better in theaters if the trailers hadn’t given so much away, because it would have been amazing to watch it unfold without knowing what to expect. Crawl Alexandre Aja and alligators are both enough to get me into the theater on their own, but Aliexandre Aja doing an alligator movie is above and beyond and I cannot begin to express the absolute joy of seeing this movie with an audience that was totally into it, largely because this movie just has a whole different energy to it when you’re watching it in Florida. Also, this might be semantics for my reptile loving mind, but crocodiles tend to dominate eco-horror movies like this, so it was nice to see alligators in the spotlight as they really don’t have much beyond Alligator and Tobe Hooper’s Eaten Alive to their credit. The fact that this movie is also about repairing broken family bonds and pushing one’s self beyond the barriers and limits we put in our own minds only does that much more to make it such a pleasant surprise. Ready or Not Samara Waving’s blown me away in just about everything I’ve seen her in, Mayhem and The Babysitter in particular, but man did she just kill it in Ready or Not. I couldn’t possibly love this movie more. It is so fresh, inventive, it is so much absolute fun—and it’s fun at the expense of the ultra rich, so that’s even better. It would make for an absolutely killer double feature with Knives Out. This is a film with a very specific, singular concept. It’s got a great hook. Yet at the same time there are tons of clever little twists and turns, it manages to always keep you guessing, especially toward the top-notch payoff of its ending. Midsommar The only bad thing I can say about Midsommar is that it might be a little too uncomfortable to watch, which is not at all a criticism, as it’s only saying that the movie might do its job a little too well. This is not a film I could revisit often, because this is grief. This is all of it. Every digestible form of sadness and loss we normally see on screen is the tip of the iceberg compared to every corner of pretending you weren’t crying ten seconds ago, forced smiles, all of your friends not wanting to be around you and maybe they didn’t even want to be around you before and feel stuck, tethered to you by their own guilt. All of that was stuff I did not expect to see reflected on the screen. Most of the horror of Midsommar lies in how bold it is to frankly explore grief from every angle, human sacrificing and bearskin-wearing cult be damned. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Considering that the books meant so much to me growing up, I was really hoping against hope that Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark would be good. I had faith of course, not only in Guillermo Del Toro as a producer but in the fact that Andre Ovredal directed Autopsy of Jane Doe, which was my favorite horror film of that year. I was honestly not prepared for how good I actually thought Scary Stories turned out to be. There’s so much incredible makeup FX—granted, a bit too much CGI monster by the end—and just a terrific tone. It’s horrifying in the same way the books were horrifying, it might be aimed at kids but it’s watering nothing down for them. To hear so many teens swearing at the screen was one of the movie going highlights of my year. More than anything, though, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark literally has my favorite emotional beat of any movie I saw in 2019. Our heroine Stella’s home life is in shambles since her mother left. Her dad’s basically a non-entity. And when she realizes that she’s going to disappear like her friends, she calls her dad not just to say she loves him, but to tell him she would never run away because when she goes missing, she doesn’t want him to think she left him too. It’s such a powerful, selfless moment and I love it so much. Doctor Sleep Doctor Sleep was such an impossible thing to pull off. It should not have worked. I had faith in Mike Flanagan that he would somehow pull it off, partly because he’s a massive King fan and partly because he’s probably my favorite working horror director. But he not only made it work, he did it stylishly, emotionally, and somehow, against all odds, did it with his own unique style and voice. This isn’t just an adaptation of a book and it’s not just a sequel to The Shining. It bridges an infamously wide and deep gap between the original book and movie. This is a sequel to Kubrick’s masterpiece that retains all of the heart of King’s original characters as he constructed them. It’s a movie about moving on and what you need to lose in order to do it, almost a reverse sort of legacy sequel, about the horror that you may retain the worst traits of your parents and the struggle to overcome that. Rebecca Ferguson gives one of the most intensely frightening, alluring and mesmerizing villain performances in years. I absolutely love this movie.

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Ten of the Most Vicious Freddy Krueger Kills

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Wicked Horror is the author of Ten of the Most Vicious Freddy Krueger Kills. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

The Nightmare on Elm Street series gave birth to one of the most iconic boogeymen ever to stalk the screen: razor-clawed, Christmas sweater wearing, profoundly burned madman Freddy Krueger. With the ability to invade people’s dreams, Krueger was responsible for some of the most outlandish and imaginative death sequences in slasher movie history. Freddy is a killer that exists in the private, unconscious headspace of his victims and that means he knows everything that makes them frightened, anxious and vulnerable. And he knows exactly how to exploit their insecurities. Whether he is goofy, sadistic or just downright scary, here are ten of the most vicious kills Freddy ever committed. Also See: If the Glove Fits: Actors Other Than Robert Englund Who Have Played Freddy Krueger Sheila – A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master Sheila is an asthmatic bookworm, often noted as being more interested in bugs and books than in boys. When she falls asleep in class (which she was probably the least likely character to actually do), Freddy takes keen notice of her. He struts up to her, says “Wanna suck face?” and proceeds to suck the life right out of her. Spencer – Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare It’s the silliest death from the silliest movie in the franchise, but Spencer’s death is nonetheless fun to watch. It’s a long one, too. Freddy toys with him quite a bit, even literally. The poor stoner is sucked into a video game (mind you this is 1991) where he is submitted to a “Super Mario Bros.” version of his own terrible home life. What really makes the scene is Freddy holding up his glove after his joystick is turned away, and revealing that the glove has been turned into a clawed version of Nintendo’s power glove, which was brand new at the time. The joke may have only really worked in the early nineties, but it’s still one that nostalgic gamers can enjoy. Debbie – A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master  The roach motel sequence in Nightmare on Elm Street 4 is probably the most well known from that particular movie, which makes a lot of sense because it is probably the most outlandish kill that the franchise ever came up with. Debbie is terrified of bugs. She hates them. She’s also a total health nut and nothing means more to her than body image. Freddy takes both of these strong aspects of her character and combines them by having Debbie mutate into a cockroach. The transformation is inventive, the cockroach bursts up from underneath her skin. The FX work is great. She then finds herself insect-sized in a roach motel that is picked up and crushed by Freddy. Taryn – A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors  This was the death that had everyone with even the slightest fear of needles wincing and covering their eyes. Taryn is a recovering heroin addict, trying to battle her personal demons and an actual demon at the same time. In dream form, she reimagines herself as a capable, badass punk-rocker who actually gives Freddy a run for his money in a one-on-one fight. But Freddy takes the upper hand by turning his fingers into needles and injecting into both of her arms, smiling and proclaiming “what a rush.” The characters in Dream Warriors were all fully-developed; we didn’t want any of them to die, and this one was particularly grim knowing a bit of what the character had already been through. Carlos – Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare Part of what makes Carlos’ death so spectacular is just how prolonged it is. Freddy always likes to play a bit of cat-and-mouse with his victims, but he really draws this one out. Carlos has a hearing aid, without which he cannot hear anything. So Freddy takes it from him, stalking the poor guy in helpless silence, only to give the hearing aid back. Of course, it’s not an act of kindness on Freddy’s part, he instead gives Carlos super-hearing. With all sounds now pounding in his head, Freddy scratches his knives against a chalkboard until Carlos’ head explodes. This death is actually Robert Englund’s favorite of the entire series. Julie – Wes Craven’s New Nightmare  In a movie built on references and nostalgia from the original Nightmare on Elm Street, Julie’s death is a throwback to the original’s first iconic death scene. Where in the first film it was Tina dragged up the wall by an invisible Freddy, in this installment we’re seeing it through the eyes of young Dylan, who is falling asleep and can see Freddy behind Julie as he begins to commit the act. This death is intercut from Dylan’s perspective of Freddy cutting her open and dragging her up the wall and the perspective of everyone else in the room to add the invisible aspect from the first movie. It is all the more disturbing in that young Dylan is forced to watch the whole thing unfold. Jennifer – A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors   Jennifer has dreams of going to Hollywood and becoming a famous actress when and if she gets out of Westin Hills Mental Health Facility. She’s watching a late night TV talk show when she falls asleep. Dick Cavett turns into Freddy and slices up Zsa Zsa Gabor, and that’s when it becomes pretty obvious that Jennifer is dreaming. She is drawn to the TV, then a pair of mechanical Freddy arms burst out and grab her while Freddy’s head emerges from the top. He grins and hisses “Welcome to primetime, b*tch!” Which has proved to be one of the series’ most immortal lines, as well as one of the only lines Robert Englund ever improvised. Philip – A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors   This scene is as iconic as it is really, really gross. Philip makes puppets. That’s kind of his thing. He’s the first death in the movie, so we don’t get to find out much more about him, other than the fact that he sleepwalks. Both, however, are contributing factors in his death. He’s fast asleep in bed when Freddy emerges to slice open the poor kid’s arms and legs, using the tendons as strings to turn Philip into a makeshift marionette puppet. Freddy marches Philip up to the tower and then makes him fall to his death while all of his friends watch, helpless. It’s definitely one of the most evil things Freddy has done on screen. Glen – A Nightmare on Elm Street  The first film to star Johnny Depp also sends him out in style. Glen is trying to stay awake and fails, (which is actually most of what his character does throughout the movie) and is then sucked down into his bed. Instead of simply getting sliced to ribbons, Glen is completely liquidated and a geyser of blood shoots up through the hole in the bed and fills the room. A deleted scene shows Glen’s body being spit back up afterwards, but the sequence works perfectly as is. Tina – A Nightmare on Elm Street There’s no contest when it comes to the most vicious Freddy Krueger attack. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it happened so early in the film, maybe it was the fact that Tina had seemed to be established as the protagonist, or maybe it was the fact that people went to A Nightmare on Elm Street expecting the usual stalk-and-slash and could not be more unprepared for what they actually got. More than anything, though, the effect of this death comes down to the brutal nature of the scene itself. The great musical score cuts out, the scene is completely quiet, save for Tina’s panicked, wheezing screams as she is dragged up the ceiling after being sliced open and then dropped back down onto the bed. It’s one of the movie’s most chilling moments and one of the most iconic death scenes in film history. This scene told audiences exactly what they were in for and had them glued to their seats until the very end. Follow us on social media! 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The post Ten of the Most Vicious Freddy Krueger Kills appeared first on Wicked Horror.